Phonological Disability Research Articles

Exploring the Phenotype of Phonological Reading Disability as a Function of the Phonological Deficit Severity: Evidence from the Error Analysis Paradigm in Arabic

The dominant error types were investigated as a function of phonological processing (PP) deficit severity in four groups of impaired readers. For this aim, an error analysis paradigm distinguishing between four error types was used. The findings revealed that the different types of impaired readers were characterized by differing predominant error types. The dysphonetic errors predominated in readers with severe PP deficit and the morphological errors predominated in those with moderate deficits. Finally, readers with attention difficulties showed a predominance of semiphonetic errors. These findings were discussed in relation to reading disability subtypes and their clinical implications.

A potential tuning role for the outer hair cells in children with language disorders

The cochlear outer hair cells serve a tuning function, and any dysfunction of their electromotile response can be reflected in language disorders. Otoacoustic emissions can be used to determine any dysfunction of these cells. A set of clinical records was established to register the neurological and auditory functioning in 42 children, followed by assessment with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), the Initial Language Test (ILT), the Auditory and Phonetic Discrimination Evaluation (APDE), tests for measuring Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential (BAEP) and Transient Otoacoustic Emissions (TOAE). Subjects were classified into 3 groups in this study: Control (C; n = 20), Syntactic Phonological Disorder (SPD; n = 17), and those with Phonological Disability (PD; n = 5). BAEP studies showed a clear response when all children were stimulated to 20 dB. TOAE responses displayed clear and significant differences with half-octave band reproducibility for both ears, the largest effect being observed in the right ear. The results that were compared using ANOVA tests, showed that cochlear processing affects the brain language function, playing a critical role in the language phonetic process.

Enhancing Phonological Patterns of Young Children With Highly Unintelligible Speech

Enhancing Phonological Patterns of Young Children With Highly Unintelligible Speech

Speech evaluation and swallowing ability after intra‐oral cancer

In this study, four methods of postoperative speech evaluation are compared for 19 persons with oral cancers who have undergone oral surgery and/or radiotherapy. The Munich Intelligibility Profile was used for intelligibility testing and semiquantitative scoring by novice listeners. Expert ratings were done on the Therapy Outcome Measure (TOM) Phonological Disability form. For self‐evaluation, the EORTC QLQ‐C30 and the Head and Neck module was used. Swallowing function was scored on the TOM Dysphagia form. There was a high intercorrelation between the results of subjective speech evaluation by experts and non‐experts and the intelligibility test, but no correlation with any of these methods could be shown for the self‐evaluation by the participants. Voice quality seemed to have an influence on non‐expert scores. Swallowing was a more severe problem for our group than speech impairment.

A Whole-Word Approach to Phonological Analysis and Intervention.

This paper introduces a whole-word approach to phonological analysis and then demonstrates the use of the approach by conducting an analysis and outlining treatment recommendations for a child with a phonological disability. Rationale for using a whole-word approach and also for defining phonological typologies are presented using the view that children are word oriented and use different patterns to acquire their phonological systems. New measures for word complexity and target proximity are explained, and four components of a phonological analysis are outlined and subsequently demonstrated.

Patterns of phonological disability in Cantonese-speaking children in Hong Kong.

Tone, vowel and consonant production are described for a large group of Cantonese-speaking children assessed in speech and language therapy clinics in Hong Kong. The patterns of disability follow predictions made on the basis of work on normal phonological development in Cantonese, and on psychoacoustic factors in acquisition: consonants account for more disability than vowels, and tones are least problematic. Possible articulatory and auditory contributions to explanation of the observed patterns are discussed.

Preventing reading failure in young children with phonological processing disabilities: Group and individual responses to instruction.

Preventing reading failure in young children with phonological processing disabilities: Group and individual responses to instruction.

A tested phonological therapy in practice

The focus here is a detailed case description of a broad-based model for treat ing developmental phonological disorders. Successful treatment comprising 27 consultations over 17 months, of a girl aged 4;4 at the outset, with a mod erate phonological disability, is examined in detail. The model’s strength is in its combination of family education, metalinguistic tasks, phonetic produc tion procedures, multiple exemplar techniques and homework. Treatment is administered in planned alternating therapy blocks and breaks from therapy attendance.

A reading-level match study of phonemic processes underlying reading disabilities in a transparent orthography

The current study examined the relationship in Spanish (i.e., a transparent orthography) between different levels of phonological awareness and reading disabilities. In addition, the strategies used by the children when they resolved phoneme segmentation and reversal tasks were analyzed. A sample of 133 subjects were selected and organized in three different groups: (1) A group of 45 reading-disabled children, (2) A comparison group of 44 normal readers matched in age with the reading disabled, and (3) A reading level match group of 44 younger normal readers at the same reading level as the reading disabled. Three phonological awareness tasks were used to measure levels of intrasyllabic and phonemic awareness. The reading disabled group was equivalent to the younger reading level-matched control group in the odd-word-out task. However, there were differences in the phonemic tasks (e.g., phoneme segmentation and reversal) because the reading disabled group performed more poorly than the younger children. Overall, the children matched in age with the reading disabled group were superior in all phonological awareness tasks. There were differences between the groups when the strategies used by the children were analyzed.

Speech motor control in children with phonological acquisition difficulties

ABSTRACT A brief report is given of an investigation of level of maturity of speech motor control in a group of 12 phonologically disordered children aged 44–58 months. The study uses spectrographic analysis of multiple token connected speech data elicited by delayed imitation. Results give some support to the view that poor speech motor control may be a factor in developmental phonological disability. Implications for assessment and therapy are discussed.

A prospective study of the relationship between phonological, semantic and syntactic skills and specific reading disability

Although it is well established that a relationship exists between specific reading disability and spoken language difficulties, the nature of that relationship remains controversial. In the study reported here, the performance of poor readers was firstly compared with that of matched good readers on a series of spoken and written language tasks on three assessment trials 12 months apart, and secondly to that of younger average readers. Five experimental tasks were used to measure the readers' phonological processing skills, and three subtests from the CELF-R were selected to measure the students' syntactic and semantic skills. Reading accuracy and comprehension ability were assessed by the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-Revised. The results showed that 8–10-year-old poor readers performed poorly in all three linguistic areas concurrently, and that these difficulties persisted. However, the important finding from this study was that while the good readers demonstrated no significant difference between their phonological processing skills and their semantic/syntactic skills, the poor readers' ability did differ according to skill area. The poor readers' phonological processing skills appeared to be particularly impaired, a finding which was further enhanced by results from the reading-match comparison. The results are discussed in terms of current theories of reading disability.

Differential Treatment of Phonological Disability in Children With Impaired Hearing Who Were Trained Orally

The efficacy of differential treatment of phonological disability was studied in children with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing impairments who presented with both phonetic and phonemic error types. Two treatments were administered to four subjects aged 5:0 to 10:5 with prelinguistic hearing impairment who had been trained orally. Phonetic treatment was modeled in accord with an articulation approach using syllable imitation. Phonemic treatment was modeled in accord with a phonological approach using meaningful minimal contrasts. Phonetic targets were consonant singletons; phonemic targets were phonological processes. Within each treatment, one target was trained; the other served as a control. Results indicated a tendency toward improved target production in training and generalization with phonemic treatment. Individual subject differences in training and in generalization were evident for the phonetic treatment. No between-treatment differences in training were found. However, between-treatment differences in generalization were significant. Clinical issues and implications of the findings are discussed.

Phonological disability in children (2nd ed.). Ingram David. London: Cole and Whurr, 1989. Pp. xix + 166.

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The Relationship between Interpersonal Auditory Discrimination and Phonological Disability

Many studies have been undertaken, over a number of years, to establish if a relationship exists between auditory discrimination and phonological disability. Results of such studies are conflicting, reasons for this lack of consensus are proposed. A study is described where the discrimination errors of a group of subjects with phonological disability are compared to the errors of matched subjects with normal articulation. No difference in the number or type of errors was found.

Phonological Abilities and Reading Disabilities

Phonological Abilities and Reading Disabilities

Book reviews : Phonological disability in children. Second edition D. Ingram London: Cole and Whurr, 1989. xix + 179pp

Book reviews : Phonological disability in children. Second edition D. Ingram London: Cole and Whurr, 1989. xix + 179pp

Phonological Disability and Reading: What Is the Link?

This article looks at possible reasons for the relationship between phonological disability and reading disability. It reviews the auditory processing factors which have traditionally been considered as implicated in these abilities; special emphasis is placed on phonemic synthesis (sound blending). A study comparing 26 subjects with phonological disability and 26 matched subjects with normal speech is described. Subjects were assessed on measures of auditory memory. auditory discrimination. auditory synthesis and reading ability. There were significant differences between the groups on, the tests of auditory synthesis and reading ability. No significant difference was found between the two groups on auditory discrimination or memory.

From January to January: teaching the spelling of initial consonant clusters to a boy with a phonological disability

The study gives a description of one year's teaching of a single aspect of spelling to an 11-year-old boy with a phonological handicap and a weakness in recognizing and remembering visual patterns. The aspect of spelling taught is initial consonant clusters. Changes of approach over the year are explained, teaching procedures are described, and details are given of the pupil's performance at different stages of the instruction process. Some theoretical and practical questions raised by the study are discussed.

A nonlinear analysis of phonological disability

In the spirit of Gandour (1981) a reanalysis is presented of the speech of a 6-yr-old language delayed child, Rosey, whose phonologic disorder has been discussed by Grunwell (1982). A revealing account of the data can be given by adopting a nonlinear framework; specifically, recent amendments to Goldsmith's (1976) theory of autosegmental phonology. This analysis borrows from autosegmental accounts of Arabic morphology, reduplication, and Kikuyu tone shift (all of which are briefly described). The processes postulated to explain the “deviant” pattern of data, hence, are all well motivated from the grammars of other languages. The analysis is contrasted with a “classical” (SPE) generative analysis and, thus, provides indirect evidence in favor of autosegmental theory over the classical theory. At the same time, the position of such phonologic analyses in psycholinguistic models of acquisition is briefly discussed.

Phonological development in phonological disability

Phonological development in phonological disability