Praxis SLP Licensure Exam

What is the primary focus when an SLP uses articulation placement procedures post-surgery for velopharyngeal insufficiency?

1. Improving resonation quality

2. Addressing compensatory speech errors

3. Enhancing auditory discrimination

4. Correcting vowel distortions

The correct answer is: Addressing compensatory speech errors

The primary focus when a speech-language pathologist (SLP) uses articulation placement procedures post-surgery for velopharyngeal insufficiency is to address compensatory speech errors. Following surgery, individuals may develop specific patterns of speech to compensate for their inability to properly manage airflow and resonance due to the velopharyngeal gap. These compensatory errors often include atypical articulatory placements or behaviors that can lead to speech that is difficult to understand and lacks clarity. By concentrating on articulation placement procedures, the SLP aims to help the individual correct these compensatory patterns, guiding them towards more typical speech production methods that utilize appropriate articulatory placements. This is crucial in promoting intelligible speech and ensuring the individual can communicate effectively following surgical intervention. The other options, while important aspects of speech therapy in general, do not capture the immediate focus of post-surgical therapy in this context. Improving resonation quality may be a goal in the broader scope of treatment but is not the direct focus of articulation placement procedures. Similarly, enhancing auditory discrimination and correcting vowel distortions are relevant to speech therapy but are not the primary concern in dealing with compensatory speech errors immediately after surgery for velopharyngeal insufficiency.