Self-Supervised App-Based Speech Training for Children with Speech Sound Disorder--A Single-Case Experimental Design Study
Saved in:
| Title: | Self-Supervised App-Based Speech Training for Children with Speech Sound Disorder--A Single-Case Experimental Design Study |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Sofia Strömbergsson (ORCID |
| Source: | International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2026 61(1). |
| Availability: | Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 16 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Computer Oriented Programs, Speech Therapy, Speech Impairments, Young Children, Foreign Countries, Error Patterns, Intervention, Computer Uses in Education, Training, Educational Games, Outcomes of Treatment, Instructional Design, Phonology |
| Geographic Terms: | Sweden |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1460-6984.70163 |
| ISSN: | 1368-2822 1460-6984 |
| Abstract: | Background: For children with speech sound disorder (SSD), speech intervention often involves a considerable amount of home-training, to achieve high-enough training frequency to promote speech change. A digital speech-training app has been developed that could serve as a cost-effective means of providing accessible intervention to children with SSD. Aims: To evaluate whether self-supervised home-training with the app Pop2TalkNordic can expedite more target-like speech for children with SSD and to explore children's experiences of using the app. Methods and Procedures: Four 4-6-year-old Swedish children with SSD participated in a single-case experimental design study, with a multiple-baseline across-subjects design. The children's production of target error patterns was monitored during baseline and intervention phases, for trained and untrained stimulus words. Three weeks of self-supervised training with the app, with an aspired frequency of 5 days a week, in 15-min training sessions, served as the intervention. The children's app usage was tracked, and their production of target word stimuli was recorded via the app. Outcomes and Results: None of the children reached more target-like production of targeted consonants as a result of the intervention. For two participants, slight improvement was observed on trained, but not untrained, word stimuli. In terms of user experiences, the children varied from liking the game a lot and finding it easy, to not liking the game much at all and finding it difficult. Conclusions and Implications: In its current form, and when delivered as a self-supervised training-activity over three weeks, training with Pop2TalkNordic is not sufficient to expedite more target-like speech in children with SSD. More parental engagement in the children's training with the app, and changes in game design (e.g., highlighting phonological contrast and allowing playback of multiple exemplars of target word items), are suggested routes to achieve better outcomes. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/xw8rd |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1495117 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Background: For children with speech sound disorder (SSD), speech intervention often involves a considerable amount of home-training, to achieve high-enough training frequency to promote speech change. A digital speech-training app has been developed that could serve as a cost-effective means of providing accessible intervention to children with SSD. Aims: To evaluate whether self-supervised home-training with the app Pop2TalkNordic can expedite more target-like speech for children with SSD and to explore children's experiences of using the app. Methods and Procedures: Four 4-6-year-old Swedish children with SSD participated in a single-case experimental design study, with a multiple-baseline across-subjects design. The children's production of target error patterns was monitored during baseline and intervention phases, for trained and untrained stimulus words. Three weeks of self-supervised training with the app, with an aspired frequency of 5 days a week, in 15-min training sessions, served as the intervention. The children's app usage was tracked, and their production of target word stimuli was recorded via the app. Outcomes and Results: None of the children reached more target-like production of targeted consonants as a result of the intervention. For two participants, slight improvement was observed on trained, but not untrained, word stimuli. In terms of user experiences, the children varied from liking the game a lot and finding it easy, to not liking the game much at all and finding it difficult. Conclusions and Implications: In its current form, and when delivered as a self-supervised training-activity over three weeks, training with Pop2TalkNordic is not sufficient to expedite more target-like speech in children with SSD. More parental engagement in the children's training with the app, and changes in game design (e.g., highlighting phonological contrast and allowing playback of multiple exemplars of target word items), are suggested routes to achieve better outcomes. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1368-2822 1460-6984 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1460-6984.70163 |
