Description of a program employed to develop listening skills in children with severe functional articulatory defects

Most authorities agree that a deficiency in listening skills is a significant concomitant to severe functional articulatory defects in children and that an initial improvement in listening skills is necessary for effective correction of these defects. Recent studies have also reported a significant auditory deficiency in the economically disadvantaged child. This study was concerned with developing a listening skills program for children with severe functional articulatory defects. The writer assumed that participation in such a program prior to traditional speech therapy would enable a child with this type of defect to correct his problem more readily than a child who had not participated in the program