Phonological Processes

What are phonological processes?

Phonological processes are normal in typically developing children. Phonological processes are the patterns that children use to simplify adult speech. Examples include, "wa-wa" for water or "tat" for cat. These patterns are normal during speech development and by age 5 most children stop using them. When children stop using phonological processes, their speech becomes more understandable. A disorder may exist if these patterns persist beyond the developmental norms.

The following are examples of the most common phonological processes: Click here for informational chart.

Phonological Processing Disorder

INITIAL CONSONANT DELETION:

This process is when a child leaves off the beginning or initial sound in a word. For example, a child might say “up” for “cup” or “an” for “man”. This process should be suppressed by the age of 3 years.

FINAL CONSONANT DELETION:

This process is when a child leaves off the ending or final sound in a word. For example, a child might say “ha” for “hat” or “ca” for “cat”. This process should be suppressed by the age of 3 years.

FRONTING:

This process is when a child substitutes a sound made at the front of the mouth (t, d, p, b, m) for a sound that is produced in the back of the mouth (k, g, ng). For example, a child might say “dum” for “gum” or “tat” for “cat”. This process should be suppressed by the age of 3 years.

CLUSTER REDUCTION:

This process occurs when a child leaves off a sound in a consonant blend of two or more sounds. For example, a child might say “nake” for “snake” or “bush” for “brush”. This process should be suppressed between the ages of 3 years 6 months and 4 years.

WEAK SYLLABLE DELETION:

This process occurs when a child leaves off an unstressed syllable in a multisyllabic word. For example, a child might say “ghetti” for “spaghetti” or “micwave” for “microwave”. This process should be suppressed between the ages of 3 years 6 months and 4 years.

STOPPING:

This process is when a child substitutes a consonant where the airflow is stopped (p, b, t, d, k, g) for a fricative or affricate sound that has continuous airflow (f, v, s, z, sh, ch, j, th). For example, the child might say “doo” for “zoo” or “pun” for “fun”. This process should be suppressed between the ages of 3 years and 5+ years depending on the sound:

‘f’ = 3 years
‘v’, ‘s’, ‘z’ = 3 years to 3 years, 6 months
‘sh’ = 4 years to 4 years, 6 months
‘ch’, ‘j’ = 4 years, 6 months to 5 years
‘th’ = 5+ years

GLIDING:

This process is when a child produces a /w/ for a /r/ or /l/. For example, a child might say “wun” for “run” or “wip” for “lip”. This process often continues past the age of 5 years.

**Please consult with a Speech Language Pathologist to determine if your child is exhibiting a phonological disorder or an age-appropriate simplification.

Source: Clinical Phonology (p. 229), by P. Grunwell, 1987, Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Systems Corporation

What could therapy look like?

The cycles approach targets phonological pattern errors and is designed for highly unintelligible children who have extensive omissions, some substitutions, and a restricted use of consonants. The goal is to increase intelligibility within a short period of time, and treatment is scheduled in cycles ranging from 5 to 16 weeks. During each cycle, one or more phonological patterns are targeted. After each cycle has been completed, another cycle begins, targeting one or more different phonological patterns. Recycling of phonological patterns continues until the targeted patterns are present in the child's spontaneous speech (Hodson, 2010; Prezas & Hodson, 2010). The goal is to approximate the gradual normal phonological development process. There is no predetermined level of mastery of phonemes or phoneme patterns within each cycle; cycles are used to stimulate the emergence of a specific sound or pattern, not produce mastery of it.

About evidence and expert opinion

Evidence indicates that the "Cycles Approach results in improved consonant production in conversational contexts ..., that children with less severe phonological and language impairments improve in both domains when the Cycles Approach is used ..., and that earlier implementation of the Cycles Approach results in improved outcome ..." (Hassink & Wendt, 2010, p. 4).

A phonological process approach may utilize minimal or maximal pair contrasts. This video will describe the phonological process treatment approach and provide a treatment demonstration.