Increasing Accessibility of the Complexity Approach Using Nonsense Words and Novel Stories

While the Developmental Approach (Van Riper, 1978) has traditionally been used to treat phonological processing disorders, researchers have recently considered the efficacy of the complexity approach (Gierut, 1990). Instead of targeting minimal pairs, Gierut (1990) revealed that maximal opposition resulted in equal or better phonological learning. Gierut, Morrisette, Hughes, and Rowland (1996) also found that targeting later-acquired sounds instead of those early-acquired led to faster and greater change in treated and untreated words. Later, Gierut and Champion (2001) showed that three-element clusters resulted in greater generalization to less complex, untreated sounds. Most recently, Gierut, Morrisette, and Ziemer (2014) found that nonsense words resulted in more efficient, ecological change in treated and untreated targets than real words when made meaningful in novel stories with picture stimuli. Despite extensive research supporting this approach, many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) do not attempt it since creating the necessary materials is a time-consuming deterrent. As a result, SLPs need ready access to materials, such as novel stories, nonsense word lists, and picture stimuli, that make this approach more manageable and encourage its use by more SLPs despite high caseloads. This project overviews the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the effectiveness of a curriculum and professional development program created to address this area of need for SLPs.