A hypothesis-testing approach to treatment of a child with an idiosyncratic (morpho)phonological system

Evaluation of a 6-year-old language-impaired girl's phonological and morphophonological systems revealed several idiosyncratic characteristics. Three hypotheses regarding the nature of this child's impairment were developed and then tested by monitoring the child's progress in therapy. The results of the intervention program supported all three hypotheses in principle. It is concluded that phonologically impaired children must learn to communicate facing articulatory and linguistic constraints similar to but often greater than those influencing the performance of younger normally developing children. It can be expected, then, that these children often will use phonological rules commonly found among normal children. It should also be expected that they occasionally will be led to phonological and morphological solutions to their communication problems that are unusual, if not idiosyncratic. The hypothesis-testing approach used in this investigation is advocated as a useful step in the development of an efficient intervention program and as a means of gaining insight into the nature of children's phonological and morphological impairments.