Normal-speaking and speech-defective children were compared on a speech-sound identification task which included sounds the speech-defective subjects misarticulated and sounds they articulated correctly. The identification task included four tests: [r]-[w] contrasts, acoustically similar contrasts, acoustically dissimilar contrasts, and vowel contrasts. The speech sounds were presented on a continuum from undistorted signals to severely distorted speech signals under conditions which have caused confusion among adults. Subjects included 15 normal-speaking kindergarten children, 15 kindergarten children with defective [r]s, and 15 preschool-age children. The procedure employed was designed to test, in depth, each sound under study and to minimize extraneous variables. Speech-sound identification ability of speech-defective subjects was found to be specific rather than a general deficiency, indicating a positive relationship between production and identification ability.