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Language disorders
20
ACQ
Volume 13, Number 1 2011
ACQ
uiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing
Cecilia Kirk
This article
has been
peer-
reviewed
Keywords
PRESCHOOLERS
SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE
IMPAIRMENT
CONSONANT
CLUSTERS
PHONEME
AWARENESS
INTERVENTION
MORPHOSYNTAX
INTERVENTION
expectation that cross-domain generalisation will occur.
Tyler et al. (2003) found that phonological performance was
facilitated equally by three types of goal attack strategy:
phonological intervention alone, morphosyntax intervention
alone, and intervention that alternated weekly between
the domains of phonology and morphosyntax. In addition,
morphosyntax intervention alone and intervention that
alternated between phonological and morphosyntactic
goals led to better morphosyntactic performance than
phonological intervention alone.
The current study takes two of the goal attack strategies
investigated by Tyler et al. (2003) and assesses their effect
on the production of consonant clusters by children with
co-occurring speech and language impairments. One
intervention program focused on sounds at the beginnings
of words using therapy that integrated speech production
practice with instruction in phonological awareness skills
and letter knowledge (phonological awareness and speech
[PAS] intervention). The other intervention program focused
predominantly on morphological structures at the ends of
words, alternating weekly with sessions that focused on
the children’s speech targets. The purpose of the study
was to determine whether the two intervention programs
differentially impacted the production accuracy of three
different types of consonant clusters: word-initial clusters
that had been directly targeted by the PAS intervention,
word-final clusters that had been indirectly targeted by the
morphosyntax and speech (MS) intervention, and word-initial
clusters that had been neither directly or indirectly targeted
by either intervention. Although it would also be of great
interest to compare the effect of the two intervention types
on the development of morphological structures, this is
outside the scope of the current article.
The acquisition of consonant clusters is one of the most
protracted aspects of children’s speech development.
Preschool children with a speech sound disorder are very
likely to struggle with the correct production of consonant
clusters (McLeod, van Doorn, & Reed, 1997). In addition,
consonant clusters occur with high frequency in English
words. One-third of monosyllabic words in English begin with
a consonant cluster and an even higher proportion end with
a consonant cluster (Locke, 1983). Because of their high
frequency, the mispronunciation of consonant clusters has
potential to negatively impact speech intelligibility. Therefore,
it is critical to investigate the most effective way of improving
the production of consonant clusters in children with speech
impairment.
This small-scale study examined the
effectiveness of two different goal attack
strategies on four children with speech and
language impairments. Of particular interest
was the effect of the two types of intervention
on the production of consonant clusters. It
was hypothesised that the two children who
received instruction in phonological
awareness skills integrated with speech
production practice would show greatest
improvement in word-initial clusters. It was
further hypothesised that the two children
who received intervention that focused
primarily on morphological structures at the
ends of words, alternating with sessions
focusing on speech targets would show
greatest improvement in word-final clusters.
The participants who received phonological
awareness and speech intervention made the
greatest improvement in cluster production,
although this difference was most noticeable
in clusters not directly targeted by either
intervention. These results suggest that
integrating speech production practice with
phonological awareness instruction may lead
to better generalisation to non-target
phonological structures.
M
any preschoolers who receive clinical services
from speech pathologists (SPs) have co-occurring
speech and language impairments. Estimates
of the co-morbidity of speech and language deficits in this
population are as high as 60–75% (e.g., Paul & Shriberg,
1982). However, surprisingly little is known about how to
best treat children who have impairments in both speech
and language.
Research by Tyler, Lewis, Haskill, and Tolbert (2003)
investigated the efficacy of different goal attack strategies for
children with both speech and language impairments. These
researchers addressed the question of whether it is more
effective for intervention to alternate between the domains
of phonology and morphosyntax or whether a single domain
should be selected as the focus of intervention, with the
The effect of two different types
of intervention on cluster
production in children with
speech and language impairment
Cecilia Kirk, Gail T. Gillon, and Megan Hide