Investigating How Single-Word Probes Can Inform the SLP During Treatment of Speech Sound Disorder

Author

Delaney Mae MollFollow

Year of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Name

Speech-Language Pathology

Department or School/College

School of Speech, Language, Hearing, and Occupational Sciences

Committee Chair

Amy Glaspey, PhD

Commitee Members

Ginger Collins, Allison Wilson,

Keywords

Single-word, probe, speech sound disorder, treatment

Subject Categories

Speech Pathology and Audiology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate a time efficient and effective means for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to evaluate and measure progress during treatment of speech sound disorders (SSDs). An 85-word probe of single-word productions was analyzed in a case study across four pre-school children with moderate to severe SSD during treatment in two treatment blocks; a distributed block and an intensive block. The distributed block involved the participants participating in group therapy one day a week for two and a half hours. Five analyses were used to determine how multiple analyses from repeated measures of an 85-word probe inform speech sound development during treatment and included: Whole Word Accuracy (WWA), Total-Percent Consonants Correct (T-PCC), accuracy on sound classes (Sound Class-PCC), accuracy on extracted targets, and error types on a single-word probe changed over time with speech treatment. Overall, WWA, PCC, and accuracy on sound classes increased from the initial probe to the final probe. The accuracy on the extracted targets depended on the participant. For total number of errors, three of the four children demonstrated a decrease in errors from the first probe to the last probe. This study reflected that a single-word probe is a time-efficient and effective measure to analyze progress through treatment for SSD and that these analyses can capture accuracy on speech sounds, including a gross measure of whole words to a finer measure about errors a child is making before and during treatment.

Recommended Citation

Moll, Delaney Mae, "Investigating How Single-Word Probes Can Inform the SLP During Treatment of Speech Sound Disorder" (2025). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12455.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12455