Purpose: Phonological processing skills, or using phoneme knowledge to process language, in preschool- and kindergarten-age children are an important indicator of children's future reading abilities. However, assessing phonological processing skills can be difficult in children with speech sound disorders because scoring often requires that…

Movement can be a powerful force for sensory connection and expression in young children who sometimes don't speak. Their kinaesthetic curiosity naturally experiments with--and forms spontaneous relationships through--touching, sensing, and moving-with the world around them. This article wonders what might happen if children's connective movements…

Training and coaching are cited frequently to achieve different goals, by different people, across different fields. "Who" provides training and coaching and "where" and "how" they are provided may influence the effectiveness of the training and coaching efforts, making the clear identification of these contextual…

Young children develop the skills necessary for communication in infancy. Interactions with family members and other caregivers nurture and support those skills. Spoken (expressive) language progresses rapidly after a child's first word. A typical 2-year-old has an expressive vocabulary of approximately 150-300 words. Around this time, as they…

This brief article reflects on some pitfalls inherent in the learning and teaching of segmental phonetic transcription. We suggest that a gestural interpretation to disordered speech data, in conjunction with segmental phonetic transcription, can add valuable insight into patterns of disordered speech, and that a gestural orientation should form…

Background: Globally, there is an increased prevalence of preschool and school-age children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Current reports show that about one in every 110 children fall within this category of disorders. Consequently, the successful inclusion of these children in both regular and special education classes is becoming a…

Poor polysyllabic word (PSW) production seems to mark paediatric speech impairment as well as impairment in language, literacy and phonological processing. As impairment in these domains may only manifest in PSWs, PSW production may provide unique information that is often excluded from clinical decision making because insufficient PSWs are…

This 2007 edition of the Section 619 Profile updates information on state policies, programs, and practices under the Preschool Grants Program (Section 619 of Part B) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). It presents current and/or historical information for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, which are…

Selective Mutism (SM), normally discovered at a young age, is a selective anxiety disorder in which a child demonstrates a persistent lack of speech in one or more social settings, notably in school, despite his or her ability to speak comfortably at home. In this article, the author presents Betsy, a child who was diagnosed with SM and was helped…

A child with a speech sound disorder may understand words and phrases and use them to talk. However, if a child's speech sounds different from his peers who are the same age, gender or ethnic group, or if he/she frequently avoids talking because he/she is hard to understand, this child may have a speech sound disorder. In this article, the author…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project which analyzed the speech and related behaviors of 28 young children (mean age 52.5 months) who stuttered, their mothers, and similar non-stuttering children and mothers. A loosely structured conversation between each mother and child was recorded and analyzed. In…

This article describes an approach to the treatment of young children whose speech problems are classified in the category of "persistent sound system disorder." The approach fosters development of stimulability skills through broadening of the phonetic inventory early in the treatment process. A case study illustrates treatment…

Improving the reading outcomes of children with concomitant emotional and behavior disorders (BD) and phonological processing deficits represents one of the greatest challenges facing educators today. For example, the results from a meta-analysis indicated that problem behavior (Z[sub r]=.46) was as important as phonological processing skills in…

This article describes a treatment program for a child with a speech impairment, which focused on increasing the size of the phonetic inventory by "teaching" stimulability. Application of the treatment approach is demonstrated in a case study. (Author/DB)

Many young children have speech or language disorders or delays that require the coordinated services of a preschool intervention team. Young children with delayed talking skills benefit when their parents and their preschool teachers collaborate to include assistive technology in home and preschool routines. Assistive technology for communication…