DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY OF ABNORMAL ALVEOLAR STOPS IN A SPEECH-DISORDERED CHILD USING ELECTROPALATOGRAPHY

This case study used electropalatography (EPG) to investigate the arti culatory events that occurred during lingual stops in a child with a d evelopmental speech disorder. Abnormal tongue-palate contact was obser ved in all alveolar stop targets (oral and nasal). This involved the p roduction of complex articulations, resembling either double velar/alv eolar articulations or palatalized velars. These complex gestures were found to be longer in duration than those for velar targets (which sh owed normal EPG patterns). Auditory judgements made by 20 (IPA-trained ) listeners failed to identify the underlying systematic nature of the disorder. A therapy programme using EPG for visual feedback was succe ssful, and post-therapy results showed normal-looking EPG patterns for alveolar stops. The diagnosis of this type of disorder is discussed w ith reference to the evidence presented and in terms of the recent pho nological-phonetic-articulation debate. The clinical implications in t erms of assessment and treatment of similar cases are discussed.