Speech Sounds Disorders
Articulation Disorders
Articulation disorders include speech sound errors that are caused by imprecise motor movements or errors moving your mouth when producing a sound. During development, children may have difficulty moving their tongue to produce a sound such as /r/ or /s/. Consonants such as these require fine motor movement control and coordination that children need to develop over time.
By the age of 8, children should be able to produce all speech sounds. The chart on the right identifies the age range that each speech sound should be developed. If your child cannot produce one of these sounds, they may need speech therapy services.
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Namasivayam, A.K., Coleman, D., O'Dwyer, A., & Lieshout, P.V. (2020). Speech sound disorders in children: An articulatory phonology perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02998
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Confused with the differences between articulation disorders and phonological disorders? Watch this video!
Causes
Dysarthria
Dysarthria is a neurological motor speech disorder that is characterized by slow, weak, or uncoordinated motor movements for speech. Learn more here!
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Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Apraxia is a childhood neurological disorder characterized by an impairment to the precision and consistency of motor movements for speech, without the presence of muscular problems. Learn more here!
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Cleft Palate
Children with cleft palates typically have a velopharyngeal insufficiency, which results in air leaking or exiting from the nasal cavity during speech. This can make it difficult for them to produce high-pressure consonants such as /p/, /b/ or /d/.
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These three examples are a few of the potential causes of articulation disorders. This list does not include all disorders that may cause an articulation disorder. Sometimes, an articulation disorder may occur without a known cause.
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Kerr, J., & Nelson, S.L. (2004). Disorders of articulation. https://www.medlink.com/articles/disorders-of-articulation
Derakhshandeh, F., Nikmaram, M., Hosseinabad, H.H., Memarzadeh, M., Taheri, M., Omrani, M., Jalaie, S., Bijankhan, M., Sell, D. (2016).
Speech characteristics after articulation therapy in children with cleft palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction – A single case experimental design,
International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 86, 104-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijporl.2016.04.025
You think your child has an articulation disorder.. now what?
Assessments
When you take your child to a speech-language pathologist for an assessment, there are a number of things they will do.
1. Case History
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Information returned on the case history form will help the SLP narrow down what they should focus on in treatment and describe the problem as seen at home.
2. Testing
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There are a number of standardized tests that can be used to identify what speech sounds your child produces incorrectly. The SLP will have your child name multiple pictures in order to listen to how your child produces sounds in words. The results will identify how your child is performing compared to same-aged peers.
Interventions
Interventions for articulation disorders have multiple components:
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1. They might have your child discriminate between their target sound and other sounds. They will probably only work on 1-2 errored sounds at a time.
2. There is direct instruction for how to produce the sound(s) your child cannot say. SLP's will verbally explain how to produce the sound and they may use physical/ visual cues such as a mirror or rubbing suckers on the structures in their mouth. The SLP will also model the correct production of the speech sound.
3. The SLP will require your child to say the target sound in a number of contexts: isolation-> word-> phrase/sentence-> conversation
4. The ultimate goal is carryover to all environments outside of the therapy room.
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McLeod, S. & Baker, E. (2017). Children's Speech: An Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention. Boston, MA: Pearson. Historical Perspectives on Articulation and Motor Speech Interventions.
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Facebook Groups
Speech Therapy Guide For Parents
Moms Teach Speech: Speech Therapy At Home
These groups are great if you want more information on how you can help your child at home. You can ask questions and speech-language pathologists will reply!
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Youtube
Blogs and Websites
https://speechblubs.com/blog/articulation-therapy-guide-for-parents/
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https://speechblubs.com/blog/7-steps-of-articulation-therapy/
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https://kidtherapy.org/helpful-articles/parent-tips-for-articulation/
https://www.speechpathways.ca/2019/05/04/practicing-articulation-at-home/
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https://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=687
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