Principles of Phonology Therapy
According to the research of Gierut and colleagues, the most effective targets for therapy for children with severe phonological disorders are:
- late developing phonemes
- phonemes that absentfrom the child’s system, rather than inconsistent phonemes
- non-stimulable phonemes
- more complex or marked phonemes rather than less complex phonemes.
Using phonemes meaningfully
Fey (1992) proposed 3 principles of phonologic therapy:
- modification of groups of sounds that share a common pattern
- less emphasis on sound production and more on neutralized contrasts
- more emphasis on using speech sounds for communication purposes
He concluded that the use of minimal contrast pairs to was the only therapy procedure that embodied all three principles.
Gierut then investigated what kind of contrasts are the most effective. She and her colleagues concluded that children made more rapid progress when two target phonemes were used, with the two phonemes differing by as many features as possible. For example, [t] and [k] differ on only one feature - place, and therefore do not provide a foundation for rapid progress. [k] and [r] on the other hand, differ in place (velar, palatal), manner (stop, continuant), voicing (unvoiced, voiced) and sound class (obstruent, sonorant).
I am sure there are some protests going on about how late developing sounds shouldn’t be targeted because it’s not developmentally appropriate. I used to feel the same way. However, presented with contrast pairs such as can/ran, the child is exposed to a lot of information about the sound system, which spills over into sounds that haven’t even been a focus of therapy.
I have been implementing this therapy for the past 9 years, and can assure you it is worth your time to try it out. Many times children who started school unintelligible were exited from therapy by the beginning of first grade. In fact, the mostchallenging aspect of this therapy is coming up with maximal contrast pairs tailored to each student. Beginning right now, maximal contrast pairs are becoming available through Clarity SLP in a variety of formats.
References:
Gierut, J.A. (2001). Complexity in Phonological Treatment: Clinical Factors. LSHSS, 32, 229 – 241.
Gierut, J. A., Morrisette, M. L., Hughes, M. T., Rowland, S. (1996) Phonological treatment efficacy and developmental norms. LSHSS, 27, 215-230.
Fey, M.L. (1992). Phonological assessment and treatment of articulation and phonology: inextricable contrasts in speech-language pathology. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in the Schools, 23, 225-232.
Read More