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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders pp 1–3Cite as

Phonological Development

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Definition

Phonological development refers to the gradual acquisition of an adultlike system of speech sounds that are used to convey meaning in a language. Phonological development can be considered in terms of both perception and production of speech sounds.

Historical Background

Historically, the development of speech sounds has been characterized in terms of the development of articulation abilities, with recent attention being paid to the notion that a larger set of rules and linguistic representations may also govern how individuals acquire speech sounds.

Current Knowledge

Perception

Research has demonstrated that infants are aware of speech sounds long before they are able to produce them. For example, infants at 1 month of age are able to discriminate speech sound categories such as the difference between phonemes /p/ and /b/ (i.e., categorical perception; Eimas et al. 1971). Over time, infants also develop the ability to track features of speech such as prosody (i.e., changes...

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References and Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Language and Literacy, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Elizabeth R. Eernisse

Authors
  1. Elizabeth R. Eernisse
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth R. Eernisse .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Eernisse, E.R. (2017). Phonological Development. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1688-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_1688-3

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

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