Speech Sound Perception Training

Speech Sound Perception Training is a phonological approach within the field of speech language pathology. Speech Perception Training is best suited for children with moderate to severe speech sound disorders that are phonological in nature. This approach is frequently utilized with younger children and focuses on the issues of input processing/speech perception and phonological awareness/literacy.

These issues are closely intertwined and positively correlated to one another, as one improves the other does as well. The approach is aimed at aiding children in recognizing distortions of sounds in another person’s speech as well as aiding them in identifying and recognizing distortions and errors in their own speech production by encouraging self-monitoring.

Research has proven this approach to be beneficial for children who make the same speech production errors as those they have difficulties discriminating. For example, if a child produces /r/ incorrectly he/she may not be able to accurately discriminate /r/ from similar sounding phonemes in that same phoneme class. It should be noted that this intervention is frequently used with children who specifically have trouble producing and differentiating the fricative and liquid phonemes. Additionally, this approach may prove beneficial in indirectly teaching letter to sound correspondence which in turn enhances the child’s literacy skills.

Resources:

Rvachew, S. (1994, April). Speech Perception Training Can Facilitate Sound Production Learning. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 37(2), 347-357. doi:10.1044/jshr.3702.347

Rvachew, S., Nowak, M., & Cloutier, G. (2004, August). Effect of Phonemic Perception Training on the Speech Production and Phonological Awareness Skills of Children With Expressive Phonological Delay. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 13(3), 250-263. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2004/026)