A speech language pathologist considers intervention targets for a preschool student with a restricted phonetic inventory. What is the most consistent rationale with the complexity approach?

The complexity approach in treating speech sound disorders posits that targeting more complex phonetic elements, such as later-acquired sounds, can lead to greater generalization across a child's phonetic inventory. In this case, selecting sounds like /s/ and /z/ can have a broader positive impact on the child's overall speech production. The rationale is that by introducing these more difficult sounds, the child may simultaneously facilitate the correct production of easier sounds due to the cognitive challenges presented by the complexity of the task.

This aligns with the complexity approach's focus on enhancing the child's phonetic repertoire significantly by tackling sounds that require more advanced articulatory skills. The rationale is that tackling later-acquired or more complex sounds encourages improvements in overall speech production, resulting in a more comprehensive enhancement of the child’s communication abilities.