Effectiveness of speech therapy in adults with intellectual disabilities.

Publisher: Blackwell Science Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9613616 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1468-3148 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13602322 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Appl Res Intellect Disabil Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2000- > : Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science
Original Publication: Clevedon : BILD Publications, c1996-

Speech Intelligibility* ; Speech Therapy*; Intellectual Disability/*complications ; Speech Disorders/*therapy; Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Speech Disorders/complications ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Background: This study investigated the effect of speech therapy in a heterogeneous group of adults with intellectual disability.
Method: Thirty-six adults with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (IQs 40-70; age 18-40 years) with reported poor speech intelligibility received tailored training in articulation and listening skills delivered in two 3-month periods. Pre- to post-changes in speech intelligibility and receptive vocabulary were assessed using standardized tasks.
Results: The results showed a positive effect of treatment on speech intelligibility and receptive vocabulary, irrespective of severity of intellectual disability, hearing loss and intellectual disability aetiology.
Conclusions: Speech therapy for people with intellectual disability can be effective at adult age and hearing loss should not prevent treatment. Continued attention to speech can help augment verbal communication skills in this population.
(© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Keywords: speech disorders; speech intelligibility; speech-motor control; treatment

Date Created: 20170711 Date Completed: 20180827 Latest Revision: 20180827

20250114

10.1111/jar.12384

28691743