Gierut, J. (2001). Complexity in phon…
Gierut, J. (2001). Complexity in phonological treatment: Clinical Factors. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 32, 229-241. Retrieved March 17 , 2008, from ASHA Journals (http://journals.asha.org) .
TAP
The topic of this article was the role of complexity in phonological treatment. More specifically the role of complexity in regards to selecting treatment targets. The article is intented for students and speech langauge pathologists interested in the treatment of phonological disorders. The purpose of this particular article is to revisit the previously published single-subject study and examine complexity associated with conventional clinical factors and it’s role in treatment efficacy.
Claim(s)
1. There are 3 clinical factors that influence complexity and should be considered when selecting treatment targets. The 3 clinical factors are consistent error, later acquired sound, and two new sounds paired with each other.
2. The consistency of errors may vary accross contexts. The treatment of sounds that are consistently in error result in broader generalization across the sound system. The treatment of consistent errors is more efficacious.
3. Select later acquired sounds as targets. This leads to broader system-wide improvements.
4. Several approaches exist regarding the number of targets to treat at a time; more than one at a time, two at a time, etc. Use evidence presented in the article with caution because the recommendations about the number of errors to target at a time were derived from comparisons of minimal pairs, not other forms of treatment.
Evidence
The author discussed and examined many studies related to each clinical factor that the author claimed influences complexity. The studies and journal articles provided support for the claims the author made.
Connections
Text-to-self: It’s so strange to me that targeting the most complex targets results in greater system-wide change and generalization. I think it would result in the least change or slower change since the complex targets are “harder” and there would be more to learn. But then if there’s more to learn, maybe that’s why there’s greater change. There’s more for the child to learn and change. I think it’s all beginning to make since.
Text-to-text: The selection of targets and the clinical factors that should be considered were discussed in many of the articles I read for my assessment position paper about stimulability testing.
Text-to-world: This article provides evidence for decisions about target selection that can help speech-language pathologists justify their clinical decisions.
