PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to verify the use of phonological processes in a group of children with normal phonological development. METHODS: The participants were 240 children of both genders, aged between three and eight years. Analyses regarding phonological processes were carried out, and the data were compared considering age and gender. RESULTS: The results allowed the conclusion that at the ages of three, four and five years the most frequently used processes were cluster reduction, lateralization, and final consonant deletion. Metathesis was the second most frequently used process at the age of six, and the third at the age of seven. Concerning the number of phonological processes used at each age range, three-year-old children used at least two processes, and from the age of four onward the minimum number of processes dropped to zero, while the maximum number and the mean number of processes gradually decreased with increasing age. Regarding gender, not a single significant difference was found for any of the analyses performed in the current study. CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained in this study evidenced the difficulties found by normally developing children in the production of liquid phonemes and complex syllabic structures.
Child language; Evaluation; Child development; Language development
