Phonological Abilities of Individuals with down Syndrome

Abstract

The present study provided a detailed description of the articulation of 30 individuals with Down Syndrome. Phonetic inventories, phonological process analyses and a description of those errors that did not conform to process patterns were completed. It was found that five (out of 30) individuals with Down Syndrome produced all Australian English consonant phonemes, that the most common phonological processes identified were cluster reductions, final consonant deletion and fronting of fricatives and that some individuals had simple substitution errors while others had minor errors of a phonetic nature. It was concluded that the phonology of individuals with Down Syndrome was similar to that of normal individuals. There was no evidence to support the notion that individuals with Down Syndrome have a unique or typical pattern of articulation which differentiates them from other misarticulating populations. Clinicians are reminded that each individual is unique and the errors identified for groups may not be representative of a particular individual. Therapy should be tailored to meet the needs of the individual.