Speech sound disorders are what most people think of when they think of speech therapy. This includes lisps and other errors in articulation that make a child difficult to understand. Children with speech sound disorders may say things like “wing” for “ring”, “side” for “slide” and “tat” for “cat”. These disorders may be categorized as articulation disorders, phonological disorders, or apraxia of speech.
Who Needs Therapy?
All children have speech sound errors as they learn to talk but they should resolve as they get older. The charts below show which sounds a child should have by certain ages and how intelligible they should be.
What Does Therapy Look Like?
Speech therapy for speech sounds begins with understanding the parts of the mouth and throat that make sound. From there, a student will learn how to listen for speech sounds and decide whether or not a particular sound is produced accurately. Once a child understands how to make a sound and how to listen for it, they will practice the specific sounds they are working on…a lot! Children who receive speech therapy and complete a home program are shown to make progress faster than those who don’t.
Your child’s speech pathologist will pick the best approach to help your child make the most progress. They will also provide education on what they need to do and how to work on it at home.
Contact infor@balancedspeech.com for a free consultation to help decide if speech therapy is right for your child.