Have you looked into speech therapy and found a clinic that talks about the therapists and lists what they specialize or are trained in? Sometimes, it can be confusing with all the different trainings to know if they will help your little one or if it is something you should just ignore. Often times, specific trainings are classes and courses that therapists seek out and go to for more education and training in specific techniques that can help improve the therapy they provide. PROMPT (PROMPTs for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) is one of those trainings that a few of the therapists here at Family Chatterbox have attended!
So, what is PROMPT? PROMPT is a training that breaks down speech as a motor movement and looks for the breakdown at that motor level. It also takes into account the different elements that can affect communication including: the social emotional aspect (trust and comfort), the cognitive linguistic aspect (perception and understanding of language and concepts), and the physical sensory aspect (structure and effectiveness of movements and sensation). When there are deficits in the physical sensory aspect, this is where PROMPT can help! A PROMPT trained therapist uses his/her hands to guide the communicators lips, tongue, and jaw into the correct place for production of a sound in a word. There are different hand shapes and placements for each sound to help differentiate when there is a breakdown. PROMPT uses activities that are motivating for a child and uses words that will be functional to practice many times in that activity to get the most repetitions possible.
How can it help my child? PROMPT can help those children who have difficulty with the look, listen, and repeat approach to therapy that others can follow. It gives the child tactile input and assists them in putting their tongue, jaw, and lips in the appropriate place. PROMPT can also help those that have difficulty with certain patterns in words. For example, if your child cannot say the last sound in words or if they are having difficulty with a whole class of sounds.
Does my child need a therapist trained in this? This is a difficult question to answer without seeing the child first! It is best to ask your therapist their recommendations!
If you have any questions related to PROMPT training or have questions if your child would benefit, please reach out and we are happy to answer!
-Amber-