Anna

How the speech of a mostly incomprehensible four-and-a-half-year-old was usefully broken down into simple elements

At four and a half, Anna was mostly incomprehensible. For example, in cardigan various properties of the G and N sounds got switched around, and then the N sound was dissimilated into an L, making it more different from K, D, G and N. The effect of these complex derivations was to make her mostly incomprehensible, other than to those who knew her well, and wanted to understand her. Her treatment consisted in 14 half-hour sessions, each focusing on a different aspect of her speech.

In one session, close to the end of her treatment, when we had achieved most of our goals , I focused on the the final syllable of cardigan. The back of the tongue did not make a good contact with the roof of the mouth. After twenty trials, cardigan was now fully correct. After 14 sessions, she was fully comprehensible. Her speech was typical for a child of her age.