Effects of integral stimulation therapy on speech - Portland State ...

Word Shapes
Simple word shapes such as C + V, V+C, and CVC were less challenging for CP
than CVCV, CVCVC, and CCVC word shapes. Again, increases in complexity <strong>of</strong> the
words (both in number <strong>of</strong> speech sounds and the articulatory movements required
between sounds) had a clear impact on CP’s number <strong>of</strong> speech errors, resulting in a
greater frequency <strong>of</strong> errors.
Language
CP’s receptive and expressive communication abilities were assessed through
informal and formal measures <strong>of</strong> analysis, including spontaneous language sampling <strong>of</strong>
100 words and the Preschool Language Scale-4 ([PLS-4], Zimmerman, et al., 2002). Due
to CP’s severe unintelligibility it was difficult to determine CP’s full expressive language
capabilities. Results from the PLS-4 indicated that CP’s expressive language skills placed
him in the 4 th percentile for his age group (Table 2). There was a significant discrepancy
between CP’s expressive and receptive language skills (which were in the 61 st
percentile). CP’s Mean Length <strong>of</strong> Utterances was 1.3 which indicated that despite his
understanding <strong>of</strong> utterances containing many words, he did not <strong>of</strong>ten combine words
during conversational exchanges. This clinician had observed CP using multiword
utterances with family members more <strong>of</strong>ten than he did with less familiar conversational
partners. CP’s score <strong>of</strong> 45% on a type token ratio taken from his spontaneous language
sample indicated that he had the lexical diversity consistent with his age matched norms.
CP demonstrated the correct use <strong>of</strong> nouns, verbs, pronouns/reflexive pronouns, and
modifiers to describe and discuss objects and events around him.
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