PURPOSE: to analyze and compare the performance of phonological awareness in two groups of children with phonological disorder, one in speech therapy and the other without intervention using two instruments of evaluation. METHOD: sample of 21 children, both genders, aged from 5 years and 6 months old to 8 years and 10 months old, with phonological disorder. Ten of these children belonged to Group 1, which includes children who have not undergone speech therapy treatment; and 11 children composed Group 2, corresponding to those in speech therapy intervention for a period longer than 4 months. Two instruments of evaluation were used: Profile of Phonological Abilities and Phonological Awareness Test RESULTS: 85% of the children in Group 1 and Group 2 presented low performance in at least one of the two tests applied. The Profile of Phonological Abilities showed phonological alteration in 13 (62%) subjects and the Phonological Awareness Test in 16 subjects (76%). Moreover, there was consistency between the tests in 14 cases (66.7%). There was no statistically significant difference when we compare the results obtained by the two groups evaluated with phonological disorders for both the PPA and the PAT in general, even though the consistency between the findings happened in the majority of the cases. However, considering the age variables and schooling, in the PAT we found statistically significant difference. The results showed that there is certain variance in the findings obtained of the PPA and the PAT, in the age group of 5, 6 and 8 years old, whereas in the age group of 7 years old both instruments had revealed themselves sensible to the detection of the alteration of phonological awareness and for the follow up of the therapeutical process. CONCLUSION: most children in the sample (85%), independent of speech therapy, showed inferior performance than the expected for their age group in one of two instruments of evaluation, demonstrating the importance of speech therapy with emphasis on this aspect, because this will be reflected directly in the process of literacy of the children.
Child Language; Speech Disorders; Evaluation; Articulation Disorders
