Articulation Disorder

Information taken from American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

WHAT IS AN ARTICULATION DISORDER?

An articulation disorder or an articulation delay is when a child has difficulty producing age appropriate sounds.  A child may substitute sounds, omit sounds, add sounds, or distort sounds.  Children often make articulation mistakes when learning new words; however, concerns occur when children make articulation errors after a certain age range. 

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD HAS AN ARTICULATION DISORDER?

Do you have difficulty understanding your child’s speech?  Do you feel like your child’s speech is behind that of his / her peers?  If you answered yes to either of these questions, you should contact a speech-language pathologist. For more information on age appropriate sound milestones, read our post here. 

WHAT CAUSES ARTICULATION DISORDERS? 

Children may not learn how to articulate sounds correctly on their own.  Hearing loss, neurological disorders, illness, genetic syndromes, and developmental disorders may also cause difficulties with correct sound production.  However, most times the cause of an articulation disorder is unknown.     

OUR APPROACH AT KEY THERAPIES:

At Key Therapies we will first evaluate your child to determine all sound errors.  We will then develop an individualized treatment plan for your child. Treatment will be provided to improve articulation and reduce sound error patterns.  Your speech-language pathologist may work on the following:  demonstrating correct pronunciation of sounds, recognizing when sounds are produced incorrectly, and practicing sounds in different words, sentences, phrases, and eventually conversational speech.