Speech therapy can help people in school, maintain healthy relationships, work in the workforce, and live independently. Unfortunately, however, insurance does not often cover speech-language disorders.
Even more worryingly, speech-language pathologists’ terminology can become medicalized and reinforce an overly medical framework. This article investigates its potential ramifications.
Frequency
Parents often ask: “How long will my child require speech therapy?” While there is no clear-cut answer, research indicates that frequency, intensity, and duration all play a factor.
As an illustration, let us use an articulation disorder as an example. A typical goal for an articulation disorder is reducing the number of sounds produced with errors; to accomplish this goal, an average duration of treatment for such disorders typically lasts 15-20 hours (Jacoby et al, 2002).
Average intensity for this disorder: 75 speech sound production trials per session. Frequency: Two times weekly (30 minute sessions). Treatment duration for this type of disorder usually lasts six months.
NSSLHA, or the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, is an official student chapter of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Members of NSSLHA include pre-professional students enrolled in accredited communication sciences and disorders programs that are overseen by either a licensed ASHA professional speech-language pathologist (SLP) or ASHA certified clinical fellow.
Duration
Research suggests that, on average, children requiring articulation therapy require two 30 minute sessions every week at two times weekly frequency for four to five months of therapy sessions. Treatment duration will depend upon how many sound errors need to be corrected within their disorder; those suffering from an articulation disorder require more intense treatments than those suffering from apraxia of speech.
ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language and hearing scientists. ASHA conducts public information activities including professional/consumer brochures/pamphlets, journals and online publications designed for professionals/consumers as well as an annual conference, certifications for professionals/students as well as advocating on behalf of individuals with communication disorders.
Intensity
Children suffering from speech sound disorders require intensive therapy sessions in order to obtain successful results, with numerous studies showing that higher treatment intensities (i.e. more repetitions of target sounds) lead to superior results compared with lower intensities. Determining optimal therapy intensity requires careful consideration of client arousal level, prognosis, ability to tolerate sessions as well as type of treatment (drill-and-practice vs activity-based).
Children suffering from articulation and phonological disorders will typically require two 30-minute treatments each week over a four to five month period; homework practice between these sessions would contribute to this duration. Treatment timeframe will depend upon their underlying articulation/phonological processing deficits.
Intensity refers to the amount of practice a child receives each session and month. A recent systematic review of literature revealed that intensity had more of an impactful result for children with CAS when therapy was delivered more frequently, rather than through activities-based or drill-and-practice approaches.
Although intensity of treatment plans has been widely researched for non-speech tasks, few studies have explored its influence on speech disorder treatment. One such research paper showed that children treated for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) at lower intensities (2x/week) experienced worse outcomes than those treated at higher intensities (1x/week), though differences weren’t statistically significant.
Studies suggest that more is better, yet individual decisions on frequency and intensity are essential to successful treatment outcomes. Therefore, it’s recommended that therapists use current research findings as guidelines for their clinical practice and document these parameters within their therapy plans so that families are aware of evidence supporting an approach before making informed choices regarding their child’s care.
Individualization
Communication is at the core of human interactions, serving as the cornerstone for expression, conveying needs, and developing relationships. Unfortunately, some individuals struggle with communicating due to developmental disorders or neurological conditions that impede speech development; when this happens, speech therapy offers effective solutions that promote normal speech development while offering remedies for specific issues like stuttering, speech sound errors or apraxia.
Individualized speech therapy entails creating a highly tailored treatment plan to address each child’s individual needs and challenges, encouraging greater engagement between therapist and child and leading to superior results over group therapies. Furthermore, this form of speech therapy may also be more flexible as it can adapt to accommodate a busy child’s schedule more easily.
Individualized speech therapy offers clear benefits, yet further research must be conducted on its long-term effects. Speech-language pathologists may use the results of this research study as guidance in making service delivery decisions.
As with police academy students, speech-language pathologists need to take an individualised approach when approaching their practice and following these guidelines so as to maximize outcomes and better serve children in their care.
Speech-language pathologists can tailor treatment sessions to each child by including their interests into sessions, which increases motivation and participation. Furthermore, they may incorporate various therapeutic modalities – visual supports and technology-assisted communication devices are examples – into therapy plans; furthermore data-driven decision making may also help generalization of skills outside the clinic. By taking an individualized approach to their own practice, speech-language pathologists can make even greater impacts in children’s lives they serve.
