Purpose: This study examines how ultrasound biofeedback and intensive treatment distribution affect speech sound generalization during an evidence-based treatment, Speech Motor Chaining, for children with persisting speech errors associated with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Method: In a 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial, children…

Background: Individuals with developmental dysarthria typically demonstrate reduced functioning of one or more of the speech subsystems, which negatively impacts speech intelligibility and communication within social contexts. A few treatment approaches are available for improving speech production and intelligibility among individuals with…

Purpose: This study evaluated whether outcomes from treatment, which includes ultrasound visual feedback (UVF), would be more or less effective when combined with auditory perception training for children with residual /[voiced alveolar approximant]/ errors. Method: Children ages 8-16 years with /[voiced alveolar approximant]/ distortions…

Background: Electropalatography (EPG) records details of the location and timing of tongue contacts with the hard palate during speech. It has been effective in treating articulation disorders that have failed to respond to conventional therapy approaches but, until now, its use with children and adolescents with intellectual/learning disabilities…

Purpose: This study aimed to identify predictors of response to treatment for residual speech sound disorder (RSSD) affecting English rhotics. Progress was tracked during an initial phase of traditional motor-based treatment and a longer phase of treatment incorporating ultrasound biofeedback. Based on previous literature, we focused on baseline…

Objectives: This paper explores the relationship between speech therapy intensity and parent satisfaction with speech therapy (ST) in children with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (P-MS), a rare genetic disorder. Methods: ST intensity ("ST Dose [minutes per session]") × ("ST Dose Frequency") × ("ST Length [years]") and…

This survey addressed a twofold need: first, research into speech sound productions in children with visual impairments and, second, evidence upon which speech-language pathologists might base interventions for children with visual impairments. Fifteen speech-language pathologists responded to a survey about speech sound productions in caseload…

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare comprehension of spectrally degraded (noise-vocoded [NV]) speech and perceptual learning of NV speech between adolescents and young adults and examine the role of phonological processing and executive functions in this perception. Method: Sixteen younger adolescents (11-13 years), 16 older adolescents…

An adolescent with a persistent frontal lisp participated in a two-part 11-session intervention case study. The first phase used ultrasound imagery and acoustic, phonetic and voice education to provide information about articulatory setting (AS) and general awareness of the speech production process. The second phase used traditional articulation…

Background: The nature of speech disorders in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) remains controversial despite various explanations put forth in the literature to account for the observed speech profiles. A high level of word production inconsistency in children with DS has led researchers to query whether the inconsistency continues into…

Currently, there are few published treatment studies to address prosody in clinical populations. Developing treatment protocols is challenging due to the considerable degree of heterogeneity across individuals with prosodic disturbances and the multiple aspects of prosody, voice, speech, and language that can be affected. The purpose of this…

Children with cerebral palsy often have speech, language and communication difficulties that affect their access to social and educational activities. Speech and language therapy to improve the intelligibility of the speech of children with cerebral palsy has long been advocated, but there is a dearth of research investigating therapy…

Background: The paper reports on a laboratory investigation of the effects of self-modelling on stuttering rate in adolescents and adults. Self-modelling refers to a therapeutic or training method, usually involving videotape, that uses exposure to oneself performing selected error-free behaviours as the conduit for promoting behaviour change.…

Twenty-six children and adolescents who were unable to produce /r/ correctly listened to a tape of 200 words containing /r/ spoken, either correctly or incorrectly, by either the subjects themselves or another speaker. Subjects judged both the correctness of the /r/ and the speaker's identity. Results support a relationship between speech…

The present paper comprises an overview of techniques using ultrasound in speech (re)habilitation. Ultrasound treatment techniques have been developed for English lingual stops, vowels, sibilants, and liquids. These techniques come from a series of small "n" studies with adolescents and adults with severe hearing impairment, residual…