Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the temporal stability of 5 independent measures of phonological skill: phonetic inventory (initial, final), word shape, syllable structure level, and the index of phonetic complexity. Method: Ten toddlers with typical development participated in two 20-min play sessions within a 1-week period. Test–retest reliability for each measure was determined. Results: Syllable structure level and index of phonetic complexity achieved high test–retest reliability. Word-final phonetic inventory and word shape analyses had moderate but not significant reliability. Word-initial phonetic inventory was not reliable. Discussion: Twenty-minute conversational speech samples were insufficient to obtain reliable results for all measures. Practitioners may want to obtain more extensive sampling when using a phonetic inventory for diagnosis or progress monitoring purposes. Reliable measures within the constraint of a 20-min session, syllable structure level and index of phonetic complexity provide summarized information concerning the phonetic and syllabic characteristics of a child’s speech. Syllable structure level places less emphasis on accurate phonetic transcription, making it a good option for speech that is difficult to transcribe.

Purpose: This clinical exchange reviews two independent phonological assessment measures: mean babbling level (MBL) and syllable structure level (SSL). Both measures summarize phonetic inventory and syllable shape in a calculated average and have been used in research to describe the phonological abilities of children ages 9 to 36 months. An example of the measures' clinical use is presented. Method: Six studies reporting MBL and SSL were reviewed. Combined, the studies included 207 participants. One hundred twenty-eight of those were developing language as expected, and 79 were identified as having speech-language impairment. Conclusion: Overall, the studies indicate that SSL is a reliable measure that increases as children develop. Children with language impairment exhibit lower SSL scores than children with typical language skills. Further, a lower than expected MBL is predictive of a lack of meaningful speech at 24 months of age. Implication: MBL and SSL have clinical application in terms of initial evaluation as well as progress monitoring. Recommendations for standardized corpus inclusion procedures are presented.

Accurate pronunciation of speech sounds is essential in communication. As children learn their native language, they refine the movements necessary for intelligible speech. While there is variability in the order of acquisition of speech sounds, there are some sounds that are more complex and are later developing. The rhotic /r/ is a later-developing sound in English, and some children require intervention to achieve accurate production. Additionally, individuals learning English as a second language may have difficulty learning accurate /r/ production, especially if their native language does not have an /r/, or the /r/ they produce is at a different place of articulation. The goal of this research is to provide a novel approach on how a knowledge-based intelligence program can provide immediate feedback on the accuracy of productions. In the proposed approach, the audio signals will first be detected, after which features of audio signals will be extracted, and finally, knowledge-based intelligent classification will be performed. Based on the obtained knowledge and application scenarios, novel features are proposed and used to classify various speaker scenarios.