As a child develops speech and language, some sounds may come easier and quicker, while others sounds can take a little more time to master. It is important to remember children develop at difference rates, developing speech is a gradual process.
The “baby talk” phase may sound adorable when they are little, for example, saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”. These errors can be a normal pard of speech development.
Children are learning how to breath to achieve clear speech and how to coordinate their tongue and lips.
Sometime this is a smooth development, where any errors fade over time. For others, it may be an indication of a phonological or articulation disorder
If your child sound substitutions continue past their developmental age range or if their speech is hard to understand, it is often best to visit a speech-language pathologist to identify the cause of these sound production errors and get them on the right track.
Articulation
Articulation is the physical act of producing sounds of speech. The way the mouth moves and works together, jaw, lips, and tongue, to create sounds of speech.
An articulation disorder is when a child has difficulty forming certain speech sounds correctly. For instance, they say “wabbit” for “rabbit”, is a motor based error. They haven’t mastered the muscle movement and coordination to produce the “r” sound.
Phonological
Phonological reflects how the brain uses and organizes sounds of speech. A child might leave off a sound or replace several different sounds with just one sound.
The brain is still learning how sounds are used to make words. It’s not that they are physically not able to make each sound, it’s the knowledge of ‘how’ and ‘when’ of certain sounds.
With the right support from a speech therapist, children can make great progress. Therapy focuses on targeted practice in a fun setting, whether that’s articulation or phonologically based.
If you suspect your child is not meeting their developmental milestones, feel free to contact Orlando’s First Words Speech Therapy. A licensed speech therapist will asses your child and any questions you may have.
