Children’s Speech Sound Disorders: An Acoustic Perspective RAYMOND D. KENT, LUCIANA PAGAN-NEVES, KATHERINE C. HUSTAD, AND HAYDEE FISZBEIN WERTZNER

Speech sound disorders are almost always identified and described by their auditoryperceptual properties, as determined by adult listeners.Given that auditory-perceptual properties are extracted from the acoustic signal of speech, it follows that acoustic methods should be highly suited to the study of these disorders. But the capability for doing something is not the same as the necessity or even desirability for doing so. What does acoustic analysis offer for the assessment, treatment, and understanding of developmental speech disorders? This chapter takes the view that acoustic analysis is a valuable complement and co-referent to perceptual analysis.The advantages that acoustic analysis offers to the understanding of children’s speech sound disorders are primarily objectivity, quantification, and sensitivity. Each of these advantages is discussed, with examples from the literature. Also included are suggestions to (a) improve the acoustic analysis of children’s speech, and (b) apply acoustic methods to clinical assessment and treatment.