What type of information is most useful for an SLP in planning treatment for a child with normal language skills who uses stopping and final consonant deletion?

Stimulability information is particularly valuable for an SLP in planning treatment for a child exhibiting stopping and final consonant deletion. Stimulability refers to the child’s ability to produce sounds correctly when given models or prompts. This information helps the SLP understand the severity of the phonological processes the child is using and identify specific sounds that the child can produce with some support, which allows for the targeting of therapy interventions.

By assessing stimulability, the SLP can create a tailored treatment plan that emphasizes sounds the child is most likely to learn, facilitating quicker progress. It also provides insight into whether the speech errors may resolve naturally or if they need targeted intervention, making it a crucial component of the assessment for children with normal language skills but specific phonological processes.

Other options, while informative, may not directly apply to planning treatment for the specified speech patterns. For instance, mean length of utterance focuses on the syntactic complexity of a child’s language, which isn't directly related to articulation errors. Similarly, diadochokinetic rate measures the speed and accuracy of movements for speech sound production, rather than targeting the specific phonological processes of stopping and final consonant deletion. Literacy information, although important for overall language development, does not address immediate phon