ERIC Number: EJ1448117
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: EISSN-1558-9102
An Articulatory Analysis of American English Rhotics in Children with and without a History of Residual Speech Sound Disorder
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v67 n11 p4246-4263 2024
Purpose: This study investigated articulatory patterns for American English /[Voiced alveolar approximant]/ in children with and without a history of residual speech sound disorder (RSSD). It was hypothesized that children without RSSD would favor bunched tongue shapes, similar to American adults reported in previous literature. Based on clinical cueing practices, it was hypothesized that children with RSSD might produce retroflex tongue shape patterns at a higher relative rate. Finally, it was hypothesized that, among children who use a mixture of bunched and retroflex shapes, phonetic context would impact tongue shape as reported in the adult literature. Method: These hypotheses were tested using ultrasound data from a stimulability task eliciting /[Voiced alveolar approximant]/ in syllabic, postvocalic, and onset contexts. Participants were two groups of children/adolescents aged 9--15 years: 36 with RSSD who completed a study of ultrasound biofeedback treatment and 33 with no history of RSSD. Tongue shapes were qualitatively coded as bunched or retroflex using a flowchart from previous research. Results: Children with no history of RSSD were found to use bunched-only tongue shape patterns at a rate higher than adults, but those who used a mixture of shapes for /[Voiced alveolar approximant]/ followed the expected phonetic contextual patterning. Children with RSSD were found to use retroflex-only patterns at a substantially higher rate than adults, and those using a mixture of shapes did not exhibit the expected patterning by phonetic context. Conclusions: These findings suggest that clients receiving ultrasound biofeedback treatment for /[Voiced alveolar approximant]/ may be most responsive to clinician cueing of retroflex shapes, at least early on. However, retroflex-only cueing may be a limiting and insufficient strategy, particularly in light of our finding of a lack of typical variation across phonetic contexts in children with remediated /[Voiced alveolar approximant]/. Future research should more specifically track cueing strategies to better understand the relationship between clinician cues, tongue shapes, and generalization across a range of contexts.
Descriptors: Speech Impairments, Articulation Impairments, Phonology, North American English, Articulation (Speech), Children, Adolescents, Human Body, Disabilities, Phonetics, Speech Tests, Verbal Ability, Intelligence Tests, Vocabulary
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) (DHHS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01DC013668; R01DC017476; F31DC018197