Comparação entre a terapia fonológica isolada ou associada ao treinamento auditivo computadorizado na reabilitação dos transtornos fonológicos em crianças / Comparison between isolated phonological therapy and when associated to computerized auditory training in the rehabilitation of phonological disorders in children / Comparación entre la terapia fonológica aislada o asociada al entrenamiento auditivo computarizado en la rehabilitación de los trastornos fonológicos en niños

Introdução: O treinamento auditivo é um método de intervenção utilizado para aprimorar o desempenho das habilidades auditivas alteradas, de modo que, pode promover melhora no processamento da informação sonora. Objetivo: Verificar a eficácia da estimulação do processamento auditivo central na reabilitação dos transtornos fonológicos. Método: Foi realizado um estudo de caso de seis crianças com idades entre 6:00 e 7:11 de idade, com diagnóstico de transtorno fonológico. Todas as crianças passaram por avaliação fonoaudiológica, com avaliação específica da fonologia por meio da Avaliação Fonológica da Criança (Yavas, Hernandorena e Lamprecht, 2002) e pela avaliação das habilidades de processamento temporal por meio dos testes de ordenação e resolução temporal, pré e pós terapia. Todos os sujeitos passaram por 25 sessões de terapia, sendo que três sujeitos foram submetidos à terapia puramente fonológica (grupo de estudo 1 - GE1), e as outras três crianças receberam terapia fonológica associada ao treinamento auditivo computadorizado (grupo de estudo 2 - GE2), com o software Escuta Ativa. Resultados: Não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa quando comparados os resultados do desempenho em tarefas concernentes a percepção do sistema fonológico e do processamento temporal nos mesmos testes (conjunto de tarefas com habilidades auditivas) aplicados pré e pós terapia do GE1 com o GE2. Contudo, houve melhora no desempenho dos testes de processamento temporal em GE2. Conclusão: A terapia fonológica combinada ao treinamento auditivo computadorizado em crianças com transtorno fonológico não evidenciou diferença estatisticamente diferente, porém demonstrou influenciar no aumento do desempenho dos testes de processamento temporal destas crianças quando comparado ao uso isolado da terapia fonológica.

Introduction: The auditory training is an intervention method used to improve the performance of auditory skills, aiming to enhance the processing of sound information. Objective: To assess the effectiveness of central auditory processing stimulation in the rehabilitation of phonological disorders. Method: A case study of six children aged between 6:00 and 7:11 diagnosed with phonological disorder. All children underwent speech-language assessment, with specific assessment of phonology through the Child's Phonological Assessment (Yavas, Hernandorena e Lamprecht, 2002) and temporal processing skills through the temporal ordering and resolution tests, before and after therapy. All subjects underwent 25 therapy sessions, with three subjects undergoing only phonological therapy (study group 1 - SG1), and the other three went through phonological therapy associated with computerized auditory training (study group 2 - SG2), using the software Escuta Ativa. Results: There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the results of performance in tasks concerning the perception of the phonological system and the temporal processing in the same tests (set of tasks of listening skills) applied before and after therapy of SG1 with SG2. However, there was an improvement in the performance of temporal processing tests for SG2. Conclusion: Phonological therapy combined with computerized auditory training in children with phonological disorders did not show a statistically different difference, however it did influence the increase in the performance of temporal processing tests in these children when compared to the isolated use of phonological therapy.

Introducción: el entrenamiento auditivo es un método de intervención utilizado para perfeccionar el desempeño de las habilidades auditivas alteradas, de modo que, puede promover mejora en el procesamiento de la información sonora. Objetivo: verificar la eficacia de la estimulación del procesamiento auditivo central en la rehabilitación de los trastornos fonológicos. Método: Fue realizado un estudio de casos de seis niños con edades de 6:00 a 7:11 años, con diagnóstico de trastorno fonológico. Todos los niños pasaron por evaluación fonoaudiológica, con evaluación específica de fonología por medio de la Evaluación Fonológica del Niño (Yavas, Hernandorena e Lamprecht, 2002) y por la evaluación de las habilidades de procesamiento temporal por medio de los test de coordinación y resolución temporal, pre y post terapia. Todos los sujetos pasaron por 25 sesiones de terapia, siendo que tres sujetos fueron sometidos a la terapia puramente fonológica (grupo de estudio 1 - GE1),y los otros tres niños recibieron terapia fonológica asociada al entrenamiento auditivo computarizado (grupo de estudio 2 - GE2), con el software Escuta Ativa. Resultados: No hubo diferencia estadísticamente significativa cuando comparados los resultados del desempeño en tareas concernientes a la percepción del sistema fonológico y del procesamiento temporal en los mismos tests(conjunto de tareas con habilidades auditivas)aplicados pre y post terapia del GE1 con el GE2. Sin embargo, se observó mejora en el desempeño de las pruebas de procesamiento temporal en GE2. Conclusión: La terapia fonológica combinada con el entrenamiento auditivo computarizado en niños con Trastorno Fonológico no evidenció diferencia estadísticamente diferente, sin embargo demostró influir en el aumento del desempeño de las pruebas de procesamiento temporal de estos niños cuando comparado al uso aislado de la terapia fonológica.

Service Delivery Schedule Effects on Speech Sound Production Outcomes.

Purpose Children with speech sound disorders feature prominently on the caseloads of speech-language pathologists working in schools, with many receiving services once or twice weekly for 20-30 min. This study compared the outcomes of services provided twice weekly for 30 min to those provided 4 times weekly for 15 min to examine their effectiveness in remediating speech sound disorders in an elementary school setting. Method A total of 35 students were recruited from an existing public school caseload for participation. Participants were randomly assigned to receive school-based speech therapy services for either 30 min twice weekly or 15 min 4 times weekly. There were no differences between groups in age, gender, or the amount of time spent in general education. Growth was measured by the percentage of Individualized Education Program goals mastered and the percentage of sounds produced correctly in isolation. Results After one calendar year, there was a negligible difference between groups on both the percentage of Individualized Education Program goals mastered and the percentage of sounds produced correctly in isolation. On average, both scheduling configurations were effective in meeting students' needs. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that children with speech sound disorders receiving school-based speech therapy services can benefit from a variety of scheduling options. Awareness of such options is an invaluable resource to speech-language pathologists wanting to provide effective and efficient services. Future research should continue investigating service delivery models' effects in applied settings.

Teaching Undergraduate Clinicians Empirically Supported Practices for Preschool Vocabulary Instruction.

Purpose To incorporate evidence-based practice into clinical settings, there is a need for efficient, effective ways to share information from research to speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and to students preparing to become SLPs. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a method for teaching undergraduate student clinicians to use empirically supported practices in vocabulary instruction during shared storybook reading with preschoolers. Method Undergraduate students enrolled in a semester-long preschool practicum participated in the study. In Study 1, 11 students participated in a multiple-baseline, single-case design. In Study 2, an additional 10 students were included in a quasi-experimental group design. All students completed prerecorded, online teaching modules that taught empirically supported practices for teaching vocabulary during shared storybook reading. Half of the students received weekly e-mails with performance feedback. Targeted practices included selection of appropriate vocabulary targets, explicit teaching, and use of interactive teaching strategies. Results In Study 1, treatment effects were observed for targeted practices for many of the student clinicians. In Study 2, group comparisons indicated an effect of e-mail performance feedback for 1 of 3 outcomes with a large effect size. Conclusion Prerecorded teaching modules may be an efficient, effective way to teach specific empirically supported practices to undergraduate student clinicians. E-mail feedback might improve use of taught practices for some students or for some practices. Future studies can examine the potential of these types of teaching modules for other outcomes or with groups of practicing SLPs.

Phonological development in Portuguese deaf children with cochlear implants: preliminary study / Desarrollo fonológico en niños sordos portugueses con implantes cocleares: estudio preliminar

Introduction: children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss and prelingual onset of deafness exhibit less linguistic skills and poorer academic achievements when compared with their hearing peers. Recent studies show that cochlear implants may promote language development in this paediatric population, although phonological development does not always follow the patterns attested for typically developing children. Aim and method: the present study aims at describing the phonetic properties of segments and the phonological processes produced by 18 deaf Portuguese children with more than 2.0 years of implant use, divided into two groups according of their hearing age (A=2.10-4.04 and B=5.04-7.03) For this purpose, we used a formal articulation test validated for the Portuguese population. Results: results show that Group B, with a higher hearing age, exhibit a consonant repertoire more complete than Group A, whose hearing age was lower. Syllable and segmental difficulties tend to persist over a long period of time, even after 4 years of implant experience (i.e. hearing age). Discussion: the children's consonant repertoire of plosives and fricatives seems to take longer to establish in deaf children with cochlear implants than in their Portuguese hearing peer; other phonological patterns found in the data show an immature phonological development (e.g. syllable omission and onset deletion); these results match the ones reported for other languages in other studies on cochlear implanted children

Introducción: los niños con un nivel de hipoacusia neurosensitiva entre intensa y profunda, y en fases iniciales de sordera prelocutiva presentan conocimientos lingüísticos y resultados académicos inferiores en relación con otros niños de su misma edad con un cuadro auditivo normal. Estudios recientes muestran que los implantes cocleares pueden promover el desarrollo lingüístico de este segmento pediátrico, aun cuando el desarrollo fonológico no siempre siga la progresión estándar que se observa en niños con una evolución prototípica. Objetivo y metodología: este estudio tiene como objetivo describir las propiedades de los segmentos fonéticos y de las pautas fonológicas producidos por 18 niños sordos portugueses con más de 2 años de experiencia con el implante coclear, divididos en dos cohortes en función del tiempo que han utilizado este tipo de implantes (A = 2.10-4.04 y B = 5.04-7.03). Con este propósito nos hemos servido de una prueba de articulación formal validada para hablantes portugueses. Resultados: los resultados muestran que el grupo B, con mayor edad auditiva, presenta un repertorio de consonantes más completo que el grupo A. Las dificultades en la producción de sílabas y segmentos suelen persistir durante un largo período de tiempo, incluso después de los 4 años de experiencia con el implante, es decir, con 4 años de edad auditiva. Discusión: al parecer, el repertorio de consonantes obstruyentes (oclusivas y fricativas) tarda más tiempo en establecerse en niños sordos con implantes cocleares que en niños con audición normal. Los datos obtenidos revelan, además, pautas propias de un desarrollo fonológico inmaduro (p. ej., omisión total de sílabas y omisión de ataques silábicos); los resultados coinciden así con los que arrojan varios estudios sobre niños de otras lenguas que llevan también implante coclear

Exploring the Overlap Between Dyslexia and Speech Sound Production Deficits.

Purpose: Children with dyslexia have speech production deficits in a variety of spoken language contexts. In this article, we discuss the nature of speech production errors in children with dyslexia, including those who have a history of speech sound disorder and those who do not, to familiarize speech-language pathologists with speech production-specific risk factors that may help predict or identify dyslexia in young children. Method: In this tutorial, we discuss the role of a phonological deficit in children with dyslexia and how this may manifest as speech production errors, sometimes in conjunction with a speech sound disorder but sometimes not. We also briefly review other factors outside the realm of phonology that may alert the speech-language pathologist to possible dyslexia. Results: Speech-language pathologists possess unique knowledge that directly contributes to the identification and remediation of children with dyslexia. We present several clinical recommendations related to speech production deficits in children with dyslexia. We also review what is known about how and when children with speech sound disorder are most at risk for dyslexia. Conclusion: Speech-language pathologists have a unique opportunity to assist in the identification of young children who are at risk for dyslexia.

Variability in Interpreting "Educational Performance" for Children With Speech Sound Disorders.

Purpose: Speech sound disorders (SSDs) can have a negative impact on literacy development, social-emotional well-being, and participation across the life span. Despite this, many public schools do not provide appropriate or timely services to this population of children. In large part, this is a result of variation in how state and local agencies interpret "educational performance" as outlined within the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. The purpose of this study was to explore which educational performance factors speech-language pathologists (SLPs) consider when determining eligibility for children with SSDs. Method: This study surveyed public school SLPs to investigate how educational performance is interpreted for children with SSDs. Data from 575 SLPs across the United States are included. Results: Results supported variability in interpretation of educational performance within a nationwide sample of SLPs. Specifically, SLPs appear to consider educational performance as multidimensional. We also found within-state and between-states variability, indicating ambiguity in interpreting federal mandates. Finally, caseload size and number of years of experience were significantly related to which educational performance factors SLPs chose. Conclusion: There is significant variability across the United States with respect to factors considered part of educational performance for children with SSD. This variability reflects the general quality and specificity of guidelines and/or special education code published by individual states. Clinical and legislative recommendations are included.

Implementing Evidence-Based Practice: Selecting Treatment Words to Boost Phonological Learning.

Purpose: Word selection has typically been thought of as an inactive ingredient in phonological treatment, but emerging evidence suggests that word selection is an active ingredient that can impact phonological learning. The goals of this tutorial are to (a) review the emerging single-subject evidence on the influence of word characteristics on phonological learning in clinical treatment, (b) outline hypotheses regarding the mechanism of action of word characteristics, and (c) provide resources to support clinicians incorporating word selection as an active ingredient in their approach to phonological treatment. Method: Research demonstrating the influence of the word frequency, neighborhood density, age of acquisition, and lexicality of treatment stimuli on phonological learning is summarized. The mechanism of action for each characteristic is hypothesized. Methods from the research studies are used to create a free set of evidence-based treatment materials targeting most of the mid-8 and late-8 consonants. Results: Clinicians have numerous evidence-based options to consider when selecting stimuli for phonological treatment including (a) high-frequency and high-density words, (b) low-frequency and high-density words, (c) high-frequency and mixed-density words, (d) low-frequency and late-acquired words, and (e) nonwords. Conclusion: Incorporating word characteristics into phonological treatment may boost phonological learning. KU ScholarWorks Supplemental Material: http://hdl.handle.net/1808/24768.

The Complexity Approach to Phonological Treatment: How to Select Treatment Targets.

Purpose: There are a number of evidence-based treatments for preschool children with phonological disorders (Baker & McLeod, 2011). However, a recent survey by Brumbaugh and Smit (2013) suggests that speech-language pathologists are not equally familiar with all evidence-based treatment alternatives, particularly the complexity approach. The goal of this clinical tutorial is to provide coaching on the implementation of the complexity approach in clinical practice, focusing on treatment target selection. Method: Evidence related to selecting targets for treatment based on characteristics of the targets (i.e., developmental norms, implicational universals) and characteristics of children's knowledge of the targets (i.e., accuracy, stimulability) is reviewed. Free resources are provided to aid clinicians in assessing accuracy and stimulability of singletons and clusters. Use of treatment target selection and generalization prediction worksheets is illustrated with 3 preschool children. Results: Clinicians can integrate multiple pieces of information to select complex targets and successfully apply the complexity approach to their own clinical practice. Conclusion: Incorporating the complexity approach into clinical practice will expand the range of evidence-based treatment options that clinicians can use when treating preschool children with phonological disorders. Supplemental Material S1: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6007562. KU ScholarWorks Supplemental Material: http://hdl.handle.net/1808/24767.

Parent-child interaction in motor speech therapy.

PURPOSE: This study measures the reliability and sensitivity of a modified Parent-Child Interaction Observation scale (PCIOs) used to monitor the quality of parent-child interaction. The scale is part of a home-training program employed with direct motor speech intervention for children with speech sound disorders. METHOD: Eighty-four preschool age children with speech sound disorders were provided either high- (2×/week/10 weeks) or low-intensity (1×/week/10 weeks) motor speech intervention. Clinicians completed the PCIOs at the beginning, middle, and end of treatment. Inter-rater reliability (Kappa scores) was determined by an independent speech-language pathologist who assessed videotaped sessions at the midpoint of the treatment block. Intervention sensitivity of the scale was evaluated using a Friedman test for each item and then followed up with Wilcoxon pairwise comparisons where appropriate. RESULTS: We obtained fair-to-good inter-rater reliability (Kappa = 0.33-0.64) for the PCIOs using only video-based scoring. Child-related items were more strongly influenced by differences in treatment intensity than parent-related items, where a greater number of sessions positively influenced parent learning of treatment skills and child behaviors. CONCLUSION: The adapted PCIOs is reliable and sensitive to monitor the quality of parent-child interactions in a 10-week block of motor speech intervention with adjunct home therapy. Implications for rehabilitation Parent-centered therapy is considered a cost effective method of speech and language service delivery. However, parent-centered models may be difficult to implement for treatments such as developmental motor speech interventions that require a high degree of skill and training. For children with speech sound disorders and motor speech difficulties, a translated and adapted version of the parent-child observation scale was found to be sufficiently reliable and sensitive to assess changes in the quality of the parent-child interactions during intervention. In developmental motor speech interventions, high-intensity treatment (2×/week/10 weeks) facilitates greater changes in the parent-child interactions than low intensity treatment (1×/week/10 weeks). On one hand, parents may need to attend more than five sessions with the clinician to learn how to observe and address their child's speech difficulties. On the other hand, children with speech sound disorders may need more than 10 sessions to adapt to structured play settings even when activities and therapy materials are age-appropriate.

The Effect of Hand Gesture Cues Within the Treatment of /r/ for a College-Aged Adult With Persisting Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

PURPOSE: Despite the widespread use of hand movements as visual and kinesthetic cues to facilitate accurate speech produced by individuals with speech sound disorders (SSDs), no experimental investigation of gestural cues that mimic that spatiotemporal parameters of speech sounds (e.g., holding fingers and thumb together and "popping" them to cue /p/) currently exists. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of manual mimicry cues within a multisensory intervention of persisting childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). METHOD: A single-subject ABAB withdrawal design was implemented to assess the accuracy of vowel + /r/ combinations produced by a 21-year-old woman with persisting CAS. The effect of manual mimicry gestures paired with multisensory therapy consisting of verbal instructions and visual modeling was assessed via clinician and naïve listener ratings of target sound accuracy. RESULTS: According to the perceptual ratings of the treating clinician and 28 naïve listeners, the participant demonstrated improved speech sound accuracy as a function of the manual mimicry/multisensory therapy. CONCLUSIONS: These data offer preliminary support for the incorporation of gestural cues in therapy for CAS and other SSDs. The need for continued research on the interaction of speech and manual movements for individuals with SSDs is discussed.

Intensive Treatment for Persisting Rhotic Distortions: A Case Series.

PURPOSE: The study explored changes in accuracy of American English rhotics as a result of an intensive 1-week therapy program for adolescents and young adults with residual speech sound errors that had not resolved with previous therapy. METHOD: Four case reports are presented of individuals aged 13, 17, 21, and 22 years with residual /ɹ/ distortions. Each participant attended a 1-week intensive program consisting of pretreatment assessments, 14 hr of therapy, and posttreatment assessment. Treatment sessions included structured motor-based practice, ultrasound visual feedback of the tongue, and auditory speech perception training. To assess generalization, untreated words and sentences with rhotics were recorded before and after therapy; these were rated by listeners who were blind to when the recordings were taken. RESULTS: All participants showed measurable and statistically significant improvement in speech sound accuracy. Averaged across the 4 participants, rhotic accuracy at the word level improved from 35% to 83%. At the sentence level, rhotic accuracy increased from 11% pretreatment to 66% posttreatment in 1 week. CONCLUSION: The promise of an intensive treatment program that includes motor-based practice, biofeedback, and auditory perception training is illustrated by the case presentations in which substantial improvements in speech sound accuracy were observed. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5561254.

Variable Practice to Enhance Speech Learning in Ultrasound Biofeedback Treatment for Childhood Apraxia of Speech: A Single Case Experimental Study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of practice variability, through prosodic variation during speech sound training, in biofeedback treatment for children with childhood apraxia of speech. It was hypothesized that variable practice would facilitate speech sound learning. METHOD: Six children ages 8-16 years with persisting speech sound errors due to childhood apraxia of speech participated in a single-subject experimental design. For each participant, 2 speech sound targets were treated with ultrasound visual feedback training: one with prosodic variation (i.e., practicing sound targets in words and phrases spoken fast, slow, loud, as a question, command, and declarative), and one without prosodic variation. Each target was treated for half of the 1-hr session for 14 treatment sessions. RESULTS: As measured by standardized effect sizes, all participants showed greater change on generalization probes for sound targets treated under the prosodic variation condition with mean effect sizes (d2) of 14.5 for targets treated with prosodic variation and 8.3 for targets treated without prosodic variation. The average increase in generalization scores was 38% in the prosodic variation condition compared to 31% without. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound visual feedback may facilitate speech sound learning and learning may be enhanced by treating speech sounds with explicit prosodic variation. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5150119.

Efecto de una estimulación musical en el desarrollo fonológico del lenguaje en niños del nivel preescolar / The effect of a musical stimulation in the phonological development of language in preschoolchildren

Introducción: en la edad preescolar, los niños frecuentemente intentan simplificar su lenguaje. Estas estrategias de simplificación, llamadas procesos de simplificación fonológica, los cuales se sub dividen en tres: de estructura silábica, de asimilación y de sustitución; estas son eliminadas paulatinamente durante el desarrollo fonológico hasta presentar nulos o escasos procesos a los seis años. Si los procesos persisten se considera un trastorno fonológico la cual es abarcada mediante la terapia fonológica tradicional la cual ofrece varias estrategias que buscan la generalización en las producciones del niño, es decir sin abordar todos los blancos posibles ya que los procesos presentan una importante variación individual. Una estrategia innovadora dentro de este enfoque es la aplicación de la música, la cual presenta varias similitudes con el lenguaje hablado. Objetivo: determinar el efecto de la estimulación musical con canciones infantiles en el desarrollo del aspecto fonológico del lenguaje de los alumnos de preescolar del Centro Educacional "Sagrados Corazones de Jesús y de María". Materiales y método: experimental intra-grupo, porque se realiza una intervención en una misma población que sirve de control. Se utiliza el TEPROSIF-R como instrumento de evaluación a 55 niños que acuden al preescolar y las canciones infantiles como instrumento de intervención. Resultados: se observó post intervención, una reducción significativa de la media de los procesos de estructura silábica y de los procesos de sustitución. Se apreció que la disminución de la media de los procesos de asimilación en relación a la media de los procesos de sustitución fue menos significativa, debido a que estos fueron menos frecuentes en los sujetos de estudio. Conclusión: tendencia a la reducción de los casos de niveles en riesgo y en déficit y por ende, un aumento significativo del número de alumnos con un nivel de desempeño fonológico normal en un 20%, debido al efecto directo de la intervención con canciones infantiles.

Introduction: in preschool, children often try to simplify their language. These strategies of simplification, called phonological simplification processes, which are sub divided into three: syllabic structure, assimilation and substitution are gradually eliminated during phonological development until they are reduced with little or no process at age of six. If processes persist they must be considered a phonological disorder which is approached by the traditional phonological therapy which offers several strategies that seeks generalization in productions of the child, without addressing all possible targets as processes exhibit significant individual variation. An innovative strategy in this approach is the application of music, which has several similarities with spoken language. Objective: to determine the effect of musical stimulation with nursery rhymes in the development of the phonological aspect of language in students who attend preschool education at the Educational Center "Sagrados Corazones de Jesus y María". Materials and methods: experimental intra-group because an intervention on the same control population is performed. The TEPROSIF-R is used as an assessment tool to evaluate the phonological aspect of language to 55 children attending the preschool education and nursery rhymes as an instrument of intervention. Results: a significant reduction of the average in the processes related to syllabic structure and substitution processes is observed. It is noted that the decrease in mean of assimilation processes in relation to the average substitution process was less significant, because these were less frequent in the study subjects. Conclusion: a tendency of reduced cases in levels at risk and deficit is evident and therefore, a significant increase in the number of students with a normal level of phonological performance by 20% due to the direct effect of the intervention with nursery rhymes.