A Cognitive Model of Sound Representations in Children with Speech Sound Disorders

The goal of the current work is to develop a theoretical model which can possibly account for certain of the speech disarticulations that occur among children with Speech Sound Disorders (SSDs). In trying to do so, we propose an interface module, a specialized section within the mental realm, the nature and functioning of which may provide us with some useful insights on SSDs. The postulation of an interface module here is necessitated by the fact that there are facets of errors in SSDs and in typical populations that cannot be simply explained in terms of either articulatory/phonetic factors or matters pertaining to abstract sound representations. This paper will therefore present a detailed theoretical view of the interface, its nature, its relation with other levels in the mental space, and the functions it performs. The results of applying the proposed model to certain types of sound alterations in SSDs are described with implications for the cognitive representation of speech sounds.