Accents are the various ways people can sound when speaking the same language. Accents can vary by region (e.g., New York versus Texas dialect) or national origin (e.g., English learned as a second language later in life). Accents are not considered a speech or language disorder. Accent modification therapy allows clients to produce sounds in a way that matches a certain accent/dialect.

Who Can Receive Accent Modification/Reduction Therapy?

Receiving speech therapy for accent modification is entirely a personal choice. There are several reasons that a person might decide to get speech therapy for an accent. These reasons include being better understood in a new area, people wanting to change their regional accent, communicating easier in the work setting, and actors who need to use a different accent for a role.

What does therapy for Accent Modification/Reduction involve?

The speech-language pathologist will determine how you say different sounds, the rhythm of your speech, and how you stress certain sounds. This information will allow the speech-language pathologist to teach you ways to convey speech in a manner that more closely matches the dialect or accent you wish to learn.