Orthographically sensitive treatment for dysprosody in children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech using ReST intervention

Abstract

Objective: Impaired prosody is a core diagnostic feature of Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) but there is limited evidence of effective prosodic intervention. This study reports the efficacy of the ReST intervention used in conjunction with bisyllabic pseudo word stimuli containing orthographic cues that are strongly associated with either strong-weak or weak-strong patterns of lexical stress. Methods: Using a single case AB design with one follow-up and replication, four children with CAS received treatment of four one-hour sessions per week for three weeks. Sessions contained 100 randomized trials of pseudo word treatment stimuli. Baseline measures were taken of treated and untreated behaviors; retention was measured at one day and four weeks post-treatment. Results: Children’s production of lexical stress improved from pre to post-treatment. Treatment effects and maintenance varied among participants. Conclusions: This study provides support for the treatment of prosodic deficits in CAS.

• Childhood apraxia of speech
• lexical stress
• orthography
• prosody
• dyspraxia
• intervention

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Tal Schwarzmann, Katrina Wu, Henna Chaudhry, and Nicole Willcox for assistance with data collection and the four children and their families.