Pascoe, Stackhouse, and Wells (2006) define persisting speech difficulties (PSD) as “… difficulties in the normal development of speech that do not resolve as the child matures or even after they receive specific help for these problems (p. 2).” Lohman, Fucci, and Marinellie (2001), indicated that in traditional articulation therapy, children are given verbal instruction to improve sound production by altering lingual positioning in the oral cavity; however, some children may not conceptually understand verbal instruction alone and may require additional types of feedback (Ruscello, 1995). This additional feedback could be visual, because visual feedback may facilitate correct placement, thereby aiding correct speech production. One form of visual bio-feedback is electropalatography (EPG) is a computerized bio-feedback system that tracks and visually displays tongue-to-palate contact by use of a pseudo-palate. This investigation sought to determine the effectiveness of traditional phonetic placement articulation therapy as compared to electropalatography for increasing correct production of target phonemes in school age children with a persistent speech sound disorder. The investigation was an experimental single-subject mixed method A-B-A-B and B-A-B-A design, with six participants. The outcomes revealed improvement in percentage of accuracy for all participants, indicating that electropalatography had a positive effect on treating phoneme errors.
Keywords: electropalatography, articulation, articulation disorder, speech disorder, persistent speech disorder, smart palate
