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Speech sound disorder in childhood poses a barrier to academic and social participation, with potentially lifelong consequences for educational and occupational outcomes. Particular challenges are faced by children with residual speech errors, or atypical speech patterns that persist past 8-9 years of age. These errors, which frequently involve sounds like /r/ and /s/, may remain unchanged despite years of therapy.

Recent research suggests that these errors can be eliminated through therapy incorporating visual biofeedback. Biofeedback uses instrumentation to create a real-time representation of some aspect of speech that is difficult to perceive under ordinary circumstances. Different technologies can be used:

» In acoustic biofeedback therapy, learners view a real-time image of the acoustic signal of their speech, which they can attempt to match to a model representing correct production of the target sound.

» In ultrasound biofeedback therapy, a learner can observe the shape and movements of their tongue in real time and attempt to match an ultrasound image of a correctly articulated target sound.

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