ACQ Vol 12 No 3 2010

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154 ACQ Volume 12, Number 3 2010 ACQuiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing
undertake all aspects of voice and speech analysis from
the basic tasks of voice and speech recording, editing
of the recordings, managing client data and producing
client reports, through to a wide range of basic and more
advanced voice and speech analyses. The software also
includes a highly motivating visual biofeedback module for
use in therapy with both children and adults (TheraVox).
The software modules are accompanied by a high-quality
sound level meter microphone and tripod. A comprehensive
manual is provided, both in hard copy and via the WEVOSYS
website. The key components of the manual are also
available on-screen when the suite is in use. Additional user
support is available via email from the product manager,
Ingolf Franke, and remote support direct to the user’s
computer can also be obtained. For Australian users,
the distributors, Multimedia Speech Pathology, provide a
knowledgeable and efficient source of additional support.
controversial topics presented without reference to the
literature. In the surgical management of speech the authors
advocate pharyngeal flap as the surgical procedure to
address velopharyngeal dysfunction. There is no mention of
pharyngoplasty which is another surgical option frequently
used successfully in many cleft centres. In the section on
speech disorder the authors discount the presence of verbal
dyspraxia in VCFS, while more recent research confirms
that dyspraxia can be part of the speech disorder. In the
final section on feeding and growth the authors suggest too
many children with VCFS are unnecessarily tube fed. While
this might be the case for some children with VCFS, there
are children with VCFS who require tube-feeding because of
unsafe swallowing. There is a concern that clinicians reading
this section might put children at risk if they were to avoid
introducing tube-feeding or stop tube-feeding when it may
be unsafe for the child to swallow food and doing so may
risk aspiration. These areas of controversy will hopefully
promote further research and thus encourage clinicians to
provide better treatment. Another limitation was the poor
quality of some of the video clips on the DVD, in particular
poor sound quality.
On balance this book is an excellent text and will be
read by clinicians and scientists across many disciplines,
including speech pathologists. The authors have succeeded
in providing a wealth of information in a concise readable
format. It will also serve as a reference book with a good
index and many useful figures, including photos, which may
aid the clinician in the recognition and diagnosis of VCFS.
Velo-cardio-facial syndrome, Vol, 2: Treatment of
communication disorders, by the same authors, is due for
publication and will hopefully prove to be a good follow-
up and another useful text in this Genetic Syndromes and
Communication Disorders series.
lingWAVES Voice Clinic Suite Pro. Germany: WEVOSYS,
Available in Australia through
Multimedia Speech Pathology, 14A Miami Shore Parade,
Miami, Qld 4220, phone: 0407 293579, fax: 07 5578
6373, email: or go to www.mmsp.
Available at A$4,950 plus GST. Other lingWAVES
speech pathology clinic sets for voice and speech are
available from $1,100 plus GST.
Jennifer M. Oates and Cameron Grant
The lingWAVES Voice Clinic
Suite Pro is a comprehensive
digital system for speech and
voice evaluation, visual
biofeedback and client
documentation developed in
Forchheim, Germany. The
overall lingWAVES system
comprises different modules
that can be combined and
added to at any time. The
lingWAVES Voice Clinic Suite
Pro is a specialist suite at the
high end of the lingWAVES
system and comprises all of the available modules with the
exception of electroglottography software and hardware.
The software included in this suite allows a wide range
of speech and voice evaluation functions. Unlike many
alternative programs, lingWAVES Voice Clinic Suite Pro
provides the user with the software tools required to
The range of voice and speech analyses available within
lingWAVES Voice Clinic Suite Pro is comprehensive and, as
far as the reviewers are aware, not matched by any other
commercial product. The following measures are available
within this suite:
• standard acoustic measures such as fundamental
frequency, intensity, jitter, shimmer and glottal noise
energy (GNE) analyses – the latter is related to the
harmonic-to-noise ratio measure familiar to Australian
clinicians, although Wevosys claims that GNE is a more
robust measure;
• basic spectrograms along with a more advanced formant
tracking capability;
• aggregate acoustic measures of voice quality (irregularity,
noise and overall severity) that have been shown to
correlate well with the perceptual features of roughness,
breathiness and hoarseness;