Date of Award

Spring 2018

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Communication Sciences and Disorders

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Donald A Robin

Second Advisor

Amy S Plante

Third Advisor

Jill C Thorson

Abstract

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder characterized by distorted phonemes, segmentation (increased segment and intersegment durations), and impaired production of lexical stress. This study investigated the efficacy of Treatment for Establishing Motor Program Organization (TEMPO) in nine participants (ages 5 to 8) using a delayed treatment group design. Children received four weeks of intervention for four days each week. Experimental probes were administered at baseline and post-treatment—both immediately and one month after treatment—for treated and untreated stimuli. Significant improvements in specific acoustic measures of segmentation and lexical stress were demonstrated following treatment for both the immediate and delayed treatment groups. Treatment effects for all variables were maintained at one-month post-treatment. These results support the demonstrated efficacy of TEMPO in improving the speech of children with CAS.

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