Electropalatographic therapy for children and young people with Down's syndrome

Abstract

Articulation disorders in Down's syndrome (DS) are prevalent and often intractable. Individuals with DS generally prefer visual to auditory methods of learning and may therefore find it beneficial to be given a visual model during speech intervention, such as that provided by electropalatography (EPG). In this study, participants with Down's syndrome, aged 10:1 to 18:9, received 24 individualized therapy sessions using EPG. Simultaneous acoustic and EPG recordings were made pre- and post-intervention during 10 repetitions of a word list containing lingua-palatal consonants. Participants also completed the DEAP phonology sub-test at both time points. Post-treatment, all participants showed qualitative and quantifiable differences in EPG patterns and improvements in DEAP percentage consonants correct. EPG assessment and therapy appears a positive approach for identifying and improving articulatory patterns in children with DS.

Keywords:

• Down's syndrome
• electropalatography
• intervention

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council (G0401388). Thanks are extended to Ann Robertson and Annabel Allen for their help with the standardized assessments; to Down's Syndrome Scotland for their help in recruiting participants; and to the children and young people and their parents for their goodwill, patience and contributions to the study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.