This is the unspecified version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. (Crawford 1995;Parsloe 1998), however there are no similar studies for cochlear implant users. The purpose of this single case study is to explore the technique of EPG as a therapeutic intervention to treat voiceless velar stop consonant sound production in a deaf child cochlear implant user. EPG therapy was offered as a last resort when traditional therapy failed to achieve specific changes. Permanent repository linkDuring therapy, a list of familiar words was practised, using the visual feedback provided by EPG. The client's articulation was assessed using objective (EPG printouts) and subjective (listener ratings) measures at four assessment points. Changes were found to be statistically significant. Generalisation of the newly-acquired skills to untaught words containing voiceless velars was also observed. The results are discussed in the broader context of implications of this type of therapy with deaf clients.

This single case study explored the use of EPG as a therapeutic tool for treating inaccurate articulation of the voiceless alveolar plosive /t/. The participant (M) is an 18-year-old deaf adult who consistently uses hearing aids, and who communicates using a combination of English, Sign Supported English and British Sign Language (BSL). M received traditional phonological therapy targeting his production of /t/ prior to EPG therapy, but without success. He requested further therapy and EPG was offered as an alternative approach. Pre-EPG therapy, M made tongue placement errors for both /t/ and the voiced alveolar plosive /d/. Based on perceptual analysis by M's speech and language therapist, the first author, his productions were inconsistent, though generally perceived as voiceless and voiced velar plosives respectively. The EPG therapy consisted of 6 bi-weekly therapy sessions, each lasting for one hour, targeting M's production of /t/ in familiar words, using the visual feedback from the EPG display. Trained and untrained listeners perceptually analysed audio recordings of words and sentences collected at 3 assessment points. Improvements, both over the course of the EPG therapy and during the follow-up period, were found to be statistically significant. Significantly, M was able to generalise his production skills to untaught words containing both /t/ and /d/. Equally significant was the lack of change in M's production of a control sound, the voiceless dental fricative /θ/. More globally, an improvement was observed in ratings of M's intelligibility in sentences and in his voice quality (assessed impressionistically).

This study evaluated whether core vocabulary intervention (CVT) improved single word speech accuracy, consistency and intelligibility in four 9−11-year-old children with profound sensori-neural deafness fitted with cochlear implants and/or digital hearing aids. Their speech was characterized by inconsistent production of different error forms for the same lexical item. The children received twice weekly therapy sessions for eight weeks. Fifty target words were drilled and changes in production assessed for accuracy and consistency. Generalization of consistency and accuracy was assessed on non-targeted words. There were four assessment points: six weeks pre-therapy; immediately before therapy; immediately following therapy and six weeks post-therapy. In addition, 10 unfamiliar listeners judged the intelligibility of Corresponding author: Rosalind Herman, Language and Communication Science Division, City University London, Northampton Square EC1V 0HB, London, UK. Email: r.c.herman@city.ac.uk 561875C LT 0010.1177/0265659014561875Child Language Teaching and TherapyHerman et al. research-article2014 Article 222Child Language Teaching and Therapy 31(2) audio recordings of the children's speech before and after therapy. The children's consistency and accuracy of single word production improved following CVT. Consistency generalized to untreated words. Sentence intelligibility ratings improved and more target words were identified after therapy. These case studies suggest that CVT merits further investigation as an effective intervention approach for deaf children, enhancing consistency, accuracy and intelligibility of speech. KeywordsCore vocabulary therapy, deaf, hearing-impaired, intervention, listener feedback, speech consistency, speech intelligibility I IntroductionDeaf students' speech intelligibility is crucial for oral communicative competence (Marschark and Spencer, 2006) and social development (Most, 2007). However, few studies have evaluated specific interventions to enhance the speech intelligibility of children with prelingual, profound deafness. Some intervention approaches target impaired articulation at a phonetic level (e.g. electropalatography, Pantelemidou et al., 2003; ultrasound, Bacsfalvi, 2010). Other studies focus on phonological knowledge that underpins the acquisition of both speech intelligibility and literacy (Leybaert 2005;Thomson and Goswami, 2010). Core vocabulary therapy (CVT), designed for hearing children making inconsistent speech errors, targets both articulatory and phonological aspects of word production (Dodd et al., 2010). The case studies reported here evaluated whether the poor speech intelligibility of four children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids would be enhanced by CVT. Characteristics of deaf children's speech production skillsSince the days of early research characterizing the effects of deafness on speech (e.g. Hudgins and Numbers, 1942), technological advances such as cochlear implants have led to significant improvements in the intelligibility an...

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