Does My Child have an Articulation Disorder?
You’ve searched the internet. You’ve spoken with friends. You know that your child has a speech problem, but how do you know for sure if your child has an articulation disorder? How do you decipher it all?
Luckily, a few simple questions can give you a pretty good idea if your child has an articulation disorder or not. Years of research have shown that the two most important factors in diagnosing a speech or articulation disorder are:
1. The type of error(s) your child is making
2. The age of your child
Many times, predictable and repeatable sound errors are the sign of an articulation disorder. The chart below helps you understand some of the most common errors for a particular sound. In general, some sounds are harder to pronounce than other sounds and children are expected to master these harder sounds at a later age than the easier sounds. Makes sense, right? The chart below lists the main problem sounds that children have difficulty with, common types of sound errors, and the age at which a parent should intervene to help correct the problem.
|
Sound |
Errors seen with articulation disorders |
Age to intervene |
|
R |
Wabbit instead of Rabbit Bwd instead of Bird |
6 |
|
S |
Thock instead of Sock |
5 |
|
SH (as in “ship”) |
Sape instead of Shape |
5 |
|
CH (as in “chip”) |
Sicken instead of Chicken |
5 |
|
L |
Wesson instead of Lesson |
4 |
|
TH (as in think”) |
Fink instead of Think |
5 |
|
K |
Tat instead of Cat |
3 |
|
G |
Doal instead of Goal |
3 |
If your child is at or beyond the ages suggested above, he may have an articulation disorder. It should also help you determine a good time to intervene with a therapy program such using Speech Buddies. As an example, two hypothetical children, Wendy and Wally may both say “wabbit” for “rabbit” and “thock” for “sock,” consistently. Since Wally is only three and his problem is with the R-sound, a speech therapist would likely advise his parents to give him a bit more time to learn. However, since Wendy is nearing her 7th birthday, her parents would be best advised to intervene to help her correct this error.
While a certified Speech-Language Pathologist is always the authority to make a professional determination as to a child’s individual speech needs, it is important for parents to understand that they can take an active role in seeking the proper course of speech therapy. Whether at home, at school, or in the clinic, informed and involved parents will help their child overcome speaking challenges much faster.
By: G. Rogers, M.S., CCC-SLP
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