Download PDF
Semin Speech Lang 2021; 42(05): 384-394
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1736187
Data-based Research Articles

Which Speech Sound Norms Are Used in U.S. Public Schools? A Retrospective Survey Analysis

Kelly Farquharson 
1   School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
,
Kaia L. Stevenson
1   School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
    Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Normative data concerning speech sound acquisition are widely and heavily used in the United States to determine eligibility for services. Normative studies differ in the age and geographic location of participants, which can limit applicability across the United States. In 2016, we queried school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States using a web-based survey to determine which speech sound norms are used. Nine regions from the U.S. census were represented. The Iowa–Nebraska norms were most commonly reported. However, many SLPs were unable to name the source of the data that they used. More than 60% of the sample indicated that they referred to one source of normative data. Results of a logistic regression indicated that region of the United States predicted if SLPs used one or multiple sources. Specifically, SLPs in the West North Central region of the United States (which includes Iowa and Nebraska) were more likely to use only one source of data, the Iowa–Nebraska norms. We recommend that speech sound norms are less heavily relied upon for eligibility decisions, particularly due to the substantial variations in culture and dialect throughout the various regions of the United States.

Keywords

speech sound acquisition - speech sound disorders - eligibility - school-based practice

Disclosures

No relevant financial or nonfinancial relationships exist for either author.




Publication History

Article published online:
02 November 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

  • References

  • 1 The Informed SLP. That one time a journal article on speech sound norms broke the SLP internet. 2018 . Accessed June 28, 2021 at: https://www.theinformedslp.com/how-to/that-one-time-a-journal-article-on-speech-sound-norms-broke-the-slp-internet
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Storkel HL. Using developmental norms for speech sounds as a means of determining treatment eligibility in schools. Perspect ASHA Spec Interest Groups 2019; 4 (01) 67-75
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Sander EK. When are speech sounds learned?. J Speech Hear Disord 1972; 37 (01) 55-63
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Wellman BL, Case IM, Mengert IG, Bradbury DE. Speech Sounds by Young Children. University of Iowa Studies; 1931
    Google Scholar
  • 5 Templin MC. Certain Language Skills in Children: Their Development and Interrelationships. University of Minnesota Press; 1957
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Prather EM, Hedrick DL. Articulation development in children aged two to four years. J Speech Hear Disord 1975; 40 (02) 179-191
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Smit AB, Hand L, Freilinger JJ, Bernthal JE, Bird A. The Iowa Articulation Norms Project and its Nebraska replication. [published correction appears in J Speech Hear Disord 1991; 34(2):446] J Speech Hear Disord 1990; 55 (04) 779-798
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Smit AB. Ages of speech sound acquisition: comparisons and critiques of several normative studies. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 1986; 17 (03) 175-186
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Montana Office of Public Instruction. Rule 10.16.3020. Accessed August 30, 2021 at: http://www.mtrules.org/gateway/ruleno.asp?RN=10%2E16%2E3020
    PubMed
  • 10 Farquharson K. It might not be “just artic”: The case for the single sound error. Perspect ASHA Spec Interest Groups 2019; 4 (01) 76-84
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 McLeod S, Crowe K. Children's consonant acquisition in 27 languages: a cross-linguistic review. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 2018; 27 (04) 1546-1571
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Farquharson K, Boldini L. Variability in interpreting “educational performance” for children with speech sound disorders. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2018; 49 (04) 938-949
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Stewart SR, Weybright G. Articulation norms used by practicing speech-language pathologists in Oregon: results of a survey. J Speech Hear Disord 1980; 45 (01) 103-111
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Farquharson K, Tambyraja SR. Describing how school-based SLPs determine eligibility for children with speech sound disorders. Semin Speech Lang 2019; 40 (02) 105-112
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Crowe K, McLeod S. Children's English consonant acquisition in the United States: a review. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 2020; 29 (04) 2155-2169
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Campbell TF, Dollaghan C, Janosky JE, Adelson PD. A performance curve for assessing change in Percentage of Consonants Correct Revised (PCC-R). [published correction appears in J Speech Lang Hear Res 2008;51(1):301] J Speech Lang Hear Res 2007; 50 (04) 1110-1119
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Shriberg LD. Four new speech and prosody-voice measures for genetics research and other studies in developmental phonological disorders. J Speech Hear Res 1993; 36 (01) 105-140
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 MacLeod AA, Laukys K, Rvachew S. The impact of bilingual language learning on whole-word complexity and segmental accuracy among children aged 18 and 36 months. Int J Speech Lang Pathol 2011; 13 (06) 490-499
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Morrow A, Goldstein BA, Gilhool A, Paradis J. Phonological skills in English language learners. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2014; 45 (01) 26-39
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Burrows L, Goldstein BA. Whole word measures in bilingual children with speech sound disorders. Clin Linguist Phon 2010; 24 (4-5): 357-368
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar