Development of articulatory competence in mentally retarded children.

Mentally retarded children participated in a verbal stimulation program developed at the Institute for Psychophysiological and Speech Disorders, Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Intensive home therapy was associated with an increase in articulatory competence in both moderately and profoundly retarded children. The development of articulation differed between retardate groups as well as with the sequence of normal phonological production. The results suggest that the order in which wounds are introduced into the therapeutic program may be a critical factor in the over-all development of competent articulation.