I first heard about Speech Buddies at the 2010 ASHA convention. I thought it sounded like such a great idea, but could they really work??? Well, after using Speech Buddies for several weeks, I believe they really do work! I used the /r/ Speech Buddy with a 7 year old client who was not stimulable for /r/ before using speech buddies. His baseline data was 0% for /r/ in all positions. We used the /r/ probe throughout the first one hour session. One week later, the client achieved 60% accuracy for producing /r/ in all positions of syllables while using the /r/ Speech Buddy probe. Some increase is expected in the early weeks of therapy. However, a 0% to 60% increase is greater than I would normally expect to see.
How do Speech Buddies work? There is a probe for each sound. I used the /r/ probe which is pictured on the bottom left. You place the probe in the child's mouth and instruct them to unroll the coil while saying /r/. We practiced saying /r/ in syllables at first (ie. re, ray, rye, eerie, ear). After achieving success with /r/ in syllables, we tried to move to /r/ in words. It was difficult for the client to produce the entire word with the probe in his mouth. Instead, we started with /r/ syllables using the probe, moved to /r/ syllables without the probe, and then moved to /r/ in words. The probe offered enough tactile support to get us started and assisted with generalization of the "good /r/" into words. I have struggled for years to offer this type of support to students struggling with /r/ production.
Talk it up!
Ashley
Thanks for posting this. I've heard of Speech Buddies but was unsure if it was something I should invest in. I really want the /r/ Buddy now!
ReplyDeleteNicole at allisonspeechpeeps.blogspot.com
Hey, I've have nominated you for the Liebster Award! If you haven't already gotten / done this, check out my blog for all the details!
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Erin
HI! I am your newest follower! I love seeing other blogs that help students with special needs! :)
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-Holly Phinney
My school corporation just purchased a set for me. They should be arriving any day now!! How do you clean yours? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi! I am a Speech Pathology student from the Philippines. I want to purchase one, I would not be able to because upon conversion into Philippine pesos, the set + probable shipping fees may cost 13000 pesos, and we cannot afford it as of this time. Can anyone be kind enough to my sponsor?
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