SPEECH & ARTICULATION Disorders

PAGE CONTENT

  • Early speech sound developmental norms

  • Social-emotional factors and speech

  • Information on the development of “R” sounds

  • Caregiver tips for supporting early speech sound development

Speech Sounds & Intelligibility

Children typically begin to produce clear speech sounds between 3 and 4 years of age. By age 4, studies show that children are typically 100% intelligible to both parents and unfamiliar listeners.

Articulation skills are an important part of communication development. Between the ages of 3 and 7, a child’s vocabulary expands exponentially! However, if they are unable to say the sounds within those words accurately, they may have difficulty expressing their message.

An evaluation can assess if these speech sound errors are due to a speech sound disorder (i.e., no known underlying cause) or something more, such as motor/neurological disorders (e.g., childhood apraxia of speech and dysarthria), underlying structural causes (e.g., cleft lip/palate and other structural deficits), or sensory/perceptual issues (e.g., hearing loss). Identifying and understanding the underlying cause is the first step in helping children, teens, and adults meet their communication goals.

If your child is not meeting these speech sound milestones and is difficult to understand, I can provide a speech evaluation to diagnose what is going on, as well as provide tailored treatments and strategies to help them communicate effectively.

Social and Emotional Factors

Are you or your child aware, frustrated, or self-conscious about how your/their speech sounds? Do other people notice these speech difficulties? If so, don’t wait to seek treatment. The social and emotional impact of speech errors can affect participation at school/work, with peers, and even at home.

At Sound Waves Speech & Language Therapy LLC, I am experienced and dedicated to assessing and supporting your child's unique speech needs. I offer evidence-based evaluations to understand the dynamics of your child's speech development and guide you through the next steps.

A Note on Those Tricky “R” Sounds:

…a very common speech sound disorder!

Should I Wait until Eight?

While the schools will wait to recommend speech therapy services until age 8, I recommend starting speech therapy by age 6 if your child is not able to produce an accurate R sound. The reason is intelligibility. English is full of R sounds. If your child cannot say them correctly, then they may have a difficult time being understood overall. This can result in social-emotional challenges such as frustration and/or embarrassment.

The other reason is literacy. By the third grade, students are expected to be proficient in both reading and spelling. If a child does not produce an accurate R sound, both of these skills may be impacted.

What Age Is Too Late?

Answer: No age is too late! I have experience working with children, teens, and adults on R sounds with great success. While younger children may learn skills faster, the brain is an amazingly plastic organ that is able to grow and change - even into adulthood. This is true for learning how to produce an accurate R sound!

If you or your child has trouble saying words like “red, teacher, horse, fire, girl, or bird,” please reach out. I can provide you with the tricks, tools, and motivation to master that tricky sound!

How Long Does It Take?

Answer: It depends. While not a great answer, many factors go into learning (or re-learning) a speech sound. A client’s therapy progress is variable and impacted by how much they practice, their motivation, and how fast their brain learns.

I will do my best to facilitate strong motivation, home carry-over, and client buy-in through evidence-based treatments and enjoyable therapy activities.

There is nothing more exciting than graduating from speech therapy with the new skill of clear, intelligible speech - and finally being able to say those tricky R’s!

Caregiver Tips for Supporting Speech Development

  • Listen to what your child is saying rather than how they are saying it. Respond as best as you can to the content of their words.

  • Repeat what your child has said correctly (in conversation). Don’t ask your child to say the word again, but you can provide them with a good model of the word and sounds.

  • Speaking at a reduced rate will provide your child with clear models of words and speech sounds.

    This may also encourage them to slow down as well, which can sometimes make their speech easier for you to understand.

  • If you can’t understand, ask your child to show you what they mean, use a different word, or ask specific questions that might clue you in.

    If you can’t understand, end the conversation on a positive note, “Maybe we’ll figure it out later.” This can help reduce frustration.

  • If you can’t understand them, put the onus on yourself. For example, you can say, “Mom’s listening ears weren’t turned on yet. Can you say that again?” Or, “Let me turn the radio down and hear that again.”

    This may help reduce frustration when your child needs to repeat themselves multiple times.

  • Cue in unfamiliar listeners with additional context. For example, if your child is talking about a trip to the zoo and it is clear the listener is struggling to understand, you could say, “Oh, you’re telling Grandma about our trip to the zoo! We saw lions.”

    This keeps your child in the conversation and supports their efforts.

REFERENCES:

Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020). Children’s English consonant acquisition in the United States: A review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_ AJSLP-19-00168

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (n.d.). Speech Sound Disorders-Articulation and Phonology Practice Portal. Asha.org. Retrieved October 20, 2024, from https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/articulation-and-phonology/?srsltid=AfmBOopV-Why7LLfoXZmo5fAAPBg7rMmP7Gawk0vyg13Vz2LRLoMSPZn#collapse_8

https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/activities-to-Encourage-speech-and-Language- Development/