Which of the following is a treatment objective that reflects a linguistic approach to sound-production errors?

Which of the following is a treatment objective that reflects a linguistic approach to sound-production errors?

• A. The child will contrast alveolar stops with velar stops in meaningful word pairs.
• B. The child will produce voiceless alveolar sibilants correctly in unstructured conversation.
• C. The child will coarticulate stop plus liquid clusters as easily as other children of the same age.
• D. The child will recognize and identify phonetic distortions of his or her error sound.

Answer: (A)

The chosen treatment objective reflects a linguistic approach to sound-production errors by emphasizing the contrastive function of speech sounds within meaningful language contexts. By focusing on contrasting alveolar stops with velar stops in meaningful word pairs, this objective highlights the importance of understanding how different speech sounds can change meaning in language. This aligns with linguistic principles, as it encourages the child to not just produce sounds correctly but to also recognize the significance of those sounds within the context of communication. This approach is particularly effective because it goes beyond mere articulation and taps into the cognitive-linguistic aspects of language development. It encourages the child to think about how different sounds operate in language, which is crucial in corrective intervention. In contrast, the other objectives tend to focus more on correct sound production in isolation or structured tasks without an emphasis on the broader linguistic context. They may address important aspects of speech sound production, but they do not specifically engage with the linguistic contrasts and language function required for effective communication.

The chosen treatment objective reflects a linguistic approach to sound-production errors by emphasizing the contrastive function of speech sounds within meaningful language contexts. By focusing on contrasting alveolar stops with velar stops in meaningful word pairs, this objective highlights the importance of understanding how different speech sounds can change meaning in language. This aligns with linguistic principles, as it encourages the child to not just produce sounds correctly but to also recognize the significance of those sounds within the context of communication.

This approach is particularly effective because it goes beyond mere articulation and taps into the cognitive-linguistic aspects of language development. It encourages the child to think about how different sounds operate in language, which is crucial in corrective intervention.

In contrast, the other objectives tend to focus more on correct sound production in isolation or structured tasks without an emphasis on the broader linguistic context. They may address important aspects of speech sound production, but they do not specifically engage with the linguistic contrasts and language function required for effective communication.