The effects of phonological cycles treatment on the occurrence of phonological patterns

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of a modified Cycles Phonological Remediation Approach with phonemic awareness intervention on the phonological pattern errors and phonemic awareness skills of a preschool child with a moderate phonological disorder. One six-year-old child with a moderate phonological disorder was included in this study. A multiple-baseline across behaviors was implemented. The treatment phase implemented a modified CPRA with an emphasis on phonemic awareness. Results revealed velar and liquids phonemes (i.e., patterns of fronting and gliding) displayed no improvement throughout treatment phases. However, /s/ clusters (i.e., cluster reduction pattern) showed consistent performance across the three cycles of treatment following the baseline phase. Percentage of occurrence for all target phonological error patterns decreased from pretest to posttest. Occurrence decreased by almost half for one of the phonological patterns resulting in a clinically significant result. Improvement was shown for all phonological awareness skills, with two tasks also reaching clinical significance. The findings of this study support the implementation of phonemic awareness in the CPRA for children with phonological disorders. Clinical implications will be discussed.