The Accent Method: A rational Voice Therapy in theory and practice

Kirsten Thyme-Frøkjær

The Accent Method is a dynamic and scientifically based holistic, rational and efficient voice and speech therapy which offers a complete logopedic training system for treatment of voice and speech disorders including stuttering, covering exercises for relaxation, respiration, phonation, articulation, prosody, and gesticulation including transfer from voice exercises to reading and free oral communication.The main goal of the Accent Method is to improve each individual patient's total communication, i.e. to achieve the best possible coordination between breathing, voicing, articulation, body movements and language.
Rhythmic exercises with more or less contraction of the abdominal muscles, which reflect in the phonation as accentuated or non-accentuated vocalization, gradually change the vibratory pattern of the vocal folds towards a greater physiological flexibility and elasticity. The result is an optimal voice function with a perfect dynamic balance between the subglottal air pressure and the glottal muscle activity. By training the normal speech functions, developed consciously, but trained unconsciously, an unconscious treatment of the symptoms occurs. During the training the patients do not feel any defeat. In this way the self-confidence is increased because of only positive speech experiences.
Results obtained have been documented by several investigations which show that the phonatory function has been normalized and stabilized, the voice intensity increased, and the modulation improved, this means that the intelligibity of speech is improved.

Kirsten Thyme-Frøkjær, prof., speech pathologist
Danish Voice Institute
Ellebuen 21
DK-2950 Vedbæk
Denmark