Masso, S., Baker, E., McLeod, S., & Wang, C. (2017, in press). Polysyllable speech accuracy and predictors of later literacy development in preschool children with speech sound disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
Here is the abstract:
Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if polysyllable accuracy in preschoolers with speech sound disorders (SSD) was related to known predictors of later literacy development; phonological processing, receptive vocabulary, and print knowledge. Polysyllables--words of three or more syllables--are important to consider as unlike monosyllables, polysyllables have been associated with phonological processing and literacy difficulties in school-age children. They therefore have the potential to help identify preschoolers most at risk of future literacy difficulties. Method: Participants were 93 preschool children with SSD from the Sound Start Study. Participants completed the Polysyllable Preschool Test (Baker, 2013) as well as phonological processing, receptive vocabulary, and print knowledge tasks. Results: Cluster analysis was completed and two clusters were identified: low polysyllable accuracy and moderate polysyllable accuracy. The clusters were significantly different based on two measures of phonological awareness and measures of receptive vocabulary, rapid naming, and digit span. The clusters were not significantly different on sound matching accuracy, letter/sound or print concept knowledge. Conclusions: The participants’ poor performance on print knowledge tasks suggested that as a group, they were at risk of literacy difficulties but that there was a cluster of participants at greater risk—those with both low polysyllable accuracy and poor phonological processing.
