Phonological Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders in Children

Book excerpt: Phonological Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders in Children: A Practical Guideprovides speech-language pathologists with a road map for implementation of selected treatment methods that can have a significant, positive impact on children's speech intelligibility and communicative effectiveness. This practical workbook is useful for speech-language pathologists who work with children with speech sound disorders in schools, private practices, or clinics. It can also be used as a supplementary text for a clinical methods course or within a speech sound disorders clinical practicum. This workbook is an easy-to-follow guide that allows clinicians to move from assessment results to treatment planning and execution. The methods included are those that demonstrate treatment efficacy and include minimal pair therapy, multiple oppositions, maximal oppositions, complexity approaches, phonotactic therapy, core vocabulary intervention, cycles approach, and using phonological/phonemic awareness within the treatment protocol for speech sound disorders. Discussion of each method includes the collection and analysis of data, the establishment of intervention targets and goals, and therapy guidelines. Case studies are used to demonstrate each treatment paradigm, and suggestions for use within a group therapy format are provided. Current references allow the clinicians to further study each of the methods presented. Key Features: Presents methods which have documented success treating children with speech sound disorders.Practically oriented so that readers can easily see the progression from the data to treatment goals and outcome measures.Utilizes case studies to further exemplify the specific phonological method.Demonstrates the use of techniques within a group therapy setting, which is the main mode of delivery for most clinicians.Supplies materials to be used in specific therapy contexts, including data collection forms, sample goals, flowcharts for target selection, and progress monitoring worksheets.Provides suggestions for which therapy methods might be better suited for individual children based on research supporting age, severity levels, and characteristics of the disorder.Includes video case studies demonstrating children of varying ages and complexity of phonological disorder. Regardless of the type or etiology of a speech sound disorder, phonological treatment methods are an important component of an effective intervention plan. For children who present with a phonological disorder as their primary impairment, one or more of these methods may form the core of their therapy program. For others, particularly those with complex needs, phonological treatment may be one piece of a much larger intervention puzzle. In recent decades, exciting developments have occurred regarding the treatment of phonological deficits. The result is therapeutic protocols that are more efficient and effective. This workbook is designed to help bridge the gap between research and application.