PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine prevalence and predictors of persistent speech sound disorder (SSD) in children aged 8 years after disregarding children presenting solely with common clinical distortions (i.e., residual errors).MethodData from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (Boyd et al., 2012) were used. Children were classified as having persistent SSD on the basis of percentage of consonants correct measures from connected speech samples. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify predictors.ResultsThe estimated prevalence of persistent SSD was 3.6%. Children with persistent SSD were more likely to be boys and from families who were not homeowners. Early childhood predictors identified as important were weak sucking at 4 weeks, not often combining words at 24 months, limited use of word morphology at 38 months, and being unintelligible to strangers at age 38 months. School-age predictors identified as important were maternal report of difficulty pronouncing certain sounds and hearing impairment at age 7 years, tympanostomy tube insertion at any age up to 8 years, and a history of suspected coordination problems. The contribution of these findings to our understanding of risk factors for persistent SSD and the nature of the condition is considered.ConclusionVariables identified as predictive of persistent SSD suggest that factors across motor, cognitive, and linguistic processes may place a child at risk.

There are differences in speech sound acquisition between monolingual and bilingual children in terms of rate and patterns of error, with both positive and negative transfer occurring in bilingual children.

This article reports a series of interviews with education and health practitioners. The aims were to identify interventions used in practice with children with speech, language and communication needs, to explore explanations for the choice of intervention and to identify the ways that outcomes were measured. Participants (n = 61) included educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and education advisory staff. They talked about interventions in terms of published programmes, principles and activities, strategies, resources and training programmes. There was evidence of local adaptation of interventions and wide development of local programmes. The choice of intervention was governed by a desire to meet identified service gaps and with reference to the evidential and/or theoretical basis of the intervention and the practicalities of the intervention. Outcomes were typically measured at the level of the individual rather than a service level. The study provided insight into the range of interventions in current practice, how service managers justify intervention choices and measure outcomes. The data from this study informed a national survey to examine patterns of usage of interventions.