These are processes commonly observed in the speech of typically developing children. Results and Implications: In this pilot study, common consonant processes included vocalization, final consonant devoicing and cluster reduction. The results were interpreted relative to a contrastive analysis between Japanese and English phonetic inventories, and developmental norms for monolingual English children. Method: Sentences produced by two adult Japanese English language learners (ELLs) were transcribed and coded for phoneme accuracy, and analyzed according to the percent occurrence of phonological processes. In this paper we demonstrate how phonological process analysis, an approach typically used in child speech, can be used to characterize adult TL phonological learning. Purpose: Production of speech sound classes in adult language learners is affected by 1) interference between the native language (NL) and the target language (TL) and 2) speaker variables such as time speaking English. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses have proven that the ADHD group analyzed in this study had indeed failed to acquire most of their Arabic consonants as they should have. Since intervention may improve articulation and focuses a child's attention on the sound structure of words, findings in this study are based on the assumption that children with ADHD may acquire phonology for their Arabic language in the same way, and following the same developmental stages as intelligible children. Dodd and McCormack's (1995) four subgroups classification of speech disorder and the phonological disorders pertaining to the Arabic language provided by a Saudi Institute for Speech and Hearing are examined within the theoretical framework. The purpose of this study is to provide a description of Arabic language deficits and to present a theoretical model of potential associations between phonological language deficits and ADHD. Seeing that phonological disorders include articulation errors and other forms of speech disorders, studies pertaining to children with ADHD symptoms who demonstrate signs of phonological disorders in their native Arabic language are lacking. Children with Attention-Deficiency/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) often have co-existing learning disabilities and developmental weaknesses or delays in some areas including speech (Rief, 2005).

Description of phonological processes