Temporal Reliability of Independent Analysis for Late Talkers Phonological Productions
Advisor Information
Shari DeVeney
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-3-2016 12:45 PM
End Date
4-3-2016 2:15 PM
Abstract
Late talkers are young children identified with a language delay in the absence of any causal developmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual deficits, sensory deficits). Not only do late talkers exhibit language delays (e.g., using gestures more often than words to communicate), but they also exhibit delays in speech sound development (e.g., not being able to consistently produce certain sounds like “m” or “p”). For speech-language pathologists (SLPs), part of the assessment process to determine if young children are presenting with language and/or speech sound delays includes collecting and analyzing a sample of conversational speech. One way to analyze this sample for speech sound content is through use of informal phonological (i.e., speech sound) analyses. The present study was an extension of Morris’ (2009) study in which two 20-minute speech samples were collected one week apart under similar conditions for typically developing 18- to 24-month old children and analyzed using two different informal procedures, phonetic inventory and word shape analysis. Morris (2009) found the informal analyses to be inconsistent and unreliable. The present study involved three participants identified as being late talkers aged 24- to 31-months (M = 26.67; SD = 3.79) using similar procedures to Morris. Findings indicated substantive differences for the informal analyses used across two of the three participants. Because SLPs may use the results of these analyses to make treatment decisions for clinical populations like late talkers, use of reliable measures is crucial. More research in this area is warranted.
Temporal Reliability of Independent Analysis for Late Talkers Phonological Productions
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Late talkers are young children identified with a language delay in the absence of any causal developmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, intellectual deficits, sensory deficits). Not only do late talkers exhibit language delays (e.g., using gestures more often than words to communicate), but they also exhibit delays in speech sound development (e.g., not being able to consistently produce certain sounds like “m” or “p”). For speech-language pathologists (SLPs), part of the assessment process to determine if young children are presenting with language and/or speech sound delays includes collecting and analyzing a sample of conversational speech. One way to analyze this sample for speech sound content is through use of informal phonological (i.e., speech sound) analyses. The present study was an extension of Morris’ (2009) study in which two 20-minute speech samples were collected one week apart under similar conditions for typically developing 18- to 24-month old children and analyzed using two different informal procedures, phonetic inventory and word shape analysis. Morris (2009) found the informal analyses to be inconsistent and unreliable. The present study involved three participants identified as being late talkers aged 24- to 31-months (M = 26.67; SD = 3.79) using similar procedures to Morris. Findings indicated substantive differences for the informal analyses used across two of the three participants. Because SLPs may use the results of these analyses to make treatment decisions for clinical populations like late talkers, use of reliable measures is crucial. More research in this area is warranted.