

Speech Pacesetter
Speech Pacing Therapy
Pacing Therapy with Visual & Sound Cues
The Speech Pacesetter app is designed specifically for people who have imprecise articulation and a fast rate of speech due to stroke, brain injury, acquired stuttering, Parkinson’s Disease or other neurological condition. It is also suitable for children who have unclear articulation or who stutter.
Speech Pacesetter allows the user to choose a text and pace their rate of speech with the help of a speed-adjustable visual cue. The user may choose to have the visual cue for each syllable or each word and reads the syllable or word aloud as the visual cue appears. A metronome sound cue may also be added.
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Choose a reading passage
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Select a visual cue for each syllable or each word
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Read the text aloud in unison with the visual cue
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Adjust the speed of the visual cue
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Choose an additional metronome sound cue if you wish
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Add your own custom reading passages
The Story Behind Speech Pacesetter
Hi, I'm Lorraine. I am a Speech and Language Therapist. I designed Speech Pacesetter. My inspiration for the app came from my clinical experience of working with people with Parkinson's Disease. Many of the clients with Parkinson's Disease who I worked with spoke very softly. However, the biggest difficulty for some individuals was fast and unclear speech. I used to try to help those clients slow their rate of speech. When a person with Parkinson's speaks too quickly, slowing their rate of speech can significantly improve their speech clarity and intelligibility. However, they often have difficulty slowing their rate of speech on their own and they need cues to help.
Before Speech Pacesetter was made, I used to mark syllables, words and punctuation marks in reading passages with pen marks or dashes to help prompt the person to slow their rate. This was time-consuming. Even if I put markings in many different passages, the clients couldn't practise independently at home.
I wondered if it would be possible to make an app that would have visual cues that highlighted each syllable or word. I also wondered if it would be possible to have a cue that only showed one syllable or word in a reading passage at a time (to help those who tended to skip ahead). That's how Speech Pacesetter was born....
When a child or adult has unclear speech, slowing their rate of speech often helps improve speech clarity and intelligibility. So while Speech Pacesetter was made especially for people with Parkinson's Disease, it is also a valuable tool for adults with dysarthria due to other neurological conditions such as stroke and brain injury. It is suitable for children who stutter or clutter when speaking too.
What Others Say About Speech Pacesetter
"This affordable app brings a novel way of carrying out pacing therapy for adult speech and language therapists." – Mike Richards, Speech & Language Therapist, UK
By Mike Richards, SLT (UK)
"We love the app, and in all its simplicity, it is designed to make reading passages easier to read by a metronome along with visual cues." - iSpeakapp
By iSpeak app blog