Search for:

Research

About Our Research

Approximately 11% of kindergartners present with a speech sound disorder (SSD), also called phonological disorder. These children have difficulties producing speech sounds accurately despite normal hearing. Children with SSD often have speech perception difficulties, phonological awareness difficulties, language difficulties, and are more at risk for later academic difficulties.

Our research focuses on better understanding factors responsible for these speech production difficulties so that we can better identify subtypes of SSD and factors which will more reliably predict persistence or recovery from SSD. Ultimately, we want to develop more effective intervention strategies for children with SSD.

We conduct research with preschoolers (usually 3 to 7-year-olds) with SSD, and with typical speech and language development. Currently, our lab is investigating questions such as:

  • How does a child’s ability to perceive speech sounds affect their ability to produce these speech sounds?
  • Do children with weaker speech perception and phonological awareness abilities produce more atypical speech sound errors?
  • Do children who speak both Spanish and English produce different types of speech errors compared to children who are monolingual English speakers?

Ongoing Studies

Study 1: Relationship Between Speech Perception and Speech Production

This series of studies investigate how children perceive speech sounds that they produce accurately, and speech sounds that they produce in error. We compare these relationships in children with typical speech and language development, children with SSD and strong language abilities, and children with SSD and Developmental Language Disorder. Ultimately, we want to better identify subtypes of SSD and develop better intervention strategies focusing on both speech perception and production for these children. 

Study 2: Phonological Processing Skills, Language Abilities, and Types of Speech Errors

We are investigating types of speech errors such as vowel distortions, omissions of consonants, and substitutions of consonants in groups of children with varied speech and language abilities. Children with SSD and Developmental Language Disorder, for example, seem to produce more vowel errors compared to children who have SSD and stronger language skills. Children with SSD and weak phonological awareness abilities have also been shown to produce more atypical speech errors, and more omission errors. The long-term goal of this project is to develop intervention strategies which are more effective and efficient for children with SSD.

Study 3: Cross-Linguistic Comparisons of Speech Errors

In our previous work, we showed that children with SSD who are monolingual French speakers produce more omission errors and less substitution errors compared to monolingual English speakers with SSD. We are currently investigating the types of speech errors produced by children with and without SSD who are either monolingual English speakers, or bilingual Spanish-English speakers. The long-term goal of this project is to better identify SSD in children who speak languages other than English.