SPHY204 - Speech Disorders (Developmental)

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

SPHY100 Communication, Swallowing and Development Across the Lifespan AND SPHY105 AND ALHT106

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

Speech refers to the perception, processing, planning and production of sounds. Working with children with speech sound disorders such as phonological disorders, articulation disorders, motor speech disorders and structural disorders is a key aspect of speech pathology practice. Consequently, speech is a practice area in which speech pathology students are expected to demonstrate competency in order to meet professional entry level requirements. Furthermore, understanding the hearing process, principles of audiological assessment and management is important for working with individuals who have communication difficulties (including speech sound disorders) resulting from hearing loss.

In this unit, students will be provided with the theoretical knowledge, technical skills, and clinical reasoning skills to enable them to provide evidence-based management (assessment, analysis, diagnosis, intervention, discharge) of speech sound disorders originating in childhood, that for some, continue across the lifespan. Students will also learn about the management of hearing loss and the role of speech pathologists in aural rehabilitation. This unit will emphasise the client as an individual and the effect that speech sound disorders or hearing disorders can have on an individual's participation in their world. Additionally, this unit contains a learning outcome from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework (HCF, 2014) specifically addressing the HCF cultural capability - Strengths based knowledge and communication.

The aim of this unit is to provide a theoretical base and opportunities for applying knowledge in practical activities to ensure successful preparation for future professional practice in the area of speech sound disorders or hearing disorders.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate knowledge of developmental speech sound disorders and hearing loss (GA5, GA8, GA9)

LO2 - Assess speech, analyse and interpret assessment information to enable accurate diagnosis of developmental speech sound disorders (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9)

LO3 - Formulate and justify management plans for children with speech sound disorders, guided by frameworks (including the ICF, EBP, person-centred practice and culturally responsive practice) (GA1, GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9)

LO4 - HCF 7.1* Describe the concept of strength-based knowledge and communication and how this is used to balance problem-based perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and peoples (GA1, GA4)

*Reference: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-health-curriculum-framework

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA4 - think critically and reflectively

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

Content

Topics will include:

Background to developmental speech sound disorders:

• Typical speech development 
• Theoretical underpinning of speech development and developmental speech sound disorders
• Epidemiology of developmental speech sound disorders
• Classification systems of speech disorders
• Speech disorders of unknown origin versus organic origin

Assessment and analysis of developmental speech sound disorders:

• Evidence based practice as applied to the assessment of speech sound disorders and guided by the ICF framework
• Working with monolingual and multilingual people
• Working with First Nations people
• Oromotor assessment 
• Screening and assessment tools
• Assessing single words versus connected speech
• Assessing stimulability, intelligibility, and variability/ inconsistency
• Assessing syllable structures and stress patterns
• Independent and relational analysis
• Differential diagnosis

Management and intervention of developmental speech sound disorders

• Evidence based practice as applied to the management of speech sound disorders and guided by the ICF framework
• Working with monolingual and multilingual people
• Working with First Nations people
• Selection of intervention targets (clinical decision making)
• Selection and application of evidence based intervention approaches
• Outcome measures in developmental speech sound disorders

Hearing development and disorders

• The hearing process and common hearing disorders over the lifespan
• Assessment and management of hearing loss across the lifespan using the ICF, EBP, person-centred practice, and culturally responsive practice
• The role of speech pathologists in aural rehabilitation
• Working with monolingual and multilingual people
• Working with First Nations people

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

In this unit, students will explore the essential knowledge underpinning the assessment and management of developmental speech sound disorders and hearing disorders via a combination of lectures, tutorials and workshops.

Lectures are primarily utilised to deliver core-teaching material. Delivering material in a lecture format allows for the rapid coverage of key factual information that students require in order to commence their understanding of developmental speech sound disorders and hearing disorders

Tutorials and workshops will include small group, collaborative learning with students engaging in active discussion and application of the theoretical unit content of developmental speech sound disorders and hearing disorders. This will allow students to learn and practice technical and clinical reasoning skills required for clinical practice within a supported and safe teaching space. Inquiry-based learning and case-based learning will be utilised to allow students to better understand and explore the diagnostic and management processes required when working with individuals with speech disorders of a developmental nature. Learning activities within tutorials and workshops will be constructively aligned with the assessment tasks, in that students will have the opportunity to practice the technical skills, clinical reasoning skills, and communication skills required for the assessment tasks using parallel cases in tutorials and workshops. Tutorials and workshops will be interactive as ACU speech pathology graduates will be communication experts and likely to work in teams, so it is important that students have the opportunity to interact in tutorials and workshops and develop negotiation, teamwork, and oral communication skills. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

In this unit, an authentic assessment approach will be taken, allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in clinically relevant scenarios. The unit requires students to demonstrate their knowledge, technical skills, communication skills, and clinical reasoning in the area of developmental speech sound disorders and hearing disorders, and assists them to prepare for professional practice experiences in other units of study.

The clinical skills assessment (ungraded hurdle) is a transcription task marked as satisfactory/unsatisfactory. The assessment requires students to use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to transcribe a sample of disordered speech. Students were introduced to the IPA in SPHY103 and used it to transcribe typical speech. This hurdle task will require them to extend their transcription skills in an authentic task that represents a common professional practice activity. Students will be required to pass the hurdle in order to pass the unit, but with unlimited opportunities provided to pass the task until the last week of semester.

The first graded assessment task is a test, which requires students to demonstrate their acquisition of knowledge relating to hearing disorders and developmental speech sound disorders, including assessment, analysis, and diagnosis before they need to apply their knowledge to a case study in the next assessment task.

The second graded assessment task is a case-study task, which requires students to demonstrate their clinical reasoning skills in identifying and justifying appropriate assessment tools, analysing and interpreting assessment case data of speech sound disorders and identifying recommendations for intervention.

The final graded assessment is an intervention task, which requires students to demonstrate their clinical reasoning skills in identifying appropriate intervention targets and approaches for children with different types of speech sound disorders.

Overview of assessments

In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to complete and submit all assessments and obtain an aggregate mark of 50% or greater. 

Representative texts and references

Bauman-Waengler, J. (2019). Articulatory and phonological impairments: A clinical focus (6th ed.). Pearson.

Bernthal, J. E., Bankson, N. W., & Flipsen, P. (2017). Articulation and phonological disorders: Speech sound disorders in children (8th ed.) Pearson.

Bleile, K.M. (2015). The manual of speech sound disorders: A book for students and clinicians (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning.

Bowen, C. (2015). Children’s speech sound disorders. John Wiley & Sons.

Dodd, B. (2014). Differential diagnosis of pediatric speech sound disorder. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 1(3), 189-196.

Dodd, B., Hua, Z., Crosbie, S., Holm, A., & Ozanne, A. (2002). Diagnostic evaluation of articulation and phonology. The Psychological Corporation.  

Kummer, A. (2018). Cleft palate & craniofacial conditions: A comprehensive guide to clinical management (4th ed.). John & Bartlett Learning. 

McLeod, S. & Baker, E. (2017). Children’s speech: An evidence-based approach to assessment and intervention. Pearson.

McLeod, A., Verdon, S. & International Expert Panel on Multi-lingual Children’s Speech. (2017). Tutorial: Speech assessment for multilingual children who do not speak the same language(s) as the speech-language pathologist. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 26(3), 691–708. https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_AJSLP-15-0161

Williams, A. L., McLeod, S., & McCauley, R. J. (Eds.) (2021). Interventions for speech sound disorders in children (2nd ed).  Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.