Identifying phonological patterns and projecting remediation cycles: Expediting intelligibility gains of a 7 year old Australian child

The primary purpose of this case study was to analyse phonological deviations of a 7 year old with highly unintelligible speech in order to (a) identify deficient phonological patterns, (b) determine the severity of his phonological impairment, (c) identify optimal target patterns for treatment, and (d) obtain baseline data to be used for comparison following treatment. The method involved analysing transcriptions of 50 phonological assessment words for occurrences of (a) syllable/word structure omissions, (b) consonant category deficiencies, and (c) substitutions and other strategies. The total occurrences of major phonological deviations placed this client’s performance in the profound range of phonological impairment. Primary target patterns for the first cycle of intervention include: (a) final consonants, (b) /s/ clusters, (c) velars, and (d) liquids. Potential optimal phoneme targets to enhance the phonological patterns were projected for cycle one (approximately 16 contact hours). In addition, potential secondary target patterns for later cycles were discussed.