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Hew PHONOLOGICAL
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DISORDERS Intervention:
Phonological Contrast or Core
Vocabulary?
Emily Edwards & Michelle Handy
Phonological Disorders Ye
yo Wa
bbit
They are a type of speech sound disorders.

● Focuses on predictable, rule-based errors

(ASHA)
● Affects more than one sound
● Occurs when phonological processes are still
present after an expected age
● Typically are more developmental
● Sometimes can be non-developmental
Intervention
Phonological Contrast & Core Vocabulary
 PHONOLOGICAL
CONTRAST
Speech sound error
patterns
Phonological contrast targets
specific speech sound error
patterns by showing how
phonemes change meanings.
Reorganize the
linguistic system
As the clinician shows the
meaningful contrast of words,
children are able to organize
speech sound into sequences.
Continued: The
intervention
How does this work?

● The clinician shows client that phonemes contrast a

difference in meaning
● These contrasts need to made to avoid
misunderstanding
● Ex: /t/ phoneme for /k/ in “key” completely changes the
meaning of the word
● Minimal oppositions, maximal oppositions, treatment of
the empty set, multiple oppositions
○ Minimal/multiple more widely used

When clinicians are able to point out these differences, children

are able to organize sounds into classes and sequences into
structures.
 CORE VOCABULARY

Whole word production Word planning

Not focused on if they can
Difficulty coming up with a
say the word correctly. More
strategy and plan for the
focused on getting them to
word they are trying to say.
say the word the same way
Important to not give them a
consistently.
strategy and have them come
up with one for themselves.
Continued: The Intervention

How?
A list of at least 50 words is acquired and a certain amount are
worked on during each session. If the optimum output is not
reached, clinician will copy what was said and make it known
how it was different and let the child come up with a plan to
fix the error made.
ex.“dat” instead of “sat” the clinician would repeat the way
the child had originally said it, “dat”, and address the fact that
it is different from the way she says it by showing that the
child said it with a /d/ sound when it should be an /s/.
 Would phonological contrast
intervention or core vocabulary
intervention show greater
improvement in children who
present with phonological
disorders?
 Inconsistent Versus
Consistent Speech
-Inconsistent speech is when they pronounce the
same word differently every time they say it. “a high
proportion of differing repeated productions with
multiple error types, that include errors at both the
phonemic (e.g. fronting of velars, /h/ deletes word-
initially) and syllable level (e.g. syllable deletion or
addition; final consonant deletion)”(McIntosh & Dodd,
2008)
-Consistent speech is when they have the same
speech pattern errors every time.
 Comparison

Core Vocabulary Phonological contrast

Works better for Works better for
children with children with
inconsistent consistent speech
speech errors. sound errors.

Focus on speech
sound error
Focus on whole
patterns through
words
specific
phonemic sounds
 Justification

Core Vocabulary
While phonological contrast works very well with
those who have a non-developmental consistent
phonological disorder, it is believed that a larger
number of children have a developmental inconsistent
phonological disorder. Because of this, core
vocabulary is the better intervention for treating
phonological disorders as a whole.
 RESOURCES
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.) Speech Sound Disorders:
Articulation and Phonology. (Practice Portal). Retrieved December, 5th, 2022, from
www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Articulation-and-Phonology/.

Crosbie, S., Holm, A., & Dodd, B. (2005). Intervention for children with severe
speech disorder: A comparison of two approaches. International Journal of Language
& Communication Disorders, 40(4), 467–491.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820500126049

Dodd, B., & Bradford, A. (2000). A Comparison Of Three Therapy Methods For
Children With Different Types Of Developmental Phonological Disorder.
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 35(2), 189–209.
https://doi.org/10.1080/136828200247142

McIntosh B, & Dodd B. (2009). Evaluation of Core Vocabulary intervention for

treatment of inconsistent phonological disorder: three treatment case studies. Child
Language Teaching & Therapy, 25(1), 9–29.
https://doi-org.seu.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0265659008100811