Phonological, Phonetic-Articulatory, and Orthographic Challenges in Brazilian Children with Residual Speech Errors

This study examines the language skills and phonetic-articulatory awareness of Brazilian children with residual speech errors, which are speech sound errors that persist beyond the typical age of acquisition, remaining despite prior therapy. A rise in the number of older children presenting speech and writing errors has been noted in clinical settings, highlighting the need for continued research on these issues. Eight children, aged 8 to 14, receiving treatment for writing difficulties at a speech-language clinic, were assessed. Standardized assessments evaluated their speech production, writing skills, and phonetic-articulatory awareness. Data revealed that the most common phonological processes observed were consonant cluster reduction, liquid substitutions and backing, patterns previously identified in a study of residual speech errors in Brazilian Portuguese speakers (Alexandre et al., 2020). Analysis of their writing revealed a high frequency of phoneme-to-grapheme conversion errors, omissions, transpositions, and orthographic irregularities. These results support studies emphasizing the influence of phonological difficulties on spelling (Preston & Leece, 2017). However, not all speech errors were reflected in writing; some orthographic challenges may arise from phonological errors overcome in speech but persisting in writing (Cabbage et al., 2016). Evaluations also revealed difficulties in phonetic-articulatory awareness, including challenges in associating speech sounds with appropriate articulatory representations and discriminating similar sounds. These issues likely contribute to confusion in phoneme-to-grapheme conversion, leading to orthographic errors. These findings highlight the importance of integrated therapeutic approaches that address both speech and writing challenges, supporting the linguistic and academic development of children with residual speech errors. A better understanding of how speech errors relate to writing skills can enhance speech-language therapy practices.

REFERENCES

Alexandre, P. D., Beber, B. C., & Dias, R. F. (2020). Residual speech errors: Preliminary study on characteristics of phonetic/phonological systems in Brazilian Portuguese speakers. Distúrbios da Comunicação, 32(4), 649–657. https://doi.org/10.23925/2176-2724.2020v32i4p649-657

Cabbage, K. L., Hogan, T. P., & Carrell, T. D. (2016). Speech perception differences in children with dyslexia and persistent speech delay. Speech Communication, 82, 71–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.specom.2016.05.002

Preston, J. L., & Leece, M. C. (2017). Intensive treatment for persisting rhotic distortions: A case series. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 26(4), 1066–1079. https://doi.org/10.1044/2017_AJSLP-16-0232