Vowel errors produced by children with and without speech sound disorders on nonword repetition tasks

The goal of the study was to investigate vowel accuracy in preschoolers with and without speech sound disorders (SSD) on nonword repetition tasks. Children ages 4 and 5 years completed a battery of speech and language measures, as well as two nonword repetition tasks, the Syllable Repetition Task (SRT) and the Nonword Repetition Task (NRT). A total of 41 children participated in the study divided among 3 groups: 14 children with typical speech and language skills (TD), 14 children with isolated speech sound disorders (SSD-only), and 13 children with SSD and comorbid Developmental Language Disorder (SSD+DLD). Ultimately, it appears that children with SSD+DLD make more vowel errors on the Nonword Repetition Task, and that vowel accuracy on nonword repetition tasks and phonological awareness may share underlying mechanisms.