Phonology

[sasmith]

I have a kindergarten student I have worked with now for nearly a year. He uses multiple phonological processes including final consonant deletion, velar fronting, gliding of all fricatives, weak syllable deletion and more. He is nearly unintelligible in out-of-context conversation. (He has a little brother that uses nearly the same speech pattern-family hx). He is seemingly rather bright. However, he has profound difficulty generalizing rules he has been taught (and seems to understand) into conversation. We have focused primarily on final consonant deletion. He is not always able to determine which sound belongs at the end of the word without time and thought (I am not expecting perfection due to the limited repetoire of sounds he uses- he cannot seem to even attach a "close' facsimile in conversation). It is just not coming to him no matter how many different ways I try to teach it. I would LOVE any new ideas! [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[mgm1]

Is he able to imitate sounds in words?? Are his sound errors consistent? Also, how is his discrimination?? If this is poor, he may need some intensive discrimination training in conjunction with sound practice.

[sasmith]

His sound errors are somewhat consistent. We have worked and worked on discrimination. He is able to discriminate quite well with good accuracy. He can imitate after a model in single words with great consistency. However, after a delay he struggles. The same with phrases and sentences. He is able to produce the phrase/sentence after a model quite consistently. After a delay the accuracy goes down considerable. This has been going on for months and months. I am at a loss for where to go from here.

[sasmith]

considerably-oops

[mgm1]

Have you tried contrast word drills? I use those. I also have used repetitive syllable drills with good results. The children seem to like them and are very motivated to practice them. They build speed and accuracy at the syllable level which generalizes into connected speech. There are some of these exercises on the Therasimplicity website (requires a subscription). Tell me what you are doing with these children. I am interested in all techniques for this population.

[sasmith]

I have not tried syllable drills. I will try that! [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] How exactly do you do it? Do you have them repeat the same syllables or varied syllables? Do you do this during an activity (like a game) or in a timed fashion (like as many as they can say in 60 sec)? I do not currently have a subscription to Therasimplicity. I wish that I did.

I have tried many approaches with this particular child. I used identification of contrasts (with and without final consonants) in syllables and words using imagery ("caboose sounds"). For example, "does that word have a "caboose sound?". I have used minimal pair words to emphasize the importance of the final consonant in word meaning. We focused on one final consonant at a time (e.g., final /p/ words), and alternately we also tried varied final consonants (for him it seems to work better to vary the final sounds-otherwise he overgeneralizes). He has made great progress in being able to identify which kind of sound is at the end of a word (popping, blowing, nosie). We have tried sorting single syllable word cards into the kind of final sound they have, then producing the word following a model, then producing the word following a 10 second delay, and putting it in a phrase. But it isn't coming to him in spontaneous conversation yet. It has been going on for so long, I am grateful for your input. I am ready to try some new things.

[mgm1]

Give me your e-mail and I will send you an example of a syllable drill that I use. The kids love them-I think it is because they are so repetitive and predictable. At first it is hard for them- however, the students get really excited as they gain control and can increase speed. They will pull these drills out and voluntarily practice them. It may be helpful for your little student.

[hpslp@316]

MGM1: I am interested in the syllable drills you mention in your posts. Do you mind e-mailing a copy to me? THANKS!

[mgm1]

Sure . Send me your e-mail address.

[Ollie]

You are probably going to be flooded w/ requests for your syllable drill sheet....
Would you mind sending it to me too?
THANKS!

[mgm1]

Send me your e-mail and I will send you an example. What are you doing with these children with multiple processing errors?

[GZiglar]

Would you mind emailing me a copy of the drills as well. Thanks. roanokesplangthersrv@hotmail.com

[GZiglar]

Sorry -- had a typo in my post. Email address should have been
roanokesplangtherserv@hotmail.com

[gageg@nts-online.net]

MGM1--I would also like a copy of your syllable drills. My e-mail is gigiglo44@nts-online.net.
Thanks so much.

[sasmith]

Thank you so much for your help! My email address is sarah.smith@jordan.k12.ut.us