A major goal of phonological intervention is to help bring a child's speech development to within normal range for his or her developmental stage. Reaching that goal may take longer than anticipated for some children. This paper illustrates an in-depth retrospective evaluation of assessment data from one child with a phonological impairment, who progressed slowly during intervention (Baker and McLeod, 2004). An alternative intervention plan is suggested that takes key factors from the assessment data into account, and utilizes a nonlinear phonological framework to set up the goal sequence. The insights gained from hindsight in this case may lead to foresight for other children's intervention programmes.