Effect of speech therapy on alveolar sound after lingual frenulotomy in tongue-tie patients / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many research papers showed that the most common articulation disorder in tongue-tie children was the error of alveolar sound. We performed speech therapy on alveolar sound after lingual frenulotomy to prove that the speech therapy after lingual frenulotomy improves the articulation of alveolar sound and that this effect is maintained. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected 28 children who never had speech therapy but could afford to have the speech therapy. The accuracy rate of consonant sound was calculated using a picture consonant test 2 weeks following the lingual frenulotomy. The speech therapy, called the phonetic placement and paired-stimulus technique, was performed 18 times for 3 months. This therapy decreased incidence rate of error. RESULTS: The incidence rate of alveolar sound error, which was calculated before speech therapy, was about 65%. And the incidence rate of alveolar sound error after speech therapy was 5-10%, which proved the effect of speech therapy. We divided alveolar sounds into target sounds and non-target sounds. And we performed speech therapy only on target sounds so the appearance rate of alveolar sound error decreased and the incidence rate of non-target sounds also decreased. We performed speech therapy after 2 weeks and the effect was maintained. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of alveolar sound error decreased by using speech therapy and the effect was maintained. So the speech therapy must be performed after lingual frenulotomy.