The Technological Age has Impacted how Children Overcome Speech Disorders as well as Methods that Speech Therapists Use to Instruct Students in the United States

• Research shows that there has been improvement in children's speech production in therapy sessions when using recent technology.
• Applications on I-Touches have encouraged more patients to work towards their goals of bettering speech.
• New technology has enabled speech pathologists to quickly specify disorders to better assist patients. 
• Speech disorders are common in young children however, it is extremely important to work with a speech pathologist early to combat the problem. 

In recent years, there has been a significant technological shift that has impacted all sorts of job fields, educational institutions, and individual lifestyles. In speech pathology and therapy sessions, there has been a dramatic, yet influential adjustment to new technology. 

Applications on I-Touches have helped and encouraged students to stay attentive and focused on speech tasks while in a therapy session.

All children are different in the way that they learn and focus on subject matter. Tracy Sippl, a certified speech pathologist, wrote an article for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association about various students using technology, in order to overcome speech disorders that they currently suffer from. One student that Sippl works with, is described as easily distracted by surroundings and constantly needing to move from one activity to another. Using an I-touch helps to maintain the attention of the child and focus on the therapy method presented.

Sippl's patients suffering from articulation errors often used the Pocket SLP application on an I-touch in order to perfect specific speech sounds.  Many patients also enjoy using the Oral Motor application as a warm up task. This app will provide the children with five exercises that strengthen the oral muscles needed for the articulation practice that is ahead in the session.

Of course, the I-pod is not the only method that Sippl will use in order to help the highly distracted students. Speech Pathologists will often mix between the use of flash cards, one to one interaction, and the technological applications. The implement of technology allows for another outlet to utilize when students get frustrated with a task.

Dr. Yi Tang Huang is a professor in the University of Maryland Hearing and Speech Sciences department. She received her doctorate in developmental psychology and primarily researches childhood language acquisition and psycholinguistics. Huang discusses how we can integrate the old and new therapy practices in order to build off of one another and help children succeed.

                                                

Along with I-touch technology, there have been studies conducted at New York University that have shown specific emerging treatment options for /r/ sounds. Pronouncing /r/ sounds is a common disorder that children experience as they substitute the sound for a /w/; as in "rabbit" turns to "wabbit".  Speech pathologists are beginning to use ultra sound probes to help correct these errors. This innovation allows for children to see the misplacement in articulators, like the tongue, and readily correct the problem. This is an interactive tool that allows the speech pathologist to instruct patients on what to fix and then the children can clearly witness the improvements that they are making.

New therapy applications are enabling students to work more efficiently toward their goal of bettering their speech production.

An interesting characteristic that comes along with the technological device is that it will keep track of improvements and progress in therapy. Ultimately this feature motivates students to keep working on their speech and continue to progress in the right direction. Going through speech pathology as a young child is not always desired and unfortunately can be a longer process than most expect. It often requires many sessions to try and improve speech. However, if applications can offer instant gratification and show possible development as a speaker, immediately, children show a greater motivation in working towards their goals. Sippl has seen more advancement in children working with these therapy
techniques in recent years than the standard flashcards that would be used in therapy sessions in the past.

Technology has become essential to Speech Language Pathologists attempting to determine specific problems. 

In addition to new technology helping children to overcome speech disorders, advancements have also enabled speech pathologists to move further ahead in research and specialize treatment with patients.  Huang discusses how recent technology has changed the way in which we discover the current vocabulary that children have acquired.

New technology will ultimately allow Speech Language Pathologists to pinpoint what problems are occurring with the child quickly and more efficiently. Professionals can also be more accurate and specific in their research. Then, intervention can begin in order to attempt to combat speech errors earlier in a child's language development.

There is flexibility in adding new applications or switching between them in order to treat patients on their specific disorder. 

No one disorder is exactly alike and each child has a different way of learning or coping with their speech disorder. Some children want to play with flashcards and can focus for hours on one task. Others need to be constantly switching between methods in order to improve speech and feel as though they are improving immediately.

Sippl makes an interesting point when she discusses the abilities that applications provide to patients and ultimately allow her to better carry out her job. Apps on the I-Touch offers Sippl the opportunity to adhere to all of her students needs in an efficient manner. There is the capability of adding more apps if new ones are created (as they are all the time) as well as switch between devices if necessary. It also maker her job more enjoyable as she can watch the instant gratification come across the faces of children who are working on their speech and achieving their goals.

Speech disorders have become prevalent today and intervening early is essential to appropriate speech progression. 

Childhood speech disorders are an extremely common phenomenon in today's society. A speech disorder can be defined as a something that disrupts normal speech production. These impediments can come in a variety of forms such as a stutter, lisp, omissions of sounds, adding phonemes, and more. A speech pathologists goal is to intervene early so that the error does not carry on for a significant amount of time in the patients life.

Solving the problem early on is extremely important for normal growth and development.  If there is later intervention, then it is possible that the disorder will worsen and prolong the problem. Unfortunately, it is very common for speech errors to not improve if therapy is not taken advantage of. This can have future effects when applying for jobs as well as simply communicating effectively with others in every day situations. However, with the recent technology becoming so helpful, we now know more ways to treat children with speech disorders and solve these problems more efficiently. 

Recent advancement in technology throughout the world has sparked interest in defining online groups as communities.

Discussion Question 3

·      Studies have shown that more individuals are involved in online social media sites

·      Technology is unavoidable and has become a prominent aspect of today’s culture.

·      Community life in the real world can now be found online and may even be a phenomenon that saves a life.

Experiments and studies have been completed to show the increasing involvement in online communities.

            Dale Ganleyand Cliffe Lamp completed a study in 2009 investigating the relationships that online communities provide and how it helps us to improve and enhance our social networks. The website that they looked deeper into was a social media site called “Slashdot”.

Typically, it features science and technology stories that are edited, submitted, and reviewed by online users. When individuals on the site connect with others, comment on other users articles, and overall rate others pages, they obtain points through a system called ‘Karma’.

The results have show that the users of this social media site were able to make deeper connections with individuals with less usage of the site in general. The more people that are participating on the site, creates a larger amount of people that return and continue to interact with others. These people are creating networks with site users all over the world and making connections even if it is not a face-to-face conversation.

The technological shift has enabled individuals to be more involved online.

Many individuals have been spending more time involved on online chat rooms, social media sites, and various video game activities. All of these portals allow for communication with individuals we’ve known for a long time or just met. We can communicate with those who are miles away or those sitting right next to us. There is even the ability to work on projects and new innovations wherever we please, as long as we have our mobile devices.

Because of this new technology, we are able to be apart of many more community groups than just the ones we experience through things like work, school, hobbies, neighborhoods, religious affiliation, etc. There is an online community as well. However, there has been recent speculation on if it is possible for an online group of people can be considered a “community”.

Online communities have differing characteristics from real world communities.

            When it comes to a virtual community, there are no true guidelines defining the space. People can become active members of the web site on their own time and preference. So, online communities tend to be much larger in its number of members. Other examples can include social networking sites like Facebook. Facebook allows members to be part of a variety of groups that allow users to connect with others from all over the world. These groups can either have around one hundred members or it can have thousands all contributing to the same community. These communities also tend to be much more informal because they are occurring over cyberspace. The lack of face-to-face interaction enables a carefree environment.  

            There are several opportunities involved in participating in online groups and communities. Many people enjoy helping others and giving people all over the world advice to live by. This can go for relationship advice, health insight, travel information, and truly so much more. Networks and social capital can increase at the speed of light. The online world really gives individuals a chance to work and collaborate with others.

            One of the most important aspects that have arisen from the online world is the idea that individuals who don’t feel connected in the real world can be apart of a community. They can get involved in games and social media sites, and several other groups that allow for interactions to occur and provide a sense of belonging. This is a huge benefit that the real world communities may not provide for an individual on a normal basis. Online groups could ultimately be a defining factor that saves a persons life.

How do we define a community in the recent and technological United States?

Although there is no strictly definitive interpretation of the word “community”, it is commonly referred to as a relationship to others because of common interests, values, and goals.  Typically, people gravitate and affiliate with individuals that they share a connection with, those that are similar and identify with their beliefs. This involves being an active member of a society, neighborhood, or even extending far beyond and participating in global activities.

Online communities share these characteristics and should be considered and defined community all the same.  Just because it is through a mobile device, doesn’t mean it exercises qualities in a different manner. Individuals still have the ability to connect with others through social media, games, and other tools. They can even communicate with those that have the same interests in activities. The only difference is that communication will be through an electronic medium. It will not be a face to face, in person, interaction.

Recent technological updates have had increasing effects on Speech Pathologists and how they instruct students with speech disorders

 All three of these pictures would directly correlate with my final E-portfolio project. I will be looking deeper into how recent technology has had an impact on the way speech pathologists are approaching speech disorders and how they teach students to create correct sounds. The first picture shows a Speech Pathologist working with a student on a computer showing the child the correct placement of where his articulators should be, when producing a specific sound. While the other two pictures are valuable, I think this is the most explanatory. The primary element is the two individuals sitting at the device and the boy being taught. The secondary element is that they are focused and working hard on what is being shown on the screen in front of them. The second picture is useful because it is the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association logo. It is important to have this on the final project because new technology impacting speech pathology is something that this association has been working on more recently. However, this would only be a descriptive image because there is nothing more than the logo of the organization. The final image is of a student and teacher working together and playing innovative games to better produce sounds. I thought this was important to show because it displays the current instruction that occurs in schools, hospitals, private practices, etc. This is only descriptive because it simply shows them working. We cannot really tell what they are focused on or what the issue may be. Although each image may not be classified as explanatory, they all play an important role in describing how new technology will possibly be a more effective way in teaching children how to better produce sounds and eliminate their speech disorders in the near future.

About me

My name is Jessica and I am a sophomore Hearing and Speech Sciences major at the University of Maryland. I hope to one day work in a school helping children to improve their speech if needed!  I love traveling, watching Netflix, being with friends, and enjoy when my family comes to visit school. I've never had a blog or used a blogging site before so, here goes nothing!