The Effects of Repeated Practice and Rate/Rhythm Control Treatments on Sound Production Accuracy (Wambaugh et al., 2012)

<b>Purpose </b>This investigation was designed to elucidate the effects of repeated practice treatment on sound production accuracy in individuals with apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia. A secondary purpose was to determine if the addition of rate/rhythm control to treatment provided further benefits beyond those achieved with repeated practice. <b>Method </b>A single-subject design was employed with 10 speakers with chronic AOS and aphasia. Articulation accuracy served as the dependent measure. Participants received repeated practice treatment until a plateau in performance was observed or high levels of accuracy were achieved. If performance criterion was not reached, rate/rhythm control was added to the treatment to determine if additional gains would be made. <br><b>Results</b> For 8 of the participants, improvements were evident for all applications of repeated practice treatment, and positive response generalization was observed in most cases. When rate/rhythm control treatment was applied, modest additional gains were apparent for the majority of the applications. The 2 participants who did not benefit from repeated practice treatment also did not show improvements with rate/rhythm control treatment. <br><b>Conclusions</b> Repeated practice treatment resulted in improved articulation for the majority of participants. The amount of improvement varied within and across participants. Rate/rhythm control appeared to have limited additional benefits for some participants.

<b>研究目的</b> 本研究旨在阐明重复练习疗法（repeated practice treatment）对言语运动失用症（apraxia of speech, AOS）合并失语症（aphasia）患者的语音产出准确性的影响。次要研究目的为探究在治疗中加入语速/节律控制（rate/rhythm control）手段，能否在重复练习疗法的基础上带来额外收益。<br><b>研究方法</b> 本研究采用单被试实验设计（single-subject design），纳入10名慢性言语运动失用症合并失语症患者。以发音准确性作为因变量指标（dependent measure）。受试者接受重复练习疗法，直至其表现出现平台期或达到较高的准确性水平。若未达到预设表现标准，则在治疗中加入语速/节律控制手段，以观察是否能获得进一步的功能提升。<br><b>研究结果</b> 其中8名受试者在所有重复练习疗法的应用场景中均表现出明显的功能改善，且多数场景下观察到了积极的反应泛化（response generalization）现象。当加入语速/节律控制疗法后，多数应用场景下受试者获得了小幅的额外提升。另外2名未从重复练习疗法中获益的受试者，在加入语速/节律控制疗法后同样未出现功能改善。<br><b>研究结论</b> 重复练习疗法可使多数受试者的发音准确性得到提升，且改善程度在受试者内部及受试者之间均存在差异。语速/节律控制手段仅对部分受试者带来有限的额外收益。