USE OF PHONOLOGICAL INFORMATION IN A WORD-FINDING TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN

Two children with word-finding deficits characterized largely by seman tic substitutions participated in a treatment involving phonological i nformation about target words. The treatment was motivated by models o f naming where semantic information and phonological information are s tored in independent ordered components. Given such models, it is poss ible to characterize some semantic word-finding substitutions as well as phonological word-finding substitutions as the result of breakdown at the level of the phonological output representation. The treatment was organized according to a single-subject multiple baseline design a cross behaviors and subjects. As hypothesized, the phonologically base d treatment resulted in reduction not only of occasional phonological word-finding substitutions but also of the targe number of semantic wo rd-finding substitutions displayed during baseline and control measure s of confrontation naming. In light of these data, the possible source of word-finding breakdowns in these children is explored.