Capybara Pyba project: Children s songs with a focus on phonemes. Perception of parents, educators and speech therapists

• Grant number: 23/03854-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Tatiane Martins Jorge
• Grantee: Aira Cavalcante dos Santos Maso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: In the field of Speech Therapy, there is a scarcity of publications relating music to children's communication, as well as a structured musical repertoire for the phonemic groups of our language. We wonder if a group of children's songs could be used as a preventive strategy in speech therapy, aimed both at stimulating sounds and detecting difficulties in their production. We also wonder if these songs would be perceived by parents, educators and speech therapists for the purpose of early detection. Objectives: This project was designed with the following objectives: 1) to create children's songs involving groups of phonemes and explanatory texts about each song created; 2) to validate the materials (songs and instructions) with parents, educators and speech pathologists. Methodology: The first stage of the research will include the creation of a musical album with authored songs that involve groups of phonemes. The songs aim to facilitate the process of observing the production of speech sounds, having a supporting material (a text) to help in understanding the landmarks of speech sounds. The capybara was chosen for the creation of a children's character, based on the Brazilian fauna. The name "Pyba" was chosen due to the association of the sonority of the character's name to the animal's name. The proposed album will have at least six tracks, which will be directed to the different phonemic groups. In the second stage of the research, the sample will be composed of 30 participants, being 10 educators, 10 speech therapists and 10 parents. The invitation to this group of people will be made through the social networks of the researchers, especially Facebook and Instagram. The entire procedure of the study will take place online. The materials to be validated will be organized as follows: the animated videos of the songs (and their descriptions) will be organized in a playlist on YouTube, which will be accessed by the research participants through a private link. In addition to the link to the playlist, a virtual validation form will be made available (via Google Forms) to be filled out, individually, after the analysis of the material presented. The form will have 13 questions about three aspects: content, design/animation/musical production, and motivation. The answers should be given using a 5-point Likert scale of agreement. The estimated time to access the materials and fill out the validation form is approximately 45 minutes.