A usable test for the speech intelligibility of deaf talkers

A strange fact about the contemporary education of the hearing-impaired is that the intelligi-bility of their speech is seldom measured. This paper describes an easy way to use an accurate test for the intelligibility of the speech of severely hearing-impaired speakers. The test is based upon the use of minimal pairs of words and requires no more than 30 minutes to administer. Data on the validity, reliability, and internal consistency of the test are presented to show that it can reliably predict the intelligibility of running speech. It comes as a surprise to many that the speech intelligibility of hearing-impaired children is seldom tested. Tests of language—yes. Tests of reading—yes. And of course audiograms by the folder full. But many hearing-impaired chil-dren have graduated from a variety of special-ized school programs without ever having had their speaking abilities assessed by a standard-ized, reliable test. And yet, good, intelligibl