PROMPT

Ovspring's speech-language therapists have undergone training in PROMPT. 

 

PROMPT is an acronym for Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets (the motor actions which produce the sounds of speech) and they are taught within the context of functional and appropriate speech and language in interaction with significant others. In a child diagnosed with dyspraxia each of these areas are affected to some degree.

 

As a philosophy, PROMPT stresses that the clinician must look across all areas of the child's development: physical-sensory, mental (which includes sensation, sensory perception, sensory discrimination and cognition), and social-emotional (which also includes pragmatics and the purpose for which the child communicates). It is here that the clinician needs to make a decision, with the parent or caregiver, about which areas likely need the most focus and how to integrate the rest of the areas to support change.


As a system, the clinician should organise treatment so that all of the above areas are included and are at the right level for the child in all ways including: cognitive level, play skills level, language comprehension level, physical level or any adaptations that need to be considered, and their speech motor system level.

 

What this specifically means, is that the clinician should be able to evaluate all speech subsystems (e.g. tone: across the whole body including specific muscle groups, breath support, phonation, jaw, lips and facial, tongue development and control) and the child's ability to integrate and flexibly use all of those subsystems together. Since how the clinician develops treatment goals in PROMPT will depend on if all subsystems and domains are normal or if there is evidence of motor (gross to fine) problems, it is critical that these are clearly understood and evaluated.

 

Above information adapted from PROMPT Institute's website: http://www.promptinstitute.com