Austin Thompson
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slpaustin.bsky.social
Austin Thompson
@slpaustin.bsky.social
710 followers 920 following 74 posts
SLP & Assistant Prof at UH. I study speech acoustics, kinematics, & motor speech disorders like #dysarthria. I’m also interested in #OpenScience, #MetaSci, & research methods. Scary movie enthusiast. he/they
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slpaustin.bsky.social
I’m currently being terrorized by a blank event on my calendar for today at noon. Did I mistakenly create this event? Is this an important event that I forgot to add a title/details to?

Only time will tell.🙃
A view of my calendar with an event scheduled today at noon, titled “New Event”.
February 19, 2025 at 5:15 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
Writing is so much easier when you have a writing coach assisting you.

10/10 would recommend to all.
A workspace setup featuring a laptop with a document open and highlighted text on the screen, placed on a gray desk. To the right of the laptop, a white and gray tabby cat named Kitty lounges comfortably on a beige blanket. Nearby are a green water bottle, a mouse, AirPods, and a container filled with pens and pencils, with a white lamp in the background.
November 27, 2024 at 7:19 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
My god, they've done it with the glmer documentation!
November 19, 2024 at 7:03 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
Are you an associate or full professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) in the U.S.? We invite you to participate in a 1-hour virtual focus group to discuss #OpenScience practices in CSD. If interested, please fill out the screening form here: tinyurl.com/OS-screening
A flyer from Old Dominion University invites associate and full professors in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) to participate in a virtual focus group about open science practices. The flyer highlights no prior knowledge of open science is needed, and focus groups aim to enhance recommendations for open science use in CSD. Participation includes completing a consent form and a one-hour Zoom focus group. Eligible participants must be U.S.-based researchers in CSD. Contact information for Dr. Danika Pfeiffer and a QR code, alongside a link (https://tinyurl.com/OS-screening), are provided for sign-up. The design includes colorful geometric patterns on the left.
November 19, 2024 at 6:01 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
If you see this, please repost with a favorite photo of the sky that you’ve taken recently
A view of Whiteoak Bayou in Houston, Texas, during sunset. The scene features a winding concrete path beside a bayou, bordered by greenery, with a highway overpass and buildings in the distance under a pastel-colored sky with pink and orange hues. A grassy field near White Oak Bayou in Houston, Texas, captured during a vibrant sunset. The landscape includes scattered trees and open space with a dramatic sky illuminated by soft golden and pink tones, framed by distant urban structures and a bridge to the right.
November 16, 2024 at 4:35 AM
slpaustin.bsky.social
I had a wonderful time at the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society (HAPS) caregiver conference today.

It was so insightful to talk directly with caregivers and hear their perspectives on communication challenges with loved ones. I’m grateful for the chance to connect and learn from their experiences.
A group of four people—Deeya Daniel, Christina Quinn, Heather Dial, and Austin Thompson—stand behind a table representing the University of Houston’s Communication Sciences and Disorders department. The table is covered with a red cloth displaying the UH logo and the text “College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences,” along with informational materials. A close-up image of a spiral-bound program booklet for the “Thrive Caregiver Conference” held on Saturday, November 9, 2024, organized by the Houston Area Parkinson Society. The cover features a blue and gold paisley design, adding a decorative element beneath the event details. A wide-angle shot of the Thrive Caregiver Conference, showing attendees seated at round tables in a large banquet room with chandeliers overhead. The audience faces a speaker at a podium labeled “thrive,” with two large screens displaying the presentation title “Prepare to Care - legal resources.”
November 9, 2024 at 9:50 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
6/ Importantly, measures like acoustic VSA showed no clear link to kinematic VSA, which challenges some assumptions about the relationship between acoustic signals and articulatory movement.
This scatter plot compares Kinematic VSA (in mm²) and Acoustic VSA (in kHz²) across different conditions and groups. Data points are marked with different shapes based on speech clarity conditions: circles for "Less Clear," triangles for "Conversational," and squares for "More Clear." Additionally, colors differentiate between two groups: HC (green) and PD (orange). A regression line with a shaded confidence interval is drawn, showing an absence of a relationship between Acoustic and Kinematic VSA.
October 23, 2024 at 5:43 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
5/ We also found interesting cross-domain links. Acoustic and kinematic distance (e.g., how far the tongue moves) were moderately correlated, suggesting that speech movements can be inferred, but caution is needed—it's not one-to-one.
This image contains two heatmaps displaying correlation coefficients between different variables related to speech intelligibility and articulation metrics. The variables include Articulatory Precision, Acoustic VSA, Kinematic Distance, F2 Slope, and others. The heatmaps visually represent the strength of relationships between these factors, with values ranging from negative to positive correlations, shown by different shades of color. The darker green squares indicate stronger positive correlations, while lighter colors represent weaker or negative relationships. A color scale is provided to reference the correlation values from -0.5 to 1.0.
October 23, 2024 at 5:41 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
4/ Another finding: Intelligibility and articulatory precision are closely linked but not identical.

Why does this matter? Perceptual ratings of articulatory precision might be more sensitive to speech changes in PD than overall intelligibility, especially for speakers with mild dysarthria.
This scatter plot shows the relationship between "Articulatory Precision (VAS)" on the x-axis and "Intelligibility (VAS)" on the y-axis. Data points are plotted as green and orange shapes representing two different groups: "HC" (green) and "PD" (orange). Different shapes (circles, triangles, and squares) correspond to conditions: "Less Clear," "Conversational," and "More Clear." There is a nonlinear trend (solid black curve) indicating that as articulatory precision increases, intelligibility also improves, while the dashed line represents a one-to-one trend.
October 23, 2024 at 5:40 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
3/ What we found: Acoustic vowel space area (VSA) and kinematic distance strongly predicted intelligibility and, even more so, articulatory precision.

What does this mean? Targeting larger articulatory gestures in treatment may help improve precision and lead to clearer speech for people with PD.
This chart depicts the relationship between acoustic vowel space area (VSA) in kilohertz squared (kHz²) and two variables: intelligibility (top row) and articulatory precision (bottom row) on visual analog scales (VAS). It is separated by male (left) and female (right) speakers, with two groups represented: healthy controls (HC) in green and individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in orange. Data points are further categorized by three speech clarity conditions: less clear (triangle), conversational (circle), and more clear (square). The lines show trends for the two groups across these conditions. This chart shows the relationship between kinematic tongue body (TB) distance in millimeters (mm) and intelligibility (top row) and articulatory precision (bottom row), measured on visual analog scales (VAS). It is divided by male (left) and female (right) speakers. The data is separated by groups: healthy controls (HC) in green and individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in orange. Speech clarity is further divided into three conditions: less clear (triangle), conversational (circle), and more clear (square), with lines showing trend directions for the two groups under each condition.
October 23, 2024 at 5:37 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
1/ Excited to share our new study in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR) on predictors of speech intelligibility and articulatory precision in #Parkinsons Disease (PD). Here's what we found. 🧵

Journal DOI: doi.org/10.1044/2024...
Free Version (Post-Print) DOI: osf.io/9wpsr
Research article titled 'Acoustic and Kinematic Predictors of Intelligibility and Articulatory Precision in Parkinson’s Disease' by Austin Thompson and Yunjung Kim. Published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (JSLHR). The abstract outlines the study's purpose, methods, results, and conclusions on the relationships between perceptual, acoustic, and kinematic measures in Parkinson's disease, focusing on intelligibility and articulatory precision.
October 23, 2024 at 5:29 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
Woo!
October 22, 2024 at 8:15 PM
slpaustin.bsky.social
Ooof
September 2, 2023 at 5:44 PM