Speech Intelligibility Treatment (SIT)

This approach focuses on the improvement of speech intelligibility.

Who It's For:

Therapy program for school-aged children with dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy (CP).

How It's Practiced:

SLP will use verbal cues: Speak with “big mouth and strong voice” to encourage hyperarticulation and increased vocal intensity

First week The child will learn the behaviors and start at word level. There will be blocked practice of 7 phrases chosen by parents to be functional and important for the child. You will provide frequent feedback .

Second week There will be more trials, focusing on sentence level activities. Trials include shorter more frequent practice of chosen phrases. SLP will provide less frequent feedback and encourage self-monitoring in child.

Third week This phase focuses on conversation and communication with unfamiiliar listeners. Sessions include random practice of chosen phrases. SLP provides only a few cues and ask child how they think they sound.

Download Speech Intelligibilty Handout here

Duration:

Duration: 6.5 hours for 5 days for 3 weeks intensive; research is not yet out to show how effective the treatment will be in a more standard clinical setting

Resources:

Levy, E. S., Chang, Y. M., Hwang, K. H., & McAuliffe, M. J. (2021). Perceptual and acoustic effects of dual-focus speech treatment in children with dysarthria. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(6S), 2301–2316. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00301

Levy, E. S. (2021, January 12). Say it strong—and say it again . The ASHA LeaderLive. Retrieved January 28, 2023, from https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/leader.FTR2.26012021.54/full/