TY - JOUR
T1 - Intensive treatment for persisting rhotic distortions
T2 - A case series
AU - Preston, Jonathan L.
AU - Leece, Megan C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by NIH Grant R03DC013152, which was granted to Jonathan L. Preston, PI. Thanks to Nina Chu, Kara Comins, Kerry McNamara, Lauren Peduto, Stephanie Urlass, Monique Uy, and Haley Weaver for their assistance with this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
PY - 2017/11
Y1 - 2017/11
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.1044/2017_AJSLP-16-0232
DO - 10.1044/2017_AJSLP-16-0232
M3 - Article
C2 - 29114774
AN - SCOPUS:85033452308
SN - 1058-0360
VL - 26
SP - 1066
EP - 1079
JO - American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
JF - American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
IS - 4
ER -