Efficacy of the adapted Cycles approach in telepractice speech-language pathology with a parental focus for children with speech sound disorders.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of the adapted Cycles approach to telepractice and family engagement in the treatment of children with speech sound disorder (SSD).

Methods: Ten children aged 5:0 to 7:8 years with a diagnosis of SSD participated. Two multiple baseline assessments and two post-treatment assessments were conducted. Effectiveness was measured by comparing pre- and post-intervention percentage of consonants correct (PCC), percentage of consonants correct revised (PCC-R), Process Density Index (PDI), and the number of phonological processes with occurrence >25% and the intervention effect size (ES). Family perceptions of daily training were obtained via digital interview and Likert scale. Subjects were randomly distributed to G1: two weekly online sessions with the speech therapist, and G2: half the sessions conducted by the caregiver trained by the speech therapist. Both groups received 12 sessions and performed daily speech training.

Results: All participants showed increased PCC, PCC-R, and decreased PDI and number of phonological processes with occurrence >25%, with ES ranging from small to large. There was a trend towards statistical significance (ES G2 > G1). All caregivers reported high child interest in activities and ease of execution, with a positive family experience (Likert=4) training the child's speech using digital resources.

Conclusion: The effectiveness of the proposed approach ranged from medium to high. The performance of the groups was similar, with a trend towards greater effectiveness for G2, which focused on family involvement. Parental training resulted in good engagement in sessions and daily training.