Effectiveness of linguistic base approach and traditional articulation therapy to improve articulation among children (8-12 years) with mild to severe hearing loss

Abstract

Introduction: Articulation errors are speech disorders, commonly found in children with hearing impairment. Traditional Articulation Therapy and Linguistic base Therapy are most common therapies to intervene the errors.
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Linguistic base therapy and Traditional Articulation Therapy on articulation errors of children with mild to severe hearing loss.
Materials & Methods: This comparative study was conducted at Hamza Foundation Academy for Deaf, Lahore, Pakistan from January 2018 to August 2018 on 10 patients of articulation errors. Sample was divided into two equal groups A & B (Group A, 5 individuals for linguistic base therapeutic approach and Group B, 5 individuals for Traditional Articulation Therapy). All patients were and aged 8-12 years, had mild to severe hearing loss and used digital hearing aids. TAAPU (Test for assessment Articulation and Phonological Urdu) was used for pre and posttest for assessment of articulation. After assessment, Linguistic Based Approach and Traditional Articulation Therapy was applied on both groups. Both therapies were applied for 3 months, 3 sessions per week; session time was 30-40 minutes, (30 to 35 sessions per patient) Same test was conducted after therapy for post-assessment.
Results: There was a significant difference (p<0.001) in the scores of Traditional Articulation Therapy (mean 104 ± 3.67) and Linguistics (mean 154 ± 3.63). The magnitude of the differences in the means (mean difference = -50.20, 95% CI: -55.52, -44.87) was large (eta squared = 0.9).