Rhythmic Games for Children with Speech Delays

MONTREAL – A rythm⁢ game ⁣played on a tablet may help children⁣ who stutter, according to Montreal researchers.

The same team previously showed that the intervention could help ⁢children wiht ADHD improve their attention and inhibitory control.

This time, Professor Simone Falk, from the⁤ Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal,⁣ and her colleagues wanted to know⁤ if rhythmic training could benefit children who stutter.

“advances in neuroscience have helped us better understand why people stutter, and one ⁢reason is that‍ people who stutter have a difference in the timing‍ management of speech,” she explained.

To perform well in the⁢ rhythm game, researchers say,‍ children must demonstrate great control to tap the screen only ⁣when appropriate, in time with the⁤ game’s rhythm.

Players tap along with the music to build a virtual building, with its progress linked to their performance. Such as, tapping with perfect regularity for eight beats ⁤earns 100% accuracy, contributing to their overall score. When the score⁢ reaches a certain threshold, a new floor is ⁤added to the virtual building. The goal is to finish construction within a set time.

This small “proof of ⁢concept” study was conducted with 21 French-speaking Quebec children ⁤aged 9 to 12 who stuttered, without any other⁢ language disorder, as this⁤ is the⁤ age when stuttering is at risk of ⁤becoming permanent. Participants were randomly assigned to play the rhythm game or a non-rhythmic control game for three weeks.

Only participants who trained with the rhythm game, the authors report, showed improvements in stuttering.⁣