PURPOSE: To develop a repair strategy to simplify the complex onset of plosive and fricative phonemes among children with phonological disorders. CASE REPORT: The sample comprised 2288 words collected from the Phonological Assessment of Children database, for children aged 4-8 years, who had been diagnosed with phonological disorders. Statistical analysis was performed using the Varbwin program, with a significance level of 5%. The variables analyzed were correct production or accomplishment of the repair strategy studied, position in the word and phoneme class. The results showed important correlations among these variables. In the position of initial onset, the repair strategy was used for 57% of productions; in the position of medial onset, the repair strategy was used for 53% of productions. Moreover, compared to class, 55% of the productions with plosives and 54% with fricatives were performed using the repair strategy for the simplification of complex onset. These results suggest that despite the structural complexity, articulation and phonology of consonant clusters, sound production was not influenced by the class of sound of the first consonant of the syllable, or by the position of this syllable in the word. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the unique production of consonant clusters is caused by the interference of liquid consonants, which is the most complex class in the sound system.
