Sound Connections Speech and Language Therapy

01/06/2025

Looking forward to kicking off 2025 with my beloved Speech Links to Literacy group! If you’re local, please join me on Friday mornings as we take library story time to the next level by linking speech sound development and early literacy skills. This FREE program is for preschoolers and their siblings. Registration is required and limited. Sign up at www.dcls.org. 🥰

12/08/2024

More fun in Seattle!

12/08/2024

ASHA 2024 was AMAZING! I had the honor of presenting my Speech Links to Literacy collaborative coaching model for SSDs in a poster session and I met some of the most brilliant researchers and SLP influencers who so freely share their expertise on social media. My heart is full! 💕

09/12/2024

Local friends! I’m offering a free library program for 4 and 5 year olds that focuses on speech sound development and pre-literacy skills. Our first class starts tomorrow and you can register at the link below! 😊

Is your child headed to kindergarten in Fall 2025? If so, come check out Speech Links to Literacy! Heidi Haas MS, CCC-SLP/L, a speech-language pathologist and Assistant Teaching...

02/21/2024

At Penn State Harrisburg, we’ve been studying several different phonological theories and how they’ve formed the basis for many phonological therapy approaches we, as speech pathologists, use today. It’s been interesting to see how theoretical considerations, such as distinctive features, implicational universals, and sonority theory have evolved into sound, evidenced-based approaches to treating phonological disorders. In the coming weeks, we’ll take a deep dive into each of these approaches to treatment. Stay tuned as we look at each theory and learn how it influences target selection for effective and efficient therapy sessions.

01/25/2024

When using PROMPT in CAS therapy, the speech-language pathologist uses specific hand (or touch) cues to help the client transition between the movement gestures needed for speech. This tactile/kinesthetic/proprioceptive input is applied to specific muscles of the face or jaw. Each phoneme has a touch or pressure point associated with it. There are guidelines regarding the amount of pressure, direction of movement, and finger positioning for each sound. Obviously it takes a lot of practice on the SLP’s part to become fluid in the cueing, but I have found these types of tactile cues to be very helpful for my young clients who struggle with visual attention to my face, lips, or mouth using DTTC.

01/16/2024

One of the things I found most useful in the PROMPT training was how to work on jaw stability and motor planning using specific sound movement gestures. The course guides you with selecting speech sounds to address specific goals such as mandibular, labial/facial, and lingual control. You’ll start with parameter PROMPTS, which provide the least amount of support and move to surface or complex PROMPTS, if more tactile input is necessary for the client to be successful in speech production.

01/14/2024

If you decide to use PROMPT with your client, you’ll first want to complete a System Analysis Observation (SAO). This is a non-standardized measure that helps you analyze motor subsystems during speech production.
1. Video record the client engaging in conversation (if possible) or using rote productions, like counting or reciting the alphabet.
2. Check “yes” or “no” if the client’s functioning is within the expected range for the following subsystems:
⭐️ Skeletal Structure-symmetry;dental occlusion
⭐️ Tone
⭐️ Phonation and Breath Support
⭐️ Mandibular Control/ROM
⭐️ Labial ROM
⭐️ Lingual ROM
⭐️ Integration and Timing of Sequenced Movements across all planes
⭐️ Prosody

Once the SAO is complete, the clinician determines the starting point for PROMPT therapy by completing the Motor Speech Hierarchy (MSH). Assessment scores are recorded on the hierarchy. The subsystem which needs the most stability, or remediation, is identified and addressed first. Treatment goals are developed around this subsystem to develop better control (usually mandibular, labial, or lingual control).

01/04/2024

In December, I took the 3-day Introduction to PROMPT training. There are 4 steps to becoming a certified clinician and at the conclusion of the first course, you become PROMPT trained. The next few posts will highlight some of the things which are discussed in the first course. It was interesting to learn more about this method of cueing for CAS and I can definitely see myself using some of the techniques in my clinical practice.

12/10/2023

A question that many SLPs get is: “How long will it take to see improvements in my child’s speech?” Often, there’s no simple answer since there are MANY variables involved! Many relate to the child, themselves (e.g., how severe is the disorder, how resilient is the child to corrections and cueing, how much practice is there outside of the therapy room). However, one variable we, as SLPs, CAN control relates to how closely we follow the dosage, intensity, and duration of a specific treatment approach for phonological disorders. There’s a great paper written by A. Lynn Williams (2012) that talks about intensity and treatment variables using multiple oppositions and minimal pairs. A summary of the intensity data revealed:
🌟We need to aim for a dosage of at least 50 trials per session.
🌟If the disorder is severe, the suggested dosage is at least 70 trials per session.
🌟We need at least 30 sessions (which are 30 minutes in length) to be effective. Optimally 2 sessions per week yield the fastest gains.
🌟 If the disorder is more severe, it may take more than 40 sessions to see improvement.
🌟Interspersing focused practice and naturalistic play at a 2:1 ratio is important throughout intervention. Practice during play helps bridge the gap to generalization.

Treatment fidelity matters in our practice!

Source: A. Lynn Williams (2012). Intensity in phonological intervention: Is there a prescribed amount? International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 14:5, 456-461.

11/28/2023

Always a good reminder when providing therapy! Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the integration of
🌟Clinical Expertise/Expert Opinion: The knowledge, judgment, and critical reasoning, acquired through your training and professional experiences.
🌟Evidence (external and internal): The best available information gathered from the scientific literature (external evidence) and from data and observations collected on your individual client (internal evidence)
🌟Client/patient/caregiver perspectives: The unique set of personal and cultural circumstances, values, priorities, and expectations identified by your client and their caregivers.

When all three components of EBP are considered together, clinicians can make informed, evidence-based decisions and provide high-quality services, reflecting the interests, values, needs, and choices of individuals with communication disorders.

Source: https://www.asha.org/research/ebp/

11/16/2023

It’s important to consider principles of motor learning in our therapy for articulation disorders. We want our students to improve their ‘muscle memory’ for place and manner accurate place and manner features of the speech sound error. To do this, try analyzing your conditions of practice and conditions of feedback. The session will be structured differently if a student is just beginning therapy versus a child who is working on generalization outside of the therapy room. To learn more about principles of motor learning, check out
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18663111/