Collaborating to Obtain Phonological Acquisition Data for Local Schools

Twelve school-based speech-language practitioners enlisted the assistance of a university clinical phonologist to help them implement a collaborative research project for their school system in order to investigate phonological acquisition.

The school practitioners transcribed speech samples of 520 typically developing children between the ages of 2:6 and 8:0 (years:months). Responses were coded for syllable/word structures (e.g., final consonant deletion) and phoneme classes (e.g., velar deficiencies).

The 3-year-olds in this sample had acquired all major phoneme classes except liquids. For the older participants, /l/ was acquired between 4 and 5 years of age and /r/ between 5 and 6 years of age. Although the strident phoneme class had reached the criterion for acquisition by age 3 years, sibilant lisps were still common until the age of 7 years. Another finding was the rare occurrence of omissions.

The practitioners resolved that when determining whether a preschooler would be eligible to receive treatment services as a part of their caseloads, consistent speech sound omissions appeared to be a critical indicator and should be considered a higher priority than substitutions and/or distortions.

The collaborative effort between the university clinical phonologist and the school-based speech-language practitioners was considered to be a valuable experience and a model for future collaborative partnerships.