A 36-year-old female with severe spastic dysarthria participated in this study. She received 4 weeks of individual, intensive voice-focused treatment. Voice recordings were conducted at three baseline points, immediately posttreatment, and at a 4-month follow-up. The primary outcome variables were selected acoustic measures of vocal function:…

Clinical Question: In speech intervention via telepractice for preschool and school-age children with speech sound disorders (SSD), is treatment intensity similar to or different from that of traditional in-person therapy for optimal treatment results? Method: Systematic Review. Study Sources: PubMed, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC),…

Purpose: Automatic speech analysis (ASA) and automatic speech recognition systems are increasingly being used in the treatment of speech sound disorders (SSDs). When utilized as a home practice tool or in the absence of the clinician, the ASA system has the potential to facilitate treatment gains. However, the feedback accuracy of such systems…

Purpose: Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a multivariate motor speech disorder that requires a motor-based intervention approach. There is limited treatment research on young children with CAS, reflecting a critical gap in the literature given that features of CAS are often in full expression early in development. Dynamic Temporal and Tactile…

Background: The articulatory accuracy of patients with dysarthria is one of the most affected speech dimensions with a high impact on speech intelligibility. Behavioural treatments of articulation can either involve direct or indirect approaches. The latter have been thoroughly investigated and are generally appreciated for their almost immediate…

Background: The speech intelligibility of children with dysarthria and cerebral palsy has been observed to increase following therapy focusing on respiration and phonation. Aims: To determine if speech intelligibility change following intervention is associated with change in acoustic measures of voice. Methods & Procedures: We recorded 16…

Background: Across the world, research has shown that intervention for children with phonological impairment can be both effective and efficient. However, it has also raised concerns about the translation of this evidence to practice, highlighting questions around clinician knowledge and the understanding of approaches, and the intensity of…

Background: Posterior nasal fricatives are a learned compensatory articulation error and commonly substituted for oral fricatives. Treatment of such articulation errors requires the modification or teaching of skilled movements. A motor-based approach is designed to teach the complex motor skill movement sequences required in the production of…

Background: Intensive treatment has been repeatedly recommended for the treatment of speech deficits in childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). However, differences in treatment outcomes as a function of treatment intensity have not been systematically studied in this population. Aim: To investigate the effects of treatment intensity on outcome…

Children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy (CP) present with decreased vowel space area and reduced word intelligibility. Although a robust relationship exists between vowel space and word intelligibility, little is known about the intelligibility of vowels in this population. This exploratory study investigated the intelligibility of American…

Background:The "Living with Dysarthria" group programme, devised for people with post-stroke dysarthia and family members, was piloted twice. Feedback from those who experience an intervention contributes to the evaluation of speech and language therapy programmes, giving the participant view of the intervention's value and guiding…

Background: The effectiveness of two treatment approaches (phonological therapy and articulation therapy) for treatment of 14 children, aged 4;0-6;7 years, with phonologically based speech-sound disorder (SSD) has been previously analysed with severity outcome measures (percentage of consonants correct score, percentage occurrence of phonological…

Background: The broad life implications of acquired dysarthria are recognized, but they have received little attention in stroke management. Reports of group therapy, which may be a suitable approach to intervention, are not available for stroke-related dysarthria. Aims: To examine the operational feasibility of and response to a new eight-session…

Background: Hypernasality is a common feature of non-progressive dysarthria. However, limited research has investigated the effectiveness of treatments for this impairment. Preliminary research has revealed positive effects on nasalance when using increased loudness in certain non-progressive dysarthric speakers. However, the long-term effects of…

Purpose: To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a newly developed assistive technology system, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Companion (LSVT[R] Companion[TM], hereafter referred to as "Companion"), to support the delivery of LSVT[R]LOUD, an efficacious speech intervention for individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). Method: Sixteen…