Impact of speech-generating devices on the language development of a child with childhood apraxia of speech: a case study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of speech-generating devices (SGDs) on the communication and language development of a 2-year-old boy with severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Methods: An A-B design was used over a treatment period of 1 year, followed by three additional follow-up measurements, in order to evaluate the implementation of SGDs in the speech therapy of a 2;7-year-old boy with severe CAS. In total, 53 therapy sessions were videotaped and analyzed to better understand his communicative (operationalized as means of communication) and linguistic (operationalized as intelligibility and consistency of speech-productions, lexical and grammatical development) development. The trend-lines of baseline phase A and intervention phase B were compared and percentage of non-overlapping data points were calculated to verify the value of the intervention. Results: The use of SGDs led to an immediate increase in the communicative development of the child. An increase in all linguistic variables was observed, with a latency effect of eight to nine treatment sessions. Conclusions: The implementation of SGDs in speech therapy has the potential to be highly effective in regards to both communicative and linguistic competencies in young children with severe CAS.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a neurological speech sound disorder which results in significant deficits in speech production and lead to a higher risk for language, reading and spelling difficulties.

• Speech-generating devices (SGD), as one method of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), can effectively enhance the communicative and linguistic development of children with severe CAS.

• Augmentative and alternative communication
• childhood apraxia of speech
• developmental apraxia of speech
• effectiveness
• language development

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Kathrin Gremplewski, Janina Jurjahn and Suzan Ryschka for their collaboration in data coding, L and his family for participating in the study and Ute Ritterfeld and Rebecca Mostofi for commenting on earlier drafts of this article.

Declaration of interest

The author reports no declarations of interest.