Innovative Service Delivery Models for Serving Children with Speech Sound Disorders

Service delivery variables that may have an impact on the treatment outcomes of children with speech sound disorders include the number and duration of intervention sessions, distribution of the sessions over time, and the format (group intervention or individual intervention). In this article, we briefly review these variables and the recommendations for the most effective service delivery components for children with speech sound disorders. We then describe innovative, collaborative service delivery models for preschoolers and school-age children with speech sound disorder. The models include "Quick Articulation!" conducted in a local elementary school by clinical MS-SLP students from Purdue University, as well as Summer Speech and Literacy Laboratory, which takes place in the department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Purdue and involves participation from clinical and research faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students. The article provides useful information to help guide clinicians and clinical supervisors in implementing components of these models into their practice with children with speech sound disorder.