What is PROMPT speech therapy?
PROMPT therapy is an effective hands-on treatment option for those with speech-sound production disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, speech apraxia, and articulation delays. More than 1 million clients have been treated with PROMPT therapy, helping them speak and use functional words.
The term "PROMPT" is an acronym. It stands for Prompts Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets, and it's a tactile-kinesthetic approach to speech therapy. In PROMPT therapy, specially trained speech pathologists use touch-cues to physically move the child's jaw, lips, vocal cords, and tongue, helping the child articulate the motor movements needed to form functional target words.
How is PROMPT therapy different from conventional speech therapy?
Conventional speech therapies rely upon the child mimicking auditory or visual input in order to form target words. Not every nonverbal child is able to respond to that sort of therapy.
In PROMPT, because the pathologist uses their hands to help the child form a target word with their jaw, lips, and tongue, the child is able to learn the motor movement required for that speech production and usually replicate it.
PROMPT Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) are trained and certified by the PROMPT Institute (www.Prompt.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating tactual sensory systems and their role in the development of speech and language.
Does PROMPT speech therapy work?
Speech pathologist Deborah Hayden began developing PROMPT therapy in the late 1970s. The therapy has evolved over the years, influenced by new findings in neuro-biological, cognitive-linguistic, and sociological scholarship. PROMPT therapy is a vibrant field of study in Speech Pathology.
PROMPT therapy is evidence-based, and scholarly research has shown it to be an effective treatment option:
From the Journal of Child Neurology in July 2021: "...children with childhood apraxia of speech show behavioral and neural structural changes induced by treatment, with more marked effects on speech motor control and related connectivity after PROMPT, compared with nonspeech oral motor and language treatment."
From Nature Pediatric Research in May 2020: "PROMPT intervention was associated with notable improvements in speech motor control, speech articulation, and word-level speech intelligibility.... PROMPT intervention is a clinically effective intervention approach for children with speech motor delay (SMD)."
From the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in November 2006: Examining two separate intervention methods, "Eight of the ten children used five or more novel, functional words spontaneously and spoke multiple times per hour by the conclusion of treatment. There were no differences in acquired language skills by intervention group."
The amount of time required to be in therapy will vary based on the child's individual needs. Typically, the SLP will work with the child once or twice weekly, but the more frequent the sessions, the greater the improvement.
What does PROMPT therapy focus on?
The primary focus of any speech therapy is to help the child communicate their feelings more clearly. PROMPT therapy helps the child by focusing on functional language, selecting target words based on the child's motivation.
One of the metrics used to measure the progress of speech therapy is spontaneous word usage. PROMPT therapy has been shown to help children increase their spontaneous usage of novel target words, even as often as several times per hour.
The main benefit of PROMPT therapy? The self-esteem your child earns from learning how to communicate their thoughts and feelings, resulting in enhanced social interaction and even more reason to express themselves!
How can you help PROMPT therapy work for your child?
Just like when anyone is learning anything, support is key. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, brothers, sisters, the whole family is essential for providing a supportive environment as the child learns and implements these new language skills. Be sure to praise your child whenever they make the effort to communicate.
It also helps to understand what PROMPT therapy is and why it works. That's why parents should work closely with their PROMPT-trained speech pathologist, so that together the parents and the SLP can help the child produce functional language.
If you have concerns about your child’s speech development or want to learn more about PROMPT speech therapy, contact Elevated Outcomes, Inc., of Northern Virginia at 703-239-4430 to discuss whether PROMPT speech therapy is the right approach for your child.
About Elevated Outcomes, Inc.:
For learners with autism, ADHD, and related disorders, Elevated Outcomes of Northern Virginia uses Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to help children from 18 months to 18 years. Driven by data and science, Elevated Outcomes builds meaningful, relevant, lasting results in their cognitive, behavioral, and social development.
Established by ABA practitioner Kimberlee Ambach, Elevated Outcomes features a comprehensive team of behavioral therapists who understand how behavior and communication skills are interconnected. Our mission is to provide the best possible ABA therapy and related services to clients throughout Arlington and Fairfax County, VA.
Request a free consultation with our experienced ABA practitioners. Call Elevated Outcomes at 703-239-4430, email KAmbach@ElevatedOutcomesInc.com, or click the Contact Us bar on our website www.ElevatedOutcomesInc.com.
Elevated Outcomes is dedicated to "Helping Children Rise To Their Potential."
