SLP - Speech-Language Pathology Speech Sound Production Disorders Questions and Answers

Question 1

A 7-year-old child demonstrates highly unintelligible speech characterized by multiple, variable sound errors. For example, the word "superman" is produced as "tupamæ", "fuman", and "sutami" within the same evaluation session. The child is able to produce most individual sounds in isolation when prompted. Which treatment approach would be most appropriate for this child?

Accepted Answer

Core Vocabulary Approach

Answer

The Core Vocabulary Approach is designed for children with inconsistent speech disorder, characterized by variable productions of the same word. [3, 10, 18] The primary goal is to establish consistent, though not necessarily perfect, production of a set of functionally powerful words. [10] The child's ability to produce sounds in isolation suggests the issue is not with motor production (articulation) but with phonological planning and consistency. [3]

Question 2

An SLP is differentiating between Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) and Dysarthria in a 5-year-old. Which of the following characteristics is more indicative of CAS than Dysarthria?

Accepted Answer

Inconsistent errors on repeated productions of the same word and groping for articulatory postures

Answer

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor planning disorder characterized by inconsistent errors, difficulty with sequencing sounds and syllables, and visible groping for articulatory postures. [12, 16] In contrast, Dysarthria is a motor execution disorder resulting from muscle weakness, which typically leads to more consistent errors, slurred speech, and changes in voice quality like breathiness. [2, 4, 12]

Question 3

A 4-year-old child consistently substitutes /t/ for /k/ (e.g., "tat" for "cat") and /d/ for /g/ (e.g., "doe" for "go"). This child demonstrates a phonological pattern known as:

Accepted Answer

Fronting

Answer

Fronting is a phonological process where velar or palatal sounds (made in the back of the mouth) like /k/ and /g/ are substituted with alveolar sounds (made in the front of the mouth) like /t/ and /d/. This child is consistently moving the place of articulation forward, which is the definition of fronting. [6]

Question 4

Which of the following is the key difference between an articulation disorder and a phonological disorder?

Accepted Answer

An articulation disorder is a problem with the physical production of specific speech sounds, while a phonological disorder involves a pattern of errors related to the rules of a language's sound system. [26, 28]

Answer

The core distinction is that articulation disorders are related to the motor act of producing individual sounds (e.g., a lisp for /s/). [13, 27] In contrast, phonological disorders are language-based and involve predictable, rule-based error patterns that affect entire classes of sounds (e.g., deleting all final consonants). [13, 28]

Question 5

An SLP is designing an intervention for a child with a moderate phonological disorder characterized by final consonant deletion. The SLP selects pairs of words like "bee"/"beach" and "go"/"goat" to highlight the semantic difference the final consonant makes. This treatment technique is known as:

Accepted Answer

Minimal Pairs Approach

Answer

The Minimal Pairs approach uses pairs of words that differ by only one phoneme or feature to help a child understand that a change in sound creates a change in meaning. [1, 19, 23] This is a classic technique for addressing phonological patterns like final consonant deletion.

SLP - Speech-Language Pathology Practice Test

SLP - Speech-Language Pathology Practice Test

SLP - Speech-Language Pathology Speech Sound Production Disorders Questions and Answers