Children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), other speech sound disorders, and expressive language challenges all have one thing in common: they need the best possible speech-motor skills. The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP) is the method at the heart of all of the KCC’s speech and language programs, and it focuses upon the child’s speech-motor skills, shaping their consonants, vowels, and syllable shapes/gestures from what they are capable of producing toward higher levels of speech-motor coordination, giving them a functional avenue by which to become an effective vocal communicator.
For children with CAS and other speech disorders, we focus on speech-motor skills—that is, helping the child learn to move their mouth in a way that produces the right sounds, consonants and vowel shapes. We take what they can produce and build on it slowly, eventually giving them a way to communicate effectively through vocalization.
For children with expressive language challenges, we still focus on speech-motor skills—but we also help them learn language in a way that helps them express themselves effectively. When they’re able to do this, we work with them to learn how to use grammar correctly and talk in longer sentences.
The K-SLP focuses upon the child’s speech-motor skills, shaping the consonants, vowels and syllable shapes/gestures from what they are capable of producing toward higher levels of speech-motor coordination, giving them a functional avenue by which to become an effective vocal communicator.
The K-SLP is an approach to therapy for children with speech challenges. It focuses on shaping their speech-motor skills and improving their coordination, giving them a functional way to become effective vocal communicators.
The K-SLP is based on many years of scientific research in the areas of motor learning, motor control, linguistics, and early childhood development. The ultimate goal with this approach is for your child to learn how to produce age appropriate speech sounds so that he or she can be understood by others and feel confident participating in conversations.
The K-SLP focuses upon the child’s speech-motor skills, shaping their consonants, vowels, and syllable shapes/gestures from what they are capable of producing toward higher levels of speech-motor coordination, giving them a functional avenue by which to become an effective vocal communicator.
In order to be an effective communicator, a child must be able to produce consistently clear verbalizations. This means being able to coordinate the muscles of the mouth (tongue, lips and jaw), breathing and vocal folds in order to produce sounds/words that others can understand. The goal of K-SLP is to move a child from where he or she is currently functioning in their ability to produce speech sounds towards higher levels of speech motor coordination.
The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol (K-SLP) is a treatment approach that addresses the child’s speech-motor skills and is specifically designed to address the communication difficulties associated with CAS and other speech sound disorders. The K-SLP focuses on shaping the consonants, vowels, and syllable shapes/gestures from what they are capable of producing toward higher levels of coordination, giving them a functional avenue by which to become an effective vocal communicator.
The K-SLP also targets expressive language skills—it helps build vocabulary, grammar, and overall receptive language skills that will help the child communicate effectively with their peers, family members, and teachers.