title: Preschool speech error patterns predict articulation and phonological awareness outcomes in children with histories of speech sound disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if speech error patterns in preschoolers with speech sound disorders (SSDs) predict articulation and phonological awareness (PA) outcomes almost 4 years later.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five children with histories of preschool SSDs (and normal receptive language) were tested at an average age of 4;6 (years;months) and were followed up at age 8;3. The frequency of occurrence of preschool distortion errors, typical substitution and syllable structure errors, and atypical substitution and syllable structure errors was used to predict later speech sound production, PA, and literacy outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group averages revealed below-average school-age articulation scores and low-average PA but age-appropriate reading and spelling. Preschool speech error patterns were related to school-age outcomes. Children for whom >10% of their speech sound errors were atypical had lower PA and literacy scores at school age than children who produced <10% atypical errors. Preschoolers who produced more distortion errors were likely to have lower school-age articulation scores than preschoolers who produced fewer distortion errors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Different preschool speech error patterns predict different school-age clinical outcomes. Many atypical speech sound errors in preschoolers may be indicative of weak phonological representations, leading to long-term PA weaknesses. Preschoolers' distortions may be resistant to change over time, leading to persisting speech sound production problems.
authors.affiliation: Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA. preston@haskins.yale.edu
authors.forename: Jonathan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hull
authors.forename: Mary Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D001184:Articulation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001364:Awareness; D002648:Child; D002663:Child Language; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D010700:Phonetics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011932:Reading; D013060:Speech; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D066229:Speech Sound Disorder