Special panel session: Driving Critical Initiatives in Motor Speech

This article is a summary of the Special Panel Session, titled "Driving Critical Initiatives in Motor Speech," that was conducted at the Conference on Motor Speech, March 2008, in Monterey, California. Don Finan (Program Chair for Speech Motor Control) and Julie Liss (Program Chair for Motor Speech Disorders) invited four distinguished scientists (Drs. Gary Weismer, Steven Barlow, Anne Smith, and John Caviness) to share, briefly, their opinions and views on selected topics. This was followed by an hour-long general discussion session with conference attendees. This report contains an introductory statement followed by the panel members' own summaries of the opinions and ideas expressed in their talks. We then summarize the major topics that were considered during the discussion session. This summary reflects the biases and opinions of the participants and is meant to serve as a thought-piece for the readership of JMSLP, rather than as a scientific report.