Effects of Fono <i>lexis</i> on Children With Phonological Disorders

Children with phonologically based speech sound disorders (SSDs) often experience difficulties in phonological perception, production, and awareness. Integrated intervention approaches address these domains simultaneously and promote links between phonology and orthography. The Fonolexis program, based on an integrated approach to the treatment of phonological disorder, was recently developed and validated for European Portuguese; however, evidence regarding its effectiveness in children with SSD is still limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Fonolexis program in preschool children with phonologically based SSD using a pre–post pilot design. Twelve preschool-age children ( n = 12) received 24 intervention sessions delivered by the same speech-language therapist, organized into three blocks of eight sessions. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted by another speech-language therapist. Outcome measures included percentage of correct consonants (PCC), occurrence of phonological processes, and phonological inventory. Results showed a substantial improvement in PCC ( p = .002), a reduction in targeted phonological processes, an expansion of the phonological inventory, and generalization to untreated words. These findings support the positive effects of the Fonolexis program in preschool children with SSD.