PIP                      Phonological

                                        Intervention

                                        Project        

Significance

The significance of the research conducted through PIP is related to the widespread problem of phonological disorders in preschool and school-aged children.  Approximately 10-15% of preschoolers and about 6% of school-aged children in grades 1-12 exhibit speech disorders (American Speech-Language- Hearing Association, 1999).  Further concern about the incidence of phonological disorders in this age group includes compelling evidence on the correlation between phonological disorders and academic difficulties.  The academic difficulties stem from the high correlation between phonological disorders and difficulties with written language, including reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics (cf., Bird, Bishop, & Freeman, 1995).  In fact, Hodson (1998) discussed a “critical age” hypothesis in which reading and spelling skills cannot proceed normally if the child’s unintelligibility is not corrected by the age of 5;6.

Finally, many children with phonological disorders also experience socialization difficulties (cf., Rice, Hadley, & Alexander, 1993).  Follow-up studies have reported that 54% of parents rated their children as exhibiting social competence problems and 70% as having behavioral problems 10 years after their children were initially diagnosed in preschool as language impaired.

Collectively, these studies indicate that there is a critical need to provide immediate appropriate intervention for speech disorders in young children.  These studies further indicate that speech disorders are not confined to speech or to early childhood.  Given the incidence and related problems associated with phonological disorders, there is a significant need and interest in developing models of intervention that are effective and efficient in increasing speech intelligibility.