Phases Of Speech Therapy For

Articulation Disorders
Acquisition training of speech
Generalization of speech
Maintenance of speech
Acquisition training of speech

• Acquisition___ the process of getting something.

• Speech acquisition____ Focuses on the development of spoken
language by a child. Speech consists of an organized set of sounds or
phonemes that are used to convey meaning.
• Acquisition stage is the stage of sound establishment___ eliciting target
behaviors and stabilizing production on a voluntary level.
• Four commonly used APPROACHES to elicit a sound:
• Auditory stimulation / imitation
• Use of facilitating context
• Phonetic placement
• Sound approximation
Auditory stimulation or
imitation
• It is the easiest and a quick way. The
clinician provide several example of
the targeted sounds and asked the client
to repeat it.
• Instruction: watch me and exactly do
as I do
• The therapist might produce sound in
isolation or in syllable, loud or soft,
long or short.
• Like /f/ /fa/ /fi/ /fu/
Use of facilitating
context
• Often the client will be able to produce
a target sound in some context but not
in other context. But unable to produce
in isolation.
• E.G. The child is unable to produce /g/
sound in isolation but the child can
produce /g/ sound in word finger. It is
because the velar nasal /ng/ stop sound
facilitated the production of /g/ sound
to take advantage of the client first say
fin---ger separating the word between
fin and ger then reduced to /g/ only.
Phonetic
placement
• The therapist teaches the client how
to position articulator for correct
production of speech sounds (manner,
place and voicing).
• May use mirror, diagram, tongue
depressor, or client’s own hands. The
therapist may use his own hands to
manipulate the client’s articulator.
Sound
approximation
• The therapists encourages the client to
produce the sounds that are closer to
the target sounds and gradually bring
the production of sound.
• The therapist join the client in
uttering the wrong sound in unison
and in between therapist must utter
the correct sound. E.G. Target
sound /k/ and error sound /a/
• Client: a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a
• Therapist: a, a, a, a, a, k, k, k, k, k
Generalization of speech

• Generalization is also known as carryover. It is when you can apply something

learned in a specific situation to other situations.
• It is the ability to use new sounds in conversation outside the therapy sessions.
• According to Helen generalization—facilitating carry-over of sound
productions at increasingly challenging levels (e.g., Syllables, words,
phrases/sentences, conversational speaking).
• Kirby and Bickel (1988) proposed that an accurate analysis of stimulus control
is essential for the purpose generalization training. They interpreted lack of
generalization as a stimulus control problem.
Phases and importance of generalization

• generalization of speech sounds has 3 phases.

1. First of all, your child needs to be able to use the sound in sentences in a structured
situation.
2. When the child can do the first phase really well then ask them to make up their own
sentences instead.
3. The final stage is where you transfer it to conversation. At this stage you just having a
conversation with your child.
• Importance of generalization
• Generalization and therapeutic change that is development or facilitation of skills learned
in therapy, is marked by progress toward therapy goals.
• However, change is not only important within the clinic setting. We really want to see this
same change, and progress, outside of the clinic setting whether it is at home with family,
in school with the teacher, at the park with friends, or the workplace with colleagues.
• How can I support generalization?
• By practicing the same strategies the therapists use both in the clinic and at home.
• In this way, you are supporting the therapist’s work in the session and your
therapist will also support you and become your resource for home strategies.
• You and the therapist can discuss the strategies- how well they work outside the
clinic setting and revise or improve upon them to provide the best support at home.
• Steps
• Conversation with one therapist and others
• Conversation in one setting to other settings
• Conversation with one’s family members and friends
• Conversation with the public
Maintenance of speech

• Maintenance—stabilizing target behaviors and making production more

automatic; encouraging self-monitoring of speech and self-correction of
errors.
• Steps
• It refers to the retention of the newly learned skills after the course of
therapy completion and for periodic checkups the therapist call the client
once a week for a month, then once a month for few months and then once
every three months and then every six months and so on
• It is not necessary to use all steps with all clients, skip steps if necessary
• To move from one level to another, there are some criteria of “mastery”
• Most clinicians use 80 to 90% correct for all levels except spontaneous speech.
• Researchers suggest that once accuracy reaches at least 50% in spontaneous
speech, progress should continue to mastery without much additional help.
• For young children it is important to use reinforcements in order to keep them
motivated.
• Do not use difficult words with young children.
• Do not use “can you tell mwwe” rather “say it “or “lets it say”
• Try to avoid error sound initially in order not to confuse child i.e. If child is
replacing p/f