Speech therapy is an invaluable form of assistance to many conditions and challenges, making collaborating with an SLP to determine an individualized plan of therapy sessions essential.
Children with CAS who receive effective speech therapy can make incredible advances in intelligibility and communication abilities, and progress is keyed by consistent practice outside of regular sessions. The key lies in consistently adhering to therapy sessions as well as doing daily practice at home outside.
What is Frequency?
Consistency is key when learning a new skill; the more often someone practices, the faster they’ll reach their goals. This applies across disciplines: cooking, playing violin and even speaking! With speech therapy sessions becoming more frequent and increasing repetition and input provided to patients more rapidly can assist in meeting communication goals faster and ultimately allow for faster graduation from speech therapy services.
Clinical recommendations for frequency of therapy depend on an evaluation conducted by an SLP (speech-language pathologist). At this appointment, tests and assessments will be performed that focus on areas of concern related to speech or language impairment such as articulation disorders, fluency disorders (including stuttering), phonological issues (like lisps or apraxia of speech) or resonance/voice disorders such as anusitis or cleft palate.
As part of their evaluation, SLPs may recommend that patients attend speech therapy several times each week for 30 to 45 minute sessions either online or face-to-face.
Most patients will have one-on-one sessions with their Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), though groups may form when multiple people require speech therapy at once. SLPs work in various settings such as schools, hospitals and private practice as well as home healthcare – even traveling directly to meet patients in their homes or nursing facilities.
SLPs often work collaboratively with other health care professionals, including audiologists, physicians, dentists, dentists, nurses, occupational therapists and rehabilitation psychologists. SLPs may also collaborate with caregivers of their patient to teach strategies and exercises they can do at home to further support therapy progress.
SLPs offer expertise beyond speech and language therapy; they may also assist patients in managing swallowing disorders (dysphagia) and gender-affirming voice therapy services to help improve communication within social, professional, and personal contexts. All services aim to empower their clients more fully while building confidence for social interaction in all areas of life.
What is Duration?
If you or a loved one is currently experiencing speech therapy difficulties, they may be wondering how long the process will last. Unfortunately there is no definitive answer as many factors determine when and how often someone needs speech therapy; however research indicates that frequency and duration can have a major impact on outcomes.
Regular therapy sessions can help people advance in their speech and language abilities with each session, and practicing at home helps maximize therapy’s effects and accelerate progress faster.
Duration of speech therapy depends upon both the nature and severity of an individual’s speech disorder as well as their commitment to treatment. Individuals suffering from articulation disorders like stuttering or apraxia of speech typically need longer treatments than children who present with phonological issues as these issues take more time to resolve.
Other elements which can impact speech therapy duration include an individual’s arousal level, prognosis and ability to tolerate therapy sessions. People who have experienced trauma to the brain (TBI) may benefit from shorter therapy durations compared to those who haven’t undergone such an event.
Attending therapy regularly can result in noticeable results within weeks or months of regular attendance, providing momentum is maintained by scheduling at least weekly therapy sessions and practicing between visits at home.
Like any new skill, such as cooking or playing the violin, speech and language development requires practice over time. If you only practice once every week (batting or throwing), improvement could take much longer.
As is the case with all learning disorders, Apraxia of Speech requires training the brain to respond more quickly to motor learning techniques – such as repeated speech sound production trials – which is why regular therapy appointments for children with CAS is strongly advised as this may result in faster and more significant improvements, ultimately shortening treatment duration timeframes.
What is the Impact of Frequency and Duration on Therapy?
The length of time that an individual spends in speech therapy depends on their type and severity of a speech challenge, for instance articulation disorders (difficulties pronouncing certain sounds) can typically take less time to treat than stutters or language disorders. Furthermore, attendance to sessions regularly and practice at home are all considerations that influence its length of duration.
An evaluation by an experienced speech-language pathologist is the best way to determine frequency and duration of therapy sessions. An evaluation establishes a benchmark, and allows an SLP to create a tailored treatment plan with goals and objectives tailored to an individual’s communication needs, age and severity of speech or language challenges.
As a rule, individuals who attend speech therapy sessions regularly and practice exercises at home tend to make quicker progress toward their goals. This is due to regular practice helping the brain learn and retain new language and speech abilities more rapidly.
As well as speeding up progress, incorporating motor learning principles in therapy significantly accelerates progress. One analogy would be practicing baseball: if you only practice once every week for long hours at once, chances are slim you will make the varsity team. By contrast, practicing multiple days each week for shorter amounts of time you are far more likely to improve both hitting and throwing skills and make your way onto a better team.
As a general guideline, individuals are advised to attend weekly speech therapy sessions; as their condition eases off they may be able to decrease the frequency. Unfortunately, however, those living with speech or language disorders typically need long-term therapy and maintenance in order to reach their communication goals; since speech or language disorders may become chronic conditions throughout life. Being aware of this when seeking therapy services for your child or family member will allow you to prepare them and advocate for all necessary services that allow them to reach their maximum potential.
What is the Impact of Duration and Frequency on Therapy?
Speech therapy not only improves communication and speech, but it can also assist with swallowing, hearing, social interactions, executive functioning (such as memory and problem-solving), as well as oral/feeding/swallowing disorders. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) utilize various assessment and treatment techniques for people of all ages; some involve more hands-on treatments like verbal practice exercises, repetitions or articulation/pronunciation modification.
Conditions that interfere with communication and speech include cleft palate or tongue, Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. When treating children speech-language pathologists can correct developmental delays that interfere with reading, writing and speech development.
A child diagnosed with autism may require regular therapy sessions over time to foster trust and build rapport, while adults living with aphasia, which often occurs after stroke, may require more intensive therapies compared to less-intensive ones.
Speech-language pathologists can collaborate with you to select an optimal treatment schedule. They will review your health history as well as consider your current needs and goals when designing their plan of care. They may also conduct various tests that assess hearing, speech, language abilities as well as articulation/pronunciation skills.
Speech-language pathologists provide more than therapy services: they also teach strategies and techniques for more effectively communicating with family, friends, and coworkers. Furthermore, they can coach you on how to deal with challenges associated with having a communication disorder, such as how to avoid tease or embarrassment from others.
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can be found in hospitals, private clinics, schools, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities and home healthcare settings. Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance may cover speech therapy; your healthcare provider can recommend an SLP near you. Sometimes they work alongside audiologists, physicians, nurses, dietitians occupational therapists and psychologists – often working collaboratively together on treating complex conditions that require multiple medical or rehabilitative therapies at once.
