Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: JULYA ANGELICA RODRIGUES DA SILVA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : JULYA ANGELICA RODRIGUES DA SILVA
DATE: 30/09/2026
TIME: 10:00
LOCAL: Plataforma Google Meet
TITLE:

Speech characteristics of individuals with learning difficulties

KEY WORDS:

Speech Sound Disorder, Speech, Learning

PAGES: 30
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Fonoaudiologia
SUMMARY:

Introduction: The acquisition of speech sounds involves the gradual development of skills related to
perception, production, and phonological organization, a process that occurs progressively from birth until
approximately five years of age. During this process, it is common for children to make errors in the production
of certain sounds of the language, which tend to be gradually overcome through the maturation of phonological
skills as the phonemic repertoire expands. When errors in consonant production persist beyond the age of
eight, this suggests a condition known as Residual Speech Errors (RSE), resulting from phonological
alterations that have not been spontaneously resolved through the child’s natural maturation. Although there
is a strong correspondence between speech and writing in Brazilian Portuguese, irregularities in the language,
such as the presence of different letters representing the same sound or more than one letter representing a
single sound, can pose a challenge to individuals reading acquisition process. Given this complexity, various  hypotheses have been proposed in the literature to explain the relationship between difficulties in producing speech sounds and performance in reading and writing. However, no studies were identified that simultaneously analyzed the relationship between gender, age, the presence of phonological processes, and the severity of speech disorders, as measured by the Revised Percentage of Correct Consonants (PCC-R). Objective: To characterize the phonological profile of individuals with learning disabilities to describe the findings and determine whether there is an association between gender, age, the presence of phonological processes, and the severity of speech disorders (PCC-R). Method: The study was submitted to and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Onofre Lopes University Hospital (CEP/HUOL) at UFRN, under opinion no. 7,826,412. This is a cross-sectional observational study, analysing secondary data from the database of the Laboratory of Language and Writing, Interdisciplinarity and Learning (LEIA/UFRN). The following inclusion criteria were adopted: the presence of the Children’s Language Test (ABFW) with complete and legible data, and acceptance of the informed consent form (TCLE) by the parents or guardians. The sample is a convenience sample, obtained through the analysis of phonology assessments carried out in previous studies at the aforementioned laboratory. Initially, a screening was conducted of the 99 available medical records belonging to patients with an active association with the laboratory, in order to identify which contained phonology assessments suitable for inclusion in the study, 53 eligible medical records were identified. The patients were contacted via WhatsApp and invited to take part in the study; participation was formalised through the signing of the Informed Consent Form (ICF) by their guardians. Of this total, 2 declined and 13 did not meet the inclusion criteria. It is worth noting that, although they already had a signed TCLE and data had already been collected in the laboratory, it was necessary to request fresh authorisation from their guardians as this was a new study, providing them with information on the proposed objectives and procedures. Results: A total of 38 individuals took part in the study: 42.1 per cent were female and 57.9 per cent were male, with a mean age of 10.2 years (SD = 2.46); all had learning difficulties. With regard to the presence of speech disorders, it was observed that 44.7% of participants had a speech disorder, whilst 55.3% did not. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups with and without speech disorders in terms of age and sex. Among participants with speech disorders, mild disorders were most common (82.4%), followed by moderately severe (11.8%) and slightly moderate (5.9%) disorders, with no cases of severe disorders. The most frequent phonological processes observed were consonant cluster simplification (31.1 per cent) and liquid simplification (24.4 per cent), findings consistent with the occurrence of ERF given the age range of the sample. Social impact: The findings contribute to an understanding of the speech characteristics of individuals with learning difficulties, demonstrating that the presence of learning difficulties does not necessarily imply the presence of speech disorders.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - ANA BEATRIZ LEITE DOS ANJOS - F.M.Nassau
Interna - 2143029 - CINTIA ALVES SALGADO AZONI
Presidente - 2360456 - VANESSA GIACCHINI