Phonological Analysis of Cerebral Palsied Children's Utterances

Abstract

Spontaneous object-naming responses of ten four- to six-year-old children with spastic cerebral palsy were analyzed phonologically. Results indicated that Liquid deviations were prevalent in their utterances and that percentage-of-occurrence means were higher for / | / deviations than for /r, θ/ deviations. Omissions were noted to be relatively infrequent in their speech except in consonant clusters. Lateralization and Postvocalic devoicing were the most prevalent miscellaneous error patterns. The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary baseline information about phonological systems of a group of children with cerebral palsy that ultimately would serve as a basis for formulating and testing clinical hypotheses that incorporate phonological principles in remediation planning.