Patterns of sound change in children with phonological disorders

This paper presents longitudinal data that provide insight into the phonological learning of five children. These children were superficially similar in that all presented with errors affecting production of [s]; however, it will be argued that each child possessed a phonological system that was unique in certain ways. Production of [s]was established with each participant using a motoric training approach, and generalization was assessed over a 3-4-month period using a 50-item probe. Once treatment was initiated, changes in the production of [s]and in other properties of the phonological systems were observed. Some of these changes illustrated apparent learning strategies that were child-specific, whereas other changes were common to all of these children and may, in fact, be universal in nature.