TRUTH: The K-SLP is not just a drill-oriented method. It is not just about the picture cards in Kits 1 and 2. Play is incorporated into every session. Picture cards are initially implemented, as it is too difficult to contrive the specific targets for the child to be able to practice the specific vowels, consonants, and syllable shapes with enough repetition necessary for success.

If the SLP is only using the Kit pictures within a session, they are not implementing the K-SLP the way it was intended! Sessions can and eventually should be conducted without any pictures at all. For very young children, pictures are not introduced until the task of imitation is understood, and there are always targeted goals through play.

Practicing new skills through play and the natural environment is essential to the K-SLP methods. The K-SLP is implemented with high levels of motivating toys and activities in a warm, encouraging manner. Many responses are necessary for success. Therefore, you will see a great deal of repetition in a K-SLP session.

If the K-SLP is done the way in which it was intended, the children will be willing, cooperative and successful learners.

TRUTH: It's a misconception that kids with CAS should only be taught the full, adult forms of words. The K-SLP effectively involves teaching word approximations toward target words, phrases and sentences, and not simply just accepting the child’s approximation. Word approximations are continuously shaped toward the full target words to perfection.

Once the child learns a closer approximation of a target word, the old approximation is extinguished and only the closer approximation is reinforced. Full correct words and phrases are always modeled for the child. If the child is not stimulable to produce a vowel or consonant accurately, they would be taught a compensatory placement, while continuing to gain stimulability for articulatory accuracy.

There is a great deal of research supporting teaching a new behavior (in this instance, the behavior of producing and combining vowels and consonants to form words, and combining words to formulate language) through shaping successive approximations. (See the list of evidence-based practice).

Every child Nancy Kaufman or any SLP at the Kaufman Children’s Center has ever taught to develop effective vocal communication was taught via successive word approximations and compensatory articulatory placements. The K-SLP methods have been implemented successfully since 1979.

TRUTH: Due to the nature of the K-SLP, it is difficult to systematize the process so each clinician is using the exact same intervention strategies. The protocol depends upon a wide range of variables including:

• The individual clinician
• How cues are chosen
• How motivation and reinforcement is implemented
• How to simplify the motor plans of words temporarily based upon the child’s repertoire

However, a great deal of evidence and peer-reviewed research has been completed. You can find a list of resources HERE.

TRUTH: There are many controversies surrounding “oral-motor therapy.” The research has taught us that oral-motor exercises do not help children to be more successful vocal communicators if they are exhibiting only characteristics of CAS. We do not implement oral-motor exercises at all for this population of children.

Specific tools established and offered through TalkTools and Apraxia Shapes have been instrumental for those who have very few vowels or consonants within their repertoire and who struggle with the underlying oral placement to sustain the accuracy of a vowel or consonant. When appropriate, a tool will be implemented inside the oral cavity to assist the child as a cue (much like how PROMPT cues are used outside of the oral cavity) for initial success, then the tool is faded out as the child is able to produce the underlying movement to sustain the new vowel or consonant independently.

TalkTools and Apraxia Shapes are also implemented here at the KCC to assist with the quality of feeding for those children who struggle with sucking, chewing and swallowing, and who also struggle to speak. Horns and/or straws are only introduced to gain the necessary skills for improved feeding or as a tool to gain a vowel or consonant as above. Sometimes, horns are introduced to help the child to practice sustaining respiratory support that would be needed to support sentence length or as a tool to be paired directly with a consonant that requires sustaining and grading air flow such as for /s, f, sh/.

TRUTH: K-SLP materials are not essential for successful K-SLP methods. They were produced by Nancy as she needed/wanted them for stimuli and assumed that other SLPs might also find them to be useful.

If SLPs understand the K-SLP methods, all that is needed are pictures, objects, toys, and other highly preferred items or activities for each child. Each SLP will also require knowledge about how to simplify the motor plans of words by implementing natural phonological processes and understanding shaping methods.

Visit Northern Speech Services for a 6-hour course on the full K-SLP method (ASHA credits available).

These techniques are used to provide tactile/sensory cues so a child is able to find the correct oral placement or posture to produce sounds they are not yet able to directly imitate.

LEARN MORE HERE

Renee Roy Hill's Apraxia Shapes are ideal for transitioning kids with motor-planning deficits from oral placement activities to speech production.

LEARN MORE HERE

Rapid Motor Imitation Antecedent training effectively uses behavioral momentum to gain first words for many children with autism who struggle to speak. This method is used in our ABA program with input from our SLPs.

LEARN MORE HERE

Sign/Select to Talk, authored by Tamara Kasper and Nancy Kaufman, is a method to bridge sign language to vocal skills especially for children with ASD who struggle to speak.

LEARN MORE HERE

Clearly define the behavior that is desired to be established, improved upon, or extinguished.

In this case, it would be to establish vowels and consonants that are not within the child’s repertoire, establish the combinations of vowels and consonants to create syllable shapes/words, or establish the ability to connect words and move into grammatical skills.

Behaviors to extinguish might include the child erroneously adding a schwa “uh” post final consonants. The child might be adding erroneous vowels, consonants, or syllables to words. They also may use filler non-speech vocalizations rather than the new skills that they have developed, to name a few.

Determine the child’s highly preferred toys and activities and have them readily available.

Then, understand how to use these highly preferred items to reinforce the skill areas being taught, providing feedback as to whether or not the utterance was correct, incorrect or getting closer to the target.

Cue before failure. It is important to know the child’s error patterns so they are assisted before making the error and can be reinforced for successes.

Understand how to shape successive approximations of words toward the ultimate goal of perfect articulation.

Many children are not stimulable for the consonants and vowels that are contained in words that are important for them to learn. They will need compensatory placements for some (an easier way to produce complicated consonants or vowels), and simplification of the motor plan for others.

This is where phonological processes are implemented to simplify the motor plan and shape toward the target.

Mix and vary the tasks so as to not actually teach over generalization. This also involves the principles of motor learning, blocked vs. random practice for retention of the skills to be maintained.

Help the child to use new behaviors functionally in their natural environment. Provide supports to remember new skills and continue to cue speech motor while also scripting language through play. Contrive the environment to provide more opportunities to practice.

This 6-hour online course focuses on evaluation and treatment strategies for childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) using the Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol methods.

The presentation includes signs and symptoms of CAS, establishing motivation, shaping word approximations, implementing and fading cues, reinforcement strategies, data collection, scripting functional expressive language, coaching parents, and practicing skills in the natural environment. Also discussed is implementing the principles of motor learning for practice schedules, and how to move from the acquisition stage to the retention stage of learning to be an effective vocal communicator.

The methods, strategies, and techniques presented in this course follow the most current research in CAS and provide clinicians with the information they need to help children progress from a simple core vocabulary to phrases and eventually to sentences and conversational speech. Therapy session videos are shown throughout the presentation to enhance the learning experience.

Focus is on children ages 2-6 years. Offered for 0.6 ASHA CEUs.

COURSE AVAILABLE FROM NORTHERN SPEECH SERVICES

The competency course combines Nancy Kaufman's 6-hour K-SLP overview with three new expert-level courses on the following subjects:

1. Strategic selection of practice words and phrases in childhood apraxia of speech
2. Framing techniques to achieve clinical excellence in CAS therapy
3. Clinical mistakes in the treatment of CAS and what to consider instead

Clinicians who successfully complete this course will demonstrate proficiency in the K-SLP, which is the most-used method for CAS treatment in the United States.

Offered for 1.0 ASHA CEU (10 hours of content)

COURSE AVAILABLE FROM NORTHERN SPEECH SERVICES

Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) require cues to help them to remember the upcoming consonants, vowels, and syllables of practice words. They also often need help to combine words to formulate phrases and sentences by following scripts that they can retain and implement spontaneously.

This webinar will overview how cues and scripts can assist children with CAS to become successful vocal communicators. Cueing and scripting techniques will be overviewed and presented via video.

COURSE AVAILABLE FROM APRAXIA KIDS

It is often difficult to motivate children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) to practice at home or even to cooperate within a therapy session.  This webinar will offer suggestions to maximize practice through play.

• Parents and caregivers are coached to pair themselves with fun toys and activities, making the speech and language practice activities highly preferred, exciting and successful.
• Therapy materials are implemented as well, though paired with play activity.
• Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP) methods of cueing motor-speech and scripting functional expressive language to include the language of toys and games will be emphasized.
• Fading cues and scripts as well as teaching successive approximations toward target words and phrases is taught. 

COURSE AVAILABLE FROM APRAXIA KIDS

COURSE AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE