By: Jill Vogt Eastern Illinois University Faculty Chairs: Rebecca Throneburg, PhD., CCC-SLP and Beth Bergstrom, M.S., CCC-SLP

 Auditory Discrimination/Image for /r/ ◦ Poor auditory discrimination skills between /r/, /w/, and /l/ (Aungst & Frick, 1964). ◦ Poor auditory image for how a correct /r/ should sound (Aungst & Frick, 1964; Shuster, 1998; Hoffman, Stager, & Daniloff, 1983).  Sub-Types of Errors ◦ Possible subtypes based on the nature of speech sound errors – Shriberg Type 1 or Type 2 (Shriberg, 1980). ◦ Clinical implications from Marshalla (2007) suggested some children misarticulate /r/ due to incorrect articulator placement of the tongue, lips, and/or jaw.  Foundational motor skills require stabilization/isolation.

 McNutt (1977) investigated oral-sensory motor skills of children who misarticulate /r/ compared to children with normal articulation. ◦ The investigator reported that children who misarticulated /r/ had:  fewer syllables produced per second on syllable repetition tasks revealing deficient oral alternate motion rates  sensory discrimination deficits that resulted in sensory motor difficulties  McNutt suggested that /r/ articulation disorders may not simply be a functional articulation disorder.

 1) Is there a difference in oral-motor skills and discrimination skills between children with typical articulation, children with /r/ errors who are stimulable for correct /r/, and children with /r/ errors who are not stimulable for /r/? 2) Is a difference in the number and type of other speech errors between children who are and are not stimulable for /r/ production?

Typical (T) N=9 R-Errors but Stimulable (RS) N=8 R-Errors- Nonstimulable (RNS) N=13 Significant Difference Age 9.51 yrs yrs yrs NS Past Speech Therapy None 4.75 yrs 1-6 yrs 3.08 yrs 1-7 yrs Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test NS Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation p<.001 T>RS & RNS R-Accuracy on World of R Word Level Screening All 100% 44% 3-100% 3% 0-7% p<.001 T>RS & RNS RS>RNS R-Accuracy in Conversational Speech All 100% 35% 0-76% 2% 0-7%

 Speech Sound Discrimination and Awareness for /r/ ◦ An informal discrimination task was administered to evaluate the participants ability to discriminate  /r/ presence in words  Word placement of /r/ (I,M,F)  Correctness of /r/ from recordings of investigator  Shriberg’s (1980) liquids, glides, vowel assessment ◦ (Type 1/Type 2 Errors)- Number and type of additional speech sound errors (Shriberg’s 1980 speech tasks)

 Structure and Function of the Oral Mechanism ◦ The Marshalla Oral Sensorimotor Test (MOST) was administered, along with informal supplementary tasks developed by the current investigator.  Tongue Tasks  Jaw Tasks  Lip Tasks  Oscillation Tasks

 A protocol for obtaining Maximum Performance Tasks developed by Thoonen et al. (1999) was administered to evaluate maximum duration tasks and rate of syllable repetition tasks.  Maximum Duration (ah, mama)  Maximum Fricative Duration (f,s,z)  Monosyllable Repetition Rate (papapapa, tatatata, kakaka)  Trisyllable Repetition Rate and Accuracy (pataka- at least 5 with accurate place) Accurate /pataka/ Inaccurate /pataka/

Children in the Stimulable Group produced 0-3 (M= 1.00) additional phonemes in error on the GFTA Children in the Nonstimulable Group produced 0- 7 (M= 1.67) additional phonemes in error on the GFTA

 The data supports previous research. ◦ Shriberg (1980) & Marshalla (2007) suggested some children with /r/ errors used exaggerated jaw movements and had trouble holding the jaw stable. ◦ McNutt (1977) & Marshalla (2007) suggested that children with /r/ articulation difficulties were different based on their oral-motor skills.  (Slower syllable repetition rate) ◦ Shriberg (1980) suggested children are either Type 1 or Type 2 based on type of speech sound errors.

 The data suggest ◦ Some children with /r/ errors have subtle oral-motor deficits (planning/accuracy ptk, stabilization, tongue movements) ◦ There may be subgroups of children with /r/ errors who have different patterns of strengths and weaknesses.  The main suggestion is that a thorough assessment should be administered to a child with /r/ difficulties. ◦ The assessor should be aware of those foundational skills (stabilization, isolation, and disassociation). ◦ The assessor should look for patterns of strengths and weaknesses for each individual /r/ client.  Also, make sure the assessor is aware of the child’s oral-motor skills.  For example does the child have difficulties with discrimination of /r/, planning control for articulators, tongue and jaw disassociation.  Further research on the impact of oral-motor skills on children’s abilities to produce a correct /r/ is needed.

 Aungst, L. F. & Frick, J. V. (1964). Auditory discrimination ability and consistency of articulation of /r/. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 29,  Dunn., L, & Dunn., D. (2007). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4). Minneapolis, MN: Pearson, Inc.  Goldman, R., & Fristoe, M. (2000). Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Second Edition (GFTA-2). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service, Inc.  Hoffman, P. R., Stager, S., & Daniloff, R. G. (1983). Perception and production of misarticulated /r/. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 48,  Marshalla, P. (2004). Oral-motor techniques in articulation & phonological therapy. Kirkland, WA: Marshalla Speech and Language.  Marshalla, P. (2007). Successful /r/ therapy. Kirkland, WA: Marshalla Speech and Language.  Marshalla, P. (2007). Marshalla Oral Sensorimotor Test. Greenville, SC: Super Duper Publications.

 McNutt, J. C. (1977). Oral sensory of motor behaviors of children with /s/ or /r/ misarticulations. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 20,  Ristuccia, C. (2006). The Entire World of R Advanced Screening. Tybee Island, GA: Say It Right.  Secord, W., & Shine, R. (1997). Secord Contextual Articulation Test (S-CAT) Storytelling Probes of Articulation Competence. Sedona, AZ: Red Rock Educational Publications.  Shriberg, L. D. (1980). An intervention procedure for children with persistent /r/ errors. Language Speech Hearing Services in Schools, 11,  Shuster, L. I. (1998). The perception of correctly and incorrectly produced /r/. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41,  Thoonen, G., Maassen, B., Gabreels, F., Schreuder, R. (1999). Validity of maximum performance tasks to diagnose motor speech disorders in children. Journal of Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 13, 1-23.