{"id":310,"date":"2013-08-06T16:56:24","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T22:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/?p=310"},"modified":"2013-08-14T16:38:45","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T22:38:45","slug":"a-systematic-approach-for-viewing-and-treating-apraxia-of-speech-part-six-a-plug-in-for-prosody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/?p=310","title":{"rendered":"A Systematic Approach for Viewing and Treating Apraxia of Speech: Part Six – A Plug-in for Prosody"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part Six: A Plug-in for Prosody<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

One of the biggest complaints about kiddos with apraxia is that they sound a little like a computer.\u00a0 Most therapists attribute the computer like voice to a prosody deficit.\u00a0 Prosody \u2013 simply defined is when we use stress, inflection, and varied length\/rate of speech while communicating.\u00a0 Most kids with apraxia have difficulty using prosody correctly in their speech.<\/p>\n

I believe this deficit in prosody can be somewhat explained.\u00a0 When a child has been taught and has memorized speech movements on a word basis \u2013 but hasn\u2019t learned how to transition from one word to another \u2013 they literally have to finish their word \u2013 start their mouth again in a neutral position and then begin the next word.\u00a0 These unnatural breaks between words makes the speech sound computerized.\u00a0 The speech movement is not fluid.\u00a0 We do not produce speech one word at a time the same way we write words.\u00a0 Our speech is always connected and we move from the sound at the end of one word into the beginning sound of the next word fluidly without any breaks.\u00a0 But, unless apraxic kids have been specifically taught these transitions they will struggle producing them fluidly.<\/p>\n

This makes it seem like we need to practice producing each word transitioned into every other possible word to achieve this \u2013 and again we can feel overwhelmed.\u00a0 But the truth is \u2013 we can achieve this fluidity by simply focusing on the Movement Pattern Generalization Theory.\u00a0 In this theory (as previously mentioned) you really only need to focus on practicing movement patterns (2 pure speech sounds with the movement in between).\u00a0 Now \u2013 typical speech therapy already targets many, many movement patterns.\u00a0 When working in a syllable, word, phrase basis.\u00a0 However, I think we often overlook one very important factor.\u00a0 This factor comes in when we begin working on consonant blends (consonant-consonant movement patterns).\u00a0 In most of my therapy life I have worked on consonant blends that only occur within a single word (ex. sk<\/span>ip, sl<\/span>ide, br<\/span>ead, bl<\/span>eed, gr<\/span>een, cats<\/span>, part<\/span>, just<\/span>, etc.).\u00a0 This usually consists of \/s\/, \/l\/, and \/r\/ blends (because those are usually the only consonants that combine with other consonants in the same word).\u00a0 But in connected speech made up of words, phrases, sentences, etc. we really have consonant-consonant combinations of all kinds.\u00a0 So why don\u2019t we ever practice those combinations?\u00a0 For example\u2026 the sentence \u201cI want more\u201d actually consists of the consonant-consonant blends \/nt\/ and \/tm\/.\u00a0 As a therapist- have you ever taught a \/tm\/ blend before???\u00a0 Well \u2013 usually with typical speech kiddos you don\u2019t have to.\u00a0 But with apraxic kids you must!!!\u00a0 You cannot forget about all consonant-consonant blends or movement patterns.<\/p>\n

So in conclusion – the best, and simplest way for a child to learn all things necessary to be a fluent speaker is to focus on movement patterns.\u00a0 A movement pattern consists of two pure speech sounds and the movement in between.\u00a0 And you must not forget about consonant-consonant movement patterns.\u00a0 ALL consonant-consonant movement patterns (not just those containing \/s\/, \/l\/, and \/r\/).\u00a0 These patterns are necessary in creating fluid and connected speech that sounds natural.\u00a0 It is only when a child is able to produce connected speech, without breaks between words, that they will be able to obtain the appropriate prosody in their speech.<\/p>\n

** For more information about my systematic approach for viewing and treating apraxia of speech remember to FOLLOW ME along my 7 post journey. \u00a0Please add your comments and suggestions so that we can conquer apraxia of speech together!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part Six: A Plug-in for Prosody One of the biggest complaints about kiddos with apraxia is that they sound a little like a computer.\u00a0 Most therapists attribute the computer like voice to a prosody deficit.\u00a0 Prosody \u2013 simply defined is when we use stress, inflection, and varied length\/rate of speech while communicating.\u00a0 Most kids with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[54,56,34],"class_list":["post-310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-apraxia-of-speech","tag-prosody","tag-speech-therapy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=310"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":340,"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions\/340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/speechchick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}