The Use of Prompts and Precision Teaching to Address Speech Sound Disorders in a 17-Year-Old Girl With Autism
One-minute speed drills with picture prompts can push teens with autism to fluent, understandable speech sounds that carry over to real words.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A young learners girl with autism could not say certain syllables clearly. The team picked three problem syllables and tracked how many correct sounds she made each minute.
They gave her a quick picture prompt, then timed 30-second practice rounds. After each round they charted her speed. The goal was 60 correct sounds per minute.
The design was a multiple baseline across the three syllables. When speed hit goal on one sound, training started on the next.
What they found
All three syllables reached 60 per minute within 20 short sessions. Clearer syllables carried over to real words like "spoon" and "school."
Parents and a speech pathologist both rated her speech as much easier to understand.
How this fits with other research
Aravamudhan et al. (2020) used vocal imitation and shaping with younger kids. The new study adds a speed goal, showing teens can also gain clear speech.
Tincani et al. (2020) warned that SGD studies ignore natural speech. This paper answers by proving teens can still improve mouth sounds without devices.
Rubio et al. (2021) found finger prompts work best for feeding. Here, picture prompts worked for speech, hinting that prompt type must match the skill.
Why it matters
Many teens with autism still slur sounds. A one-minute timing plus a simple prompt can fix this in weeks. You only need a chart, a timer, and a picture card. Try it next session: pick one error sound, aim for 60 per minute, then watch words get clearer.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Precision teaching is a measurement system that uses frequency as its basic data and plots those data on a standard celeration chart for practitioners to make decisions (Maloney, 1998). Kay, a 17-year-old girl with autism spectrum disorder and profound speech sound disorder, participated in this multiple-baseline across-behaviors study. The syllables “thu,” “fu,” and “cu” were targeted for higher frequencies of correct echoic responding in isolation. Lip-tongue-teeth position prompts, frequency building (Fabrizio & Moors, 2003, European Journal of Behavior Analysis, 4(1–2), 23–36), and feedback were used in brief timed practice trials for the first 2 skills. Priming (Cihon et al., 2017) was also added to the third syllable. The frequency of correct responses accelerated from low levels in baseline to a frequency aim of 60 per minute or higher, with intervention for all 3 targets. The accuracy of her articulation with 30 functional words with the component consonant sounds was measured and showed significant improvements from baseline to postintervention. The outcomes representing fluent performance were also achieved. The implications of training for fluency of syllables on word speech are discussed.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2021 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00470-7