PROMPT Therapy
What is PROMPT therapy?
Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets (PROMPT) is a tactually grounded sensori-motor and cognitive-linguistic approach and technique for treating motor speech and language disorders in children and adults. It can only be completed by a trained and/or certified therapist due to the specific process that must be followed for evaluation and treatment planning and the intricacies that are required for implementation.How is PROMPT therapy different from traditional articulation or phonological therapy approaches?
In therapy, the PROMPT therapist provides active tactile-kinesthetic-proprioceptive input to the patient’s articulators across all sounds in a word and/or phrase to increase the accuracy of speech sequencing. Up to four different types of PROMPTS are completed on the face, jaw, and mylohyoid muscle (running under the chin toward the neck) to provide cues related to the most salient information of a sound. On-line shaping of the motor system can be utilized within the 4 different levels of PROMPT to provide more support and input as needed.PROMPT uses a play-based/functional therapy approach. If a patient has a need in the motor speech area, target words are formulated to match the client’s cognitive age and are integrated into therapy sessions in a functional context, which allows for patients to develop vocabulary and concepts while simultaneously reprogramming the motor speech system.
Who is appropriate for PROMPT therapy?
PROMPT has been used with patients with a wide range of diagnoses including apraxia of speech, Cerebral Palsy, autism spectrum disorders, hearing impairment, repaired cleft lip and palate, aphasia, dysarthria, and motor speech disorders. PROMPT can be used with a wide range of skill sets from patients who are non-verbal and may be using augmentative and alternative communication systems to individuals with mild articulation delays. PROMPT allows for treatment at the single phoneme (sound) level through words, phrases, and sentences.Therapy Frequency and Duration:
The course of treatment will vary depending on each individual. PROMPT may be needed for as short as a three-month period or for multiple years. As with any treatment, the more intensive the frequency, the greater the gains, so therapy is recommended at least one time per week but ideally twice a week if feasible, especially since PROMPT can only be performed by a trained therapist.
Melissa Rightor is the only PROMPT certified speech-language pathologist in the Triangle and one of two certified PROMPT providers in North Carolina. Anne Harbour-Tonn is PROMPT trained. Call 919-595-2000 to schedule an appointment today.