Program User FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Answered by SATPAC Developer Stephen Sacks, M.A., CCC-SLP
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Seed Word List Presentation List Printing Updating SATPAC
How do I find the correct seed word?

Here is a list of seed words which have been used successfully over the years. The key is to think about coarticulation both before and after the target sound and how that helps in the production of a correct sound. Sometimes these combinations don't work and you have to experiment with the student to find a context that does work.


 
 
SATPAC Seed Word Suggestions

Lisp
Frontal Lisp/Lateral Lisp BEETSEEK exclude /th,TH/ and other sounds not in the student's repertoire

Stopping t/s,d/z, p/f, b/v
For /s/ MEESNEEP exclude other fricative sounds and other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /z/ MEEZNEEP exclude other fricative sounds and other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /f/ NEEFNEEP exclude other fricative sounds and other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /v/ NEEVNEEP exclude other fricative sounds and other sounds not in the student's repertoire

Fronting t/k, d/g
For /k/ MOKMOP exclude /t,d/ and other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /k/ WooSHKAP exclude /t,d/ and other sounds not in the student's repertoire or BARKAP
For /g/ MOGMOP exclude /t,d/ and other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /g/ WooSHGAP exclude /t,d/ and other sounds not in the student's repertoire MARGAP

Cluster Reduction
For /s/ clusters BEESKEEP, BEESTEEP, BEESNEEP, BEESMEEP, BEESPEEP, BEESLEEP, BEESWEEP exclude other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /l/ clusters BEESLUP, MUFLUP, MUBLUP, MUGLUP, MUKLUP, MUPLUP exclude other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For /r/ clusters BooGRAT, BooKRAT, BooFRAT, MooBRAT, MEEDRAT, MooPRAT, MEETRAP exclude other sounds not in the student's repertoire

/r/
For Prevocalic /r/ BooGRAT exclude other sounds not in the student's repertoire
For Vowel + /r/ GEERKEEP exclude other sounds not in the student's repertoire

S/sh
MOESHKOEP exclude /s,z/ and other and other sounds not in the student's repertoire

/ch/
BATSHIP exclude other sounds not in the student's repertoire
 
 
 

If these seed words do not work, a quick screening device is included. Go to View/Facilitating Contexts. This list has 5 pre-and post-vocalic choices in a VCCV format.

If there are no facilitating contexts, that suggests that oral-motor skills need to be developed first.

What if I can't find any facilitating contexts? For example, I have had students who could not produce the /r/ or /s/ sound in any context?

Sometimes there are no facilitating contexts that work. Instead of beginning with SATPAC, oral-motor skills need to be developed. For example, some students who cannot produce the /r/ sound do not have the strength, control and tongue/jaw differentiation to produce /r/ correctly. Oral-motor skills need to be developed so that the student can keep his tongue back, wide and elevating the mid/back part of the tongue. I often work on the word EAR to attain the correct placement before using a SATPAC facilitating context such as GEERKEEP. Students who have a frontal lisp for the /s,z/ sounds, often do not have the sides of their tongue anchored to the lateral molars and bicuspids. They use their whole tongue when saying /s/ instead of just elevating the tip. Before SATPAC can be successfully administered, the student needs to be able to anchor their tongue and elevate just the tip when saying lingua alveolar sounds. When this occurs, I often use the SATPAC facilitating context of BEETSEEK.

I thought that cognates (/z/) and target sounds(/s/) were automatically excluded yet my word is BEETSEEK and two of the words on the List 3 are SUTSEEK and ZOTSEEK?

When this occurs, it is usually because the wrong target sound has been chosen. For example, in this case, BEETSEEK was chosen with the idea that /s/ was the target. Looking at the highlighted sound, it can be seen that the /t/ is highlighted so that is actually the target. To fix this, go to Target Sound Location (located under the seed word) and changed the target from postvocalic to prevocalic. Then regenerate the lists and the /s,z/ sounds will be eliminated in all positions other than the /s/ target sound.

My student is having difficulty saying BEETSEEK. It comes out with a lisp.

It is critical that the student have the concept of saying BEETS using perfect tongue positioning. I often will start with EE, then EAT (using only the tongue tip for /t/ with the tongue anchored in back). Keeping the same tongue positioning, I tell the student to hold or sustain the /t/ sound and it comes out /ts/. My colleague Richard Shine calls this the French /t/ and tells his students to make the French /t/. The idea is that the student is so ingrained with making an incorrect /s/ that if you say /s/, he automatically goes back to his habitual incorrect /s/. Anyway, I have my students say BEETS-EEK so they are not saying SEEK but saying EEK. They work on saying it faster and closer together and soon it becomes the correct BEETSEEK.

Any ideas on correcting a lateral lisp?

I have had excellent results using this same BEETSEEK. If they can initially make the EETS sound with a sharp, central /s/, they will usually do well with BEETSEEK. Again, the oral-motor skill of keeping the sides of the tongue anchored while making these sounds in critical.

I have trouble finding the SATPAC Procedures Checklist.

It is located under Tools/View/Print Checklist.

How fast should I say the words before the student is ready for the next list?

Using a metronome, I go to the next list if they are 80% accurate or better at a rate of 140 beats per minute (BPM). Each syllable receives one beat. It is not unusual for the student to be saying the words at a maximum rate of 100 BPM at first and then gradually build up to 140 BPM. (A word of caution: If one goes through the program practicing at too slow a rate, transfer probably will not occur).

What if my student cannot stay with the beat of the metronome?

I have used different techniques to get my students to understand this concept. Often when I start, I point to myself and say the word then point to the student and say it again. Then we do it together and finally the student does it by himself or herself. One of my students, an African-American girl had great difficulty until I held her hands and moved with the beat then squeezed gently every time she was supposed to say the word.

What kind of feedback do I give the student?

This can vary but it is essential to let the student know every time when an incorrect production was made (except when getting a baseline). For example on the list BUSKEEP, I either mirror back to the student (you said BUTHKEEP) or describe what they did (you stuck out your tongue and said BUTHKEEP). For my more advanced students, I give them a "look" and hesitate and they know they need to self-correct. Remember, it is not practice makes perfect but perfect practice makes perfect.

Don't the kids get bored with this program?

My experience has been that when used in short bursts (5-10 minutes a session), it is the most effective use of your time. Students stay on task, are motivated and can give up to hundreds of correct responses. However, I supplement the program with activities that are SATPAC-like but keep the student interested. For example, if my SATPAC seed word is BUSTEEP, I might use the SPARC final /s/ list and have the student say TEEP after each picture (BUSTEEP, HOUSETEEP, GOOSETEEP, etc.)

How do I say the words at 140 BPM, watch the student's responses and keep track of how they are doing. It seems too much to do.

My phonetic skills have improved as I've administered SATPAC. One of the tricks is that on most lists only part of the word changes from word to word so I just focus on those sounds (e.g., BEETSEEK, MITSEEK, WAETSEEK, etc.) On this list only the first two sounds change. When I have to watch the student's tongue as with a frontal lisp, I hold the paper up near the student's face so I can see the list and the student's mouth (or have the computer screen in front of the student's mouth). With one hand I hold the paper and with the other, I move down the paper from word to word so that when I quickly glance down for the next word, I am in the right place. I keep track of errors in my head or on my fingers. If they make more than four, they are not ready to move on and need more practice at the same level.

Another approach which is significantly easier is to pause between the words so that you have time to monitor the student and figure out what the next word is. The key here is that the word still must be said at the maximum rate (140 BPM using the metronome) and the student must respond at the maximum rate. If you wish you can wait 4 beats of the metronome (or 2) between words so that there is still a steady rhythm.

Do I have to go through the whole program?

Definitely not. Use your professional judgment. I have gone from the Generalization Phase first couple of lists to the sentence list 9 to the Transfer Phase conversation in a few sessions and the student was remediated!

There are a lot of obscene words that are in CVC combinations. What should I do when one occurs?

SATPAC has a feature called "inappropriate words" (View/Options/Inappropriate Words). There are 18 words listed which will automatically be skipped if those letter combinations come up. SATPAC gives you the flexibility to add more words if you want to the inappropriate words list and these words will not come up.

Can I print just one list at a time instead of all the lists?

When using the print feature, it gives you a choice to print all the lists or 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and/or 9. Click on whichever lists you want printed.

I have a student who is not progressing past a certain list. Is there anything I can do instead of working on the same words over and over?

On the bottom of the main SATPAC screen is a feature called "Number of words in each list". This is set at 20 so each list normally prints out 20 words. However, if you want to print out 100 words for a particular list, change the number from 20 to 100 and then generate the list again. Push the print function and then print the particular list that you want.

How do I update SATPAC?

To update your current version of SATPAC, you need only to start the program! It will automatically check for updates and notify you if an update is available, unless you have specifically configured SATPAC to disable automatic update evaluations. If you are not prompted for an update, and are interested in knowing if there is an update available, you can manually check for updates by selecting “Check for updates” from the SATPAC “Tools” menu.

How do I find what version of SATPAC I am using?

You can find out the official version and revision number of your SATPAC program by selecting “About SATPAC” from the “Help” menu. You will notice a “Version:” statement in the lower portion of the dialog that will display a number in the format <Major Version>.<Minor Version/Release>.<Build Number>. An example is “Version: 4.1.90”, which is the latest version of SATPAC as of January, 5, 2005.



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