Acquisition of new speech motor plans via articulatory visual biofeedback

Abstract

This chapter describes the concept of categorising persistent Speech Sound Disorder in children as a disorder characterised by erroneous motor plans. Different types of articulatory visual biofeedback are described, each of which is designed to allow children to view their articulators moving in real-time and to use this information to establish more accurate motor plans (namely, electropalatography, electromagnetic articulography and ultrasound tongue imaging). An account of how these articulatory biofeedback techniques might lead to acquisition of new motor plans is given, followed by a case study of a child with persistent velar fronting who acquired a new motor plan for velar stops using ultrasound visual biofeedback.