Purpose: In a previous publication, we observed that maximum speech performance in a nonclinical sample of young adult speakers producing "alternating" diadochokinesis (DDK) sequences (e.g., rapidly repeating "pataka") was associated with cognitive control: Those with better cognitive switching abilities (i.e., switching…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to pilot the efficacy of rapid syllable transition (ReST) treatment when provided once per week for a 50-min treatment session for 12 weeks with five children with childhood apraxia of speech. Of central importance was the children's retention and generalization of gains from treatment as indicators of speech…

Purpose: This study evaluates the initial efficacy of Chaining SPeech Lessons in Intensive Ten-minute Sessions (SPLITS), an alternative service delivery model for the Speech Motor Chaining treatment approach. We hypothesized that Chaining SPLITS would result in improvements in /[Voiced alveolar approximant]/ accuracy on syllables and untrained…

Motor deficits are a phenotype observed in children with autism. When provided with motor intervention, the children progress across different developmental domains. The problem is teachers in self-contained classrooms for nonverbal children with autism faced obstacles that needed to be overcome in implementing a motor intervention plan in public…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe changes in speech intelligibility and interrater and intrarater reliability of naive listeners' ratings of words produced by young children diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) over a period of motor-based intervention (dynamic temporal and tactile cueing [DTTC]). Method: A total of 120…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to use acoustic and kinematic speech measures to characterize type of motor speech impairment--apraxia of speech (AOS) versus dysarthria--in individuals with four-repeat tauopathy (4RT)-associated syndromes, including nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), primary progressive AOS (PPAOS),…

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the vocal characteristics of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and anarthria using the stage model of vocal development. Method: Vocal characteristics of 39 children with CP and anarthria around 4 years of age were analyzed from laboratory-based caregiver--child interactions. Perceptual coding analysis was…

Purpose: Dysarthria is common among children with cerebral palsy (CP) and results in poor speech intelligibility and subsequently low communicative participation. Neuroplasticity evidence suggests that adherence to principles of motor learning (PML) improves motor speech intervention outcomes. Motor speech interventions aim to improve speech…

Purpose: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) show evidence of domain-general deficits in sequentially patterned motor skills. This study focuses on the production of rhythmically grouped sequences drawn from a music task, with the hypothesis that children with DLD will show a sequential pattern learning deficit that crosses…

Background: Research is beginning to shed light on the practices employed by speech-language therapists (SLTs) for the management of acquired dysarthria. However, studies that explore SLTs' satisfaction with the effectiveness of current therapies and their interest in new treatment methods for this population have not been carried out. One…

Purpose: Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) evidence a high rate of co-occurring fine and gross motor deficits. This clinical focus article reports a preliminary investigation of characteristics of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), a neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by poor motor proficiency and functional limitations,…

Purpose: This study examined speech breathing during two connected speech tasks in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and typically developing (TD) peers. Understanding how the respiratory system supports speech production during various speech tasks can help researchers construct appropriate models of speech production and clinicians remediate…

Purpose: Rhythm is one procedural mechanism that underlies language and motor skill acquisition and has been implicated in children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). The purpose of this study is to investigate manual rhythmic sequencing skills in children with a history of or current CAS (hx/CAS) compared to children with typical development…

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate child- and intervention-level factors that predict improvements in functional communication outcomes in children with motor-based speech sound disorders. Method: Eighty-five preschool-age children with childhood apraxia of speech (n = 37) and speech motor delay (n = 48) participated.…

Purpose: Speech motor skill is refined over the course of practice, which is commonly reflected by increased accuracy and consistency. This research examined the relationship between auditory-perceptual ratings of word accuracy and measures of speech motor timing and variability at pre- and posttreatment in children with childhood apraxia of…