Background: The effectiveness of two treatment approaches (phonological therapy and articulation therapy) for treatment of 14 children, aged 4;0-6;7 years, with phonologically based speech-sound disorder (SSD) has been previously analysed with severity outcome measures (percentage of consonants correct score, percentage occurrence of phonological…

The goal of this research programme was to evaluate the role of word lexicality in effecting phonological change in children's sound systems. Four children with functional speech sound disorders (SSDs) were enrolled in an across-subjects multiple baseline single-subject design; two were treated using high-frequency real words (RWs) and two were…

This study describes the realization of onset and coda clusters in a 4-year old child acquiring American English, and with a higher than usual level of unintelligible speech. It reviews previous studies that have tested cluster realization against markedness and, in particular, the sonority hypothesis. This latter predicts steep rises in sonority…

The purpose of the current study is to document phonological change from a multidimensional perspective for a 3-year-old boy with phonological disorder by comparing three measures: (1) accuracy of consonant productions, (2) dynamic assessment, and (3) acoustic analysis. The methods included collecting a sample of the targets /s, [image omitted],…

Jaw movement patterns were examined longitudinally in a 3-year-old male with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and compared with a typically developing control group. The child with CAS was followed for 8 months, until he began accurately and consistently producing the bilabial phonemes /p/, /b/, and /m/. A movement tracking system was used to…

The study investigated the prevalence and associated problems of ankyloglossia, characterized by restricted movement of the tongue usually due to the adhesion of the tongue to the frenum, among a preschool Head Start population (N=1,440). Ss were screened for six primary characteristics of the condition and of the 78 children who exhibited the…

The use of visual biofeedback in the treatment of individuals who have residual phonological errors is discussed. Biofeedback is conceptualized as a cognitive treatment that requires the client's analysis of visual information and then use of that information in developing correct productions of residual phonological errors. Results suggest the…

This article discusses diagnostic considerations in identifying coexisting communication disorders and in differentiating between stuttering and secondary fluency disorders related to language formulation. Options for structuring therapy for coexisting problems are evaluated, including blended, lagged, and cycled approaches. Concerns implicit in…

Seven papers report on speech language pathology and audiology studies performed by graduate students. The first paper reports on intelligibility of two popular synthetic speech systems used in communication aids for the speech impaired, the Votrax Personal Speech System and the Echo II synthesizer. The second paper reports facilitation of tense…

The impact of a disordered phonological system (expressive or receptive) on language development is examined. Research results and guidelines are presented for identification of critical intelligibility and phonological awareness deficiencies and for intervention. Options for expediting intelligibility gains and research findings on enhancing…

A group service delivery model was utilized to treat nine severely speech-impaired preschool children. The program's efficiency and favorable dismissal rate were felt to be due to the specialized service time received by the children, the targeting of phonological patterns (rather than individual phonemes), group interactions, and a home program.…