Description and Treatment of Abnormal Vowels in a Phonologically Disordered Child

Children with difficulties in acquiring the target vowel system are undoubtedly rarer than those with disorders that primarily affect the consonant system, bat pose a considerable challenge to the speech and language therapist. At present, relatively little is known about patterns of disruption in vowel systems, and still less about effective methods of treatment. This case study describes the vowel system of a child with a severe phonological disorder. A short course of six sessions of treatment is outlined which focused on developing diphthong production. An eclectic approach was adopted, with many of the principles derived from both familiar traditional and more recently advocated approaches to the remediation of phonological disorders. Follow-up data at four and eight months post-treatment showed improvement in the vowel system. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.