Speech perception training can facilitate sound production learning

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology
• Auditory Perception

Background:

• Phonological errors are common in preschoolers.
• Effective interventions for speech sound disorders are crucial.
• Speech perception training may enhance traditional therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of speech perception training in correcting phonological errors.
• To determine if discriminating between correct and incorrect /integral of/ sounds impacts articulation improvement.
• To compare the effects of different auditory discrimination tasks.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-seven preschoolers with phonological impairment were randomly assigned to three groups.
• All groups received traditional sound production training.
• Groups differed in concurrent speech perception training involving auditory discrimination tasks.
• A computer game reinforced correct word identification.

Main Results:

• Children trained to discriminate /integral of/ sounds (Groups 1 & 2) showed significantly better articulation improvement.
• Group 1 (listening to 'shoe') and Group 2 (listening to 'shoe' and 'moo') outperformed Group 3 (unrelated sounds).
• Speech perception training enhanced the effectiveness of traditional articulation therapy.

Conclusions:

• Targeted speech perception training, focusing on discriminating correct from incorrect productions, is beneficial for correcting phonological errors.
• Auditory discrimination of speech sounds plays a role in articulatory development.
• Integrating speech perception tasks can improve outcomes in speech sound disorder interventions.