Kindergarten Readiness Summer Speech Boot Camp—Can Children Make Enough Gains in Their Stimulability of Target Sounds Over Summer Break?

Abstract

Children with mild-to-moderate speech sound disorder (SSD) often don’t qualify for an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in the public-school setting as a result of the large caseloads that school-based speech-language pathologists (SLP) have. Previous studies have shown promise in intensive speech programs that target specific sounds to help children improve their overall production accuracy. This study examined the potential of a short-term, intensive program that occurred during the summer before a child began school. Four children with mild-to-moderate SSD who were planning on starting Kindergarten the following fall semester participated in the summer speech boot camp study. Results showed that this program design coupled with using the complexity approach may help children with mild-to-moderate articulation deficits rapidly improve their speech prior to starting Kindergarten. Possible modifications to the treatment based on these findings are discussed.