Revisiting Jarrod: Applications of gestural phonology theory to the assessment and treatment of speech sound disorder

Abstract

Gestural phonology theory questions the dominance of phonological explanations of speech sound disorder in light of technological advances in the measurement of speech articulation. A gestural phonology approach investigates the movements of articulators rather than higher level phonological forms, suggesting that many speech sound disorders are the result of difficulties generating and coordinating articulatory gestures. This has significant implications for assessment and treatment, as new methods are required to investigate articulatory gestures. This article revisits the case of Jarrod, who was the feature of a special issue of Advances in Speech-Language Pathology 8(3) which provided perspectives on a child with unintelligible speech. Jarrod's assessment data is re-evaluated in light of gestural phonology theory and technological advancements in assessment of speech. Non-standard assessment techniques such as pause distribution analysis, vowel quadrilateral and spectral moment analysis are applied to investigate articulatory movement. Results indicate difficulties with fine force control, coupled with difficulties with timing of articulation, resulting in marked unintelligibility. Treatment recommendations based on these results are presented, incorporating the principles of gestural phonology and dynamic systems theory.