Cycles

Question 0

What are the principles of cycles?

Answer 0

Phonological acquisition is a gradual process. Cycles closely matches this natural acquisition.
Children with normal hearing typically acquire the adult sound system primarily by listening – auditory bombardment.
As child learns new speech patterns, they associate kinaesthetic with auditory sensations which enables later self-monitoring (‘correct’ sounds important)
Phonetic environment can facilitate (or inhibit) correct sound production
Children are actively involved in phonological acquisition.
Children tend to generalise new articulation skills to other targets. Optimal ‘match’ facilitates learning – match between objective (based on assessment results) and child’s ability to meet objective (are they challenged and yet successful.

Question 1

What is the background of cycles therapy?

Answer 1

Horizontal goal attack strategy - targets several sounds/patterns.
Takes advantage of systematic nature of speech deviations.
Discovered that sounds were made up of groups of distinctive features and that various deviant word forms were derived output of the same phonological rule.

Question 2

What are the basic procedures?

Answer 2

Auditory bombardment/stimulation (listening to numerous words containing target sounds at low amplification).
Tactile cues (touching alveolar ridge etc).
Visual cues.
Production.

Question 3

What is important in production?

Answer 3

Sound by sound production and minimal pair use.
Do not work on every sound - rely on generalisation.
Concentrate on facilitating phonological pattern.

Question 4

What is involved in a cycle?

Answer 4

Focus on a pattern for 2-4 weeks using a different phoneme each week.
Don’t keep targeting to a pre-determined criterion.
Works well in a semester.
3-6 patterns usually targeted in a cycle.
Later cycles encourage greater complexity.
Emphasis saying sound correctly.
In most cases each cycle needs “recycling” one or more times.
Average needed is 3.

Question 5

What are the optimal primary targets?

Answer 5

Word structures - omissions of fricatives etc.
Syllableness - omissions of syllables.
Singleton consonants.
/s/ clusters.
Anterior/posterior contrasts.
Liquids - /l/ and /r/ at the end of cycle.

Question 6

What are optimal secondary targets?

Answer 6

Not targeted until child has achieved:
Syllableness. 
Anterior/posterior contrast
Emergence of stridency. 
Liquids