Speech in Ten-Minute Sessions: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Chaining SPLITS Service Delivery Model.

Purpose: This study evaluates the initial efficacy of Chaining SPeech Lessons in Intensive Ten-minute Sessions (SPLITS), an alternative service delivery model for the Speech Motor Chaining treatment approach. We hypothesized that Chaining SPLITS would result in improvements in /ɹ/ accuracy on syllables and untrained words when compared to a no-treatment condition.

Method: Within a randomized controlled trial, thirteen 7-9-year-old children with difficulty producing /ɹ/ were randomized to receive treatment either immediately or after an 8-week delay. Treatment sessions were conducted 4 times a week over 8 weeks. Syllable and word-level recordings were collected at the baseline, 8-week, and 16-week time points. Recordings were rated along a 5-point scale by three masked, independent listeners. The primary outcome was changed score from the baseline to 8-week time point (Interval 1) and 8-week to 16-week time point (Interval 2).

Results: Linear mixed modeling revealed that Chaining SPLITS led to significantly greater improvement in /ɹ/ accuracy at the syllable level for active treatment compared to a period of no treatment. This improvement was replicated in both groups. There was not sufficient evidence of an effect of Chaining SPLITS on untrained words after 8 weeks of treatment.

Conclusions: The current study provides initial evidence of the effectiveness of 8 weeks of Chaining SPLITS on improvement in /ɹ/ accuracy in syllables. Short, frequent sessions may be a viable approach to promote acquisition of /ɹ/ among school-age children; however, longer courses of treatment may be needed to observe further improvement at the word level.

Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27868800.