Syllable onsets II: three-element clusters in phonological treatment

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• The Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) guides typical phonological development.
• Word-initial three-element clusters present unique linguistic challenges due to representational asymmetry.
• The efficacy of treating complex clusters in children with phonological delays is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acquisition of word-initial three-element clusters in children with functional phonological delays.
• To examine the impact of treatment on complex cluster acquisition and generalization patterns.
• To explore the relationship between linguistic complexity, treatment effectiveness, and generalization.

Main Methods:

• A single-subject staggered multiple-baseline experimental design was employed.
• Treatment focused on word-initial three-element clusters for children aged 3;4 to 6;3.
• Generalization to untreated singletons and two-element clusters was assessed.

Main Results:

• Children successfully learned the treated three-element clusters.
• No generalization occurred to similar asymmetric onsets.
• Widespread generalization to untreated singletons (including affricates) was observed.
• Differential generalization to two-element clusters was linked to individual singleton inventories.

Conclusions:

• Treatment of complex three-element clusters can be effective for children with phonological delays.
• Generalization patterns are complex and influenced by linguistic factors like inventory composition.
• Findings suggest a segmental-syllabic interface model for predicting treatment outcomes in speech sound disorders.