If people often say “Huh?” to your teen, daily life gets harder. As a result, class talks, hangouts, and even ordering food can feel stressful. Speech intelligibility means how much of your teen’s speech others understand. Fortunately, a study with 60 adolescents found two therapies helped—oral placement therapy (OPT) and expressive therapy. Both groups improved more than a placebo group, and gains did not depend on age or gender (Amodu et al., 2022). Consequently, many teens can expect meaningful improvements.
Key Terms Explained
What Do We Mean By “Speech”?
Speech is a voluntary act blending respiration, phonation, and articulation; it is central to communication and self-confidence (Amodu et al., 2022c). In practice, coordination matters: if timing slips, clarity usually drops.
What Is “Speech Intelligibility”?
Speech Intelligibility is the percentage a listener can understand. Clinicians assess single words and connected speech because conversation adds timing and breath demands. In addition, large studies map typical growth by age and guide goals (Hustad et al., 2021b). Consequently, benchmarks help teams set realistic targets.
Articulation vs. Phonology
Articulation vs. Phonology both relate to clarity but are not direct measures of intelligibility. Nevertheless, scores often correlate with separate intelligibility judgments. In other words, better sound production often pairs with better overall understanding, yet exceptions occur.
What Is an Articulation Disorder?
An Articulation Disorder is difficulty producing specific sounds due to placement, timing, pressure, speed, or airflow issues. Causes may be structural or neurological. Furthermore, some teens have persistent “residual” errors. Importantly, Knowing the source of the error guides treatment planning.
How Articulation Disorders Affect Teens
Teens may substitute or distort sounds (e.g., “wabbit” for “rabbit”). As a result, listeners may ask, “What did you say?” again and again. Embarrassment can lead to silence. Over time, social interaction and class participation may drop. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association notes that articulation disorders reflect motor-level production difficulty. In short, teens know what they want to say, but listeners can’t always decode it. Therapy, therefore, aims to close that gap.
Therapy Options, Beyond “Repeat After Me”
Traditional therapy uses auditory and visual cues. Many teens improve with this approach. However, others need an extra boost. Two additions often help in stubborn cases: Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) and expressive therapies.
Oral Placement Therapy (OPT): Feel the Movement
OPT adds tactile and proprioceptive cues to speech practice. An SLP helps the teen feel correct jaw, lip, and tongue placements and then links those movements to real speech targets. Typically, short work with graded tools (e.g., straw or horn progressions) gives the “feel” before words and sentences (TalkTools® Straw Kit, n.d.).
In parallel, fun, game-like tasks—horns, straws, bubbles—aren’t just play. They can build controlled airflow, lip rounding, tongue retraction, and soft-palate control. Ultimately, the aim is muscle memory for precise speech movements.
Expressive Therapies: Make Practice Engaging
Expressive therapy uses art, music, drama, movement, or writing to raise engagement and practice intensity. For example, a drama game may push projection and crisp articulation. Likewise, music can support breath, rhythm, and pacing. Because creative activities reduce pressure and increase repetitions in natural contexts. Notably, reviews link arts participation to psychological and physiological benefits that can support practice (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010).
What the Research Shows
Amodu and colleagues (2022) studied 60 adolescents with articulation disorders. Teens were assigned to OPT, expressive therapy, or a placebo condition with general guidance. After treatment, both therapy groups showed significantly higher intelligibility than the control. The main treatment effect was strong (reported F(2,56) = 112.52, p < .05).
Moreover, age and gender did not limit improvement. All groups benefited. This suggests that targeted intervention can help even in the teen years.
From Study to Session: Practical Takeaways
A holistic plan works best. Specifically, address the motor side (accurate movements) and the expressive side (using speech in real life). Pair tactile cueing with creative practice. Then, tie new placements to meaningful words and sentences as soon as possible. Finally, test skills in short role-plays, games, and everyday conversations.
Tips for Parents at Home
- Follow your SLP’s home plan for any OPT activities.
- Try playful oral-motor tasks if recommended (e.g., straw sipping of thick liquids, gentle bubble blowing).
- Read short scripts or perform mini-skits together.
- Most importantly, celebrate small wins to build confidence.
The Bottom Line
Teens with long-standing speech clarity issues can still make real gains. OPT builds the how of sound production. Expressive therapies build the when and where to use clear speech. With the right mix of techniques—and support at home—intelligibility can improve, and confidence can soar.
If you’re seeking help, explore TalkTools’ Free Resource Library and the TalkTools Therapist Locator to find professionals familiar with these methods.
References
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- Bahr, D., & Rosenfeld-Johnson, S. (2010). Treatment of children with speech oral placement disorders (OPDs): a paradigm emerges. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 31(3), 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525740109350217
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