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…

Purpose: Phonologically complex targets (e.g., [pl-]) are understood to facilitate widespread gains following speech sound intervention, and yet, available research largely features word-"initial" clusters. The present study investigates intervention effects following treatment of complex clusters presented in word-"final"…

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…

Purpose: Cleft palate is one of the most common birth defects in the United States. Most of these children receive speech therapy by preschool and school-based clinicians. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive tutorial for speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs) regarding treatment techniques and principles for children…

Purpose: This study examined intervention intensity and service delivery with school-age children with mild or mild-moderate speech sound disorders. The commonly used business-as-usual (BAU) service delivery model and a shorter, more frequent, individual model (experimental [EXP]) were compared. Method: A between-subjects group design was…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which child- and therapy-level factors contribute to gains in speech sound production accuracy for children with speech sound disorders in receipt of school-based services. Method: Data were obtained from 126 kindergarten and first- and second-grade children currently in receipt of…

Purpose: Children with a cleft palate (± cleft lip; CP±L) can have difficulties communicating and participating in daily life, yet speech-language pathologists typically focus on speech production during routine assessments. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY; World Health…

Purpose: Potential biases in service provision for preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) were explored. Method: In Study 1, children with SLI receiving treatment (SLI-T) and those with SLI not receiving treatment (SLI-NT) were compared on demographic characteristics and developmental abilities. Study 2 recruited children with…

A study involving 144 elementary students in three groups - controls (no articulation errors), residual error (mean of five articulation errors), and multiple errors (mean of more than 15 errors) - supported the hypothesis that Ss in the multiple error group would demonstrate measurable deviations in language compared to those in residual error or…

The speech of 1,048 children (two to four years old) was screened for the presence of velar and palatal forms of the phonological process of fronting. Sixty-seven children were identified as exihibiting the fronting process. Velar fronting occurred more frequently than palatal fronting. Incidence of fronting decreased with increasing age.…

The paper describes an instructional procedure for teaching distinctive features to children with articulation problems. The procedure uses minimal pairs to teach a feature. A four step program is described that considers conceptual skills, discrimination and production training, as well as carry-over. (Author/SBH)

Scores on Whole Word Accuracy (WWA), a method for assessing articulation proficiency in conversation, and Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale (AAPS) scores were computed and correlated for 30 subjects in eight age groups (three-seven years). Developmental trends similar to those previously established for the AAPS were observed for WWA scores.…

The article reviews and evaluates several published reports of both formal research and clinical experience on phonetic and other linguistic factors that promote correct production of an inconsistently articulated "error" sound in children's speech. (Author/SB)

The article describes the Clinical Articulation Profile, an easily administered imitation task that measures the ability of the preschool child with articulation disorders to say sounds in isolation, in syllables, and in words. Scores on the profile are sensitive to minimal changes in articulation ability. (Author/CL)

The screening version of the Photo Articulation Test elicited significantly more correct initial picture identifications than either the Fisher-Logemann Test of Articulation Competence or the Templin-Darley Test of Articulation. Significant relationships between diagnostic decision and clinical judgments were obtained for both normal and…