Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Perception in 4-Year-Old Children With Delayed Expressive Phonology Skills The purpose of this study was to compare the phonological awareness abilities of 2 groups of 4-year-old children: one with normally developing speech and language skills and the other with moderately or severely delayed expressive phonological skills but age-appropriate receptive vocabulary skills. Each group received tests of articulation, receptive vocabulary, ... Research Article
Research Article  |   November 01, 2003
Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Perception in 4-Year-Old Children With Delayed Expressive Phonology Skills
Susan Rvachew, PhD, Alyssa Ohberg, Meghann Grawburg, and Joan Heyding
 
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Susan Rvachew, PhD
    McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Alyssa Ohberg
    McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Meghann Grawburg
    McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Joan Heyding
    McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Contact author: Susan Rvachew, PhD, Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, 1266 Pine Avenue West, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A8, Canada.
    Contact author: Susan Rvachew, PhD, Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, 1266 Pine Avenue West, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A8, Canada.×
  • Corresponding author: E-mail: susan.rvachew@mcgill.ca
  • Copyright © 2003 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Article Information
Development / Speech, Voice & Prosody / Research Articles
Research Article   |   November 01, 2003
Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Perception in 4-Year-Old Children With Delayed Expressive Phonology Skills
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, November 2003, Vol. 12, 463-471. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2003/092)
History: Received March 20, 2003 , Accepted September 22, 2003
 
American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, November 2003, Vol. 12, 463-471. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2003/092)
History: Received March 20, 2003; Accepted September 22, 2003
Web of Science® Times Cited: 59

The purpose of this study was to compare the phonological awareness abilities of 2 groups of 4-year-old children: one with normally developing speech and language skills and the other with moderately or severely delayed expressive phonological skills but age-appropriate receptive vocabulary skills. Each group received tests of articulation, receptive vocabulary, phonemic perception, early literacy, and phonological awareness skills. The groups were matched for receptive language skills, age, socioeconomic status, and emergent literacy knowledge. The children with expressive phonological delays demonstrated significantly poorer phonemic perception and phonological awareness skills than their normally developing peers. The results suggest that preschool children with delayed expressive phonological abilities should be screened for their phonological awareness skills even when their language skills are otherwise normally developing.

Acknowledgments
This study was completed with support from the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network. We are also grateful for the support of the Speech-Language Departments of the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and to Robin Gaines in particular for her assistance with participant recruitment. Thanks are also extended to the participants and their parents for their time and cooperation in this study, and to Jessica Whitley for her assistance with data entry and manuscript preparation.
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