Auditory-perceptual acuity in rhotic misarticulation: baseline characteristics and treatment response

The rhotic sound /r/ is one of the latest-emerging sounds in English, and many children receive treatment for residual errors affecting /r/ that persist past the age of 9. Auditory-perceptual abilities of children with residual speech errors are thought to be different from their typically developing peers. This study examined auditory-perceptual acuity in children with residual speech errors affecting /r/ and the relation of these skills to production accuracy, both before and after a period of treatment incorporating visual biofeedback. Identification of items along an /r/-/w/ continuum was assessed prior to treatment. Production accuracy for /r/ was acoustically measured from standard/r/stimulability probes elicited before and after treatment. Fifty-nine children aged 9–15 with residual speech errors (RSE) affecting /r/ completed treatment, and forty-eight age-matched controls who completed the same auditory-perceptual task served as a comparison group. It was hypothesized that children with RSE would show lower auditory-perceptual acuity than typically developing speakers and that higher auditory-perceptual acuity would be associated with more accurate production before treatment. It was also hypothesized that auditory-perceptual acuity would serve as a mediator of treatment response. Results indicated that typically developing children have more acute perception of the /r/-/w/ contrast than children with RSE. Contrary to hypothesis, baseline auditory-perceptual acuity for /r/ did not predict baseline production severity. For baseline auditory-perceptual acuity in relation to biofeedback efficacy, there was an interaction between auditory-perceptual acuity and gender, such that higher auditory-perceptual acuity was associated with greater treatment response in female, but not male, participants.