This study considers the much-debated markedness and structural status of w
ord-initial /s/-sequences in English by examining the development of KR (ma
le, age 3;6) who has a phonological disorder. Three points in time are disc
ussed: (1) when all initial consonant sequences are reduced to singletons;
(2) when only initial /s/-sequences surface correctly; and (3) when all ini
tial consonant sequences surface correctly. While these production patterns
are common across developing systems, few accounts have addressed them in
terms of structure or markedness. Toward that end, it is argued that KR's /
s/-sequences surface as ADJUNCTS, rather than complex onsets. This is expla
ined within optimality theory, whereby high-ranking markedness constraints
prevent complex onsets but not adjuncts. The account offers an explanation
for consonant sequence asymmetries within and across grammars, allowing for
differing representations for /s/-sequences across speakers and for variat
ion exhibited in children's productions. A typology of possible grammars is
therefore offered, and clinical implications are considered.