Chandigarh : Dr. Dharam Vir, Faculty Speech and Hearing, Dept. of ENT, PGIMER, Chandigarh has been awarded Talented Scientist AWARD for his contribution to Alternative Medicine on the occasion of XXVI NATIONAL MEDICOS CONGRESS organized by five Associations i.e. AIMS, ISDIAM, RSM, FIMSA and AIAMPA at Hoshiarpur on 2nd Dec. 2012 .The award was given by Mr.Ashwani Rai Khanna former MP and Dr. D.B. Kapur, Chairman, AIMS for contributing a tool to assess the prevalence of articulation errors/defects in the Panjabi speaking children and adult population. The tool was developed by Dr.Dharam Vir under the guidance of Prof.A.K.Gupta, Prof.Naresh Panda, Department of Otolaryngology, PGIMER; Prof.Joga Singh (Punjabi University); Prof.A.N.Gill (Panjab University) and Dr.Harmesh Kumar.
Details of Punjabi Articulation Test (PAT)
‘Speech’ is the auditory-vocal form of expressing and comprehending languages. A person with an articulation problem is the one whose production of speech sound varies too widely from the average values. This variation interferes with communication.
Punjabi, a member of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family, is spoken as the first language primarily in the state of Punjab in India and the province of similar name in Pakistan. Around the globe, Punjabi is spoken by more than 80 million people. Need was felt to develop a specific tool to assess the prevalence of articulation errors/defects in the Panjabi speaking children and adult population. The tool thus developed is known as Punjabi Articulation Test (PAT). No such test was available for Punjabi Language prior to it.
The study made to develop the test examined the articulation errors of consonants on normal pediatrics population of Punjabi speaking children between the age ranges of 8 and 10 years. The present study examined the Punjabi Consonant Errors of Punjabi speaking children of rural (130) and urban (70) population of the Punjab State of India.
This Punjabi Articulation Test (PAT) will be very useful for the North Indian Punjabi speaking population as well as for the Punjabi speaking folks living in Pakistan and elsewhere. This test can be administered on different types of speech and language disorders of Punjabi speaking population, such as Dyslalia, Dysarthria, Mental Retardation and Hearing-Impaired.
Social Value of PAT
A person suffering from a speech disorder generally faces two-fold problem: he/she fails to convey his/her ideas to others properly in day-to-day life and also he/she suffers from a feeling of inferiority which affects his/her mental growth adversely. The PAT can help in identifying the speech errors of the patients properly and equip the speech therapist for better cure and correction especially in the cases of those passing through the tender age of 8-10 years. Thus PAT can prove to be of considerable help in producing normal citizens in the society. A person suffering from a speech disorder also faces difficulty in getting employment. But correction of articulation disorder at an early stage with the help of PAT can contribute in a big way in ensuring proper careers of the Punjabi speaking community. It can also come to the help of those already in jobs by enhancing their efficiency through improved communication. Thus, Punjabi Articulation Test has an immense social value. It can go a long way in building up a better society.