Speech Sound Disorders

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, most children make some mistakes as they learn to say new words. A speech sound disorder occurs when mistakes continue past a certain age. Every sound has a different range of ages when the child should make the sound correctly. Speech sound disorders include problems with articulation (making sounds) and phonological processes (sound patterns).

 

Articulation Disorders:

Articulation is how we produce or make speech sounds.  It is the process by which sounds, syllables, and words are formed when your tongue, jaw, teeth, lips, and palate alter the air stream coming from the vocal folds.

A child has an articulation problem or disorder when he or she produces sounds, syllables, or words incorrectly that should have been mastered by their age or when they have so many sound errors that the listener’s ability to understand that child is affected.  Most errors fall into one of three categories-omissions, substitutions, or distortions.  An example of an omission is “ca” for “cat” or “oo” for “shoe” or “pa-er” for “paper”.  An example of a substitution is the use of “w” for “r” which makes “rabbit” sound like “wabbit” or the substitution of “th” for “s” so that “sun” is pronounced “thun.” When the sound is said inaccurately, but sounds something like the intended sound, it is called a distortion.

 


Phonological Disorders:

Phonological disorders exist when there is a pattern of sound errors in the child’s speech based on phonological processes.  For example, “fronting” is one phonological process.  In this process the child substitutes sounds made in the front of the mouth for sounds made in the back, such as “t” for “k” and “d” for ‘g”. Another phonological process would be backing where the child substitutes sounds made in the back of the mouth for sounds made in the front, such as “k” for “t” and “g” for ‘d”. 

Language Disorders

At Laskin Therapy Group, Speech/Language Pathologists evaluate and treat a variety of language disorders. Language Disorders can be receptive (an impairment in the comprehension of language) and/or expressive (a deficiency in the production of language) and/or include difficulties with retrieval of information. Language disorders can be spoken and/or written. Specific problems that a child with a language disorder may have could be:

 

Grammar – the fundamental rules that direct the composition of words, clauses and phrases.

Syntax – the rules and principles that govern sentence structure.

Morphology – the identification, analysis and description of the structure of words, affixes, prefixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context.

Phonology – the sound system of language.

Higher-level cognitive functions – the comprehension of complex language in which meaning is not directly available from the vocabulary or grammatical information. Examples would include understanding the meaning of messages independent of the literal interpretation, making inferences, recognizing meaning from context and making sense of ambiguous sentences.

 
 

Vocabulary – a list of words. A child’s vocabulary is all the words that he or she knows. Includes knowledge and use of words, word combinations, the relationships between words and comprehension of words, phrases, and sentences that have more than one meaning.

Pragmatics – the awareness of the appropriateness of language in relation to the situation in which it is used and ability to modify language to the situation


Comprehension of basic concepts – knowledge of words that refer to basic perceptual and conceptual relations. For example, spatial concepts (i.e., in, out, on), temporal (i.e., before and after), quantitative (i.e., more, some), serial arrangement (i.e., first, second, last), and concepts that indicate inclusion (i.e., both), exclusion (i.e., all but), conditional (i.e., if-then), coordination (i.e., and, or).

Stuttering/Fluency Disorders

Stuttering is an interruption in the rhythm of speech in which a person may hesitate, repeat, or prolong sounds, syllables, words, or phrases. Most children go through periods of disfluency as they learn to speak, generally between the ages of 2 to 5. However, some children will continue to stutter. It becomes more serious when social and emotional responses to stuttering such as fear, anxiety, frustration, or embarrassment set in.

 

Stuttering Warning Signs:
1. Multiple whole or part word repetitions (ba-ba-ba-ba-baby)
2. Substitution of the schwa vowel (guh-guh-guh-goat instead of go-go-go-goat)
3. Prolongation of sounds (mmmmmmmommy)
4. Tremors around the mouth and jaw
5. Rise in pitch and loudness
6. Struggling to get words out or tension in the lips, tongue, throat or chest
7. Fear or frustration with speaking
8. Avoidance of talking

Risk Factors:
1. Family history of stuttering
2. Onset after age 3 ½ 
3. Stuttering 6-12 months or longer
4. Male
5. Other speech/language issues




 

Tips for talking with your child:
1. Speak in an unhurried way, pausing frequently
2. Reduce the number of questions you ask
3. Use facial expressions and other body language to let your child know you are listening to the content of his message and not how he is talking 
4. Set aside a few minutes at a regular time each day when you can give your undivided attention to your child
5. Help all family members learn to take turns talking and listening
6. When interacting with your child, give your child the message that your are listening and he has plenty of time to talk
7. Convey that you accept your child as he is—whether he stutters or not

WEBSITE RESOURCES:
www.stutteringhelp.org
Site of The Stuttering Foundation. This site has a wealth of information including videos and books for parents, teachers, and children. 

www.nsastutter.org 
National Stuttering Association (NSA) provides support, friendship, and information to the stuttering community.

http://www.friendswhostutter.org 
National Association of Young People Who Stutter

http://stutteringrecovery.com/parent.html 
Contains guidelines, suggestions, and general information for parents or other significant adults (e.g. day care providers) who have or know of a young child who repeats, blocks, or hesitates when speaking.

http://www.stuttersfa.org

Source:  "If Your Child Stutters: A Guide for Parents" - The Stuttering Foundation


CHILDHOOD APRAXIA OF SPEECH:

According to The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA),Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. A child with Developmental Apraxia of Speech has trouble correctly producing and sequencing sounds, syllables, and words.  Generally, muscles of the face, tongue, lips, and jaw are functioning appropriately.  The problem seems to be the “motor plan” from the brain for saying a sound or word.  This means that the child may know what he or she wants to say, but they just cannot say it.  Apraxia of speech is sometimes called verbal apraxia, developmental apraxia of speech, or verbal dyspraxia.

Apraxia-KIDSSM - the Internet's largest, most comprehensive and trusted website for information on childhood apraxia of speech (verbal dyspraxia, developmental apraxia of speech) and children's speech and language topics - including evaluation, speech therapy, research and other childhood communication topics.

Links: 

www.Apraxia-kids.org

Understanding Childhood Apraxia of Speech: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/ChildhoodApraxia

Voice Disorders

Voice is the sound made by air passing from your lungs through your larynx, or voice box. In your larynx are your vocal cords, two bands of muscle that vibrate to make sound. For most of us, our voices play a big part in who we are, what we do and how we communicate. Like fingerprints, each person's voice is unique.

Many things we do can injure our vocal cords. Talking too much, screaming, constantly clearing your throat or smoking can make you hoarse. These can also lead to problems such as nodules, polyps and sores on the vocal cords.

Other causes of voice disorders include infections, upward movement of stomach acids into the throat, growths due to a virus, cancer and diseases that paralyze the vocal cords. Treatment for voice disorders varies depending on the cause. Most voice problems can be successfully treated when diagnosed early.

 

SOURCE:  NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 

Auditory Processing

Auditory Processing disorders are deficits in the information processing of audible sounds not attributed to hearing or intellectual impairments. Simply stated, auditory processing involves what we DO with what we hear. Sounds are heard, but there is a problem processing or understanding what is said particularly when the language used is complex, spoken rapidly, or is lengthy, and when there are visual distractions or competing noises.

Children with auditory processing difficulties are usually easily distracted, unusually bothered by loud or sudden noises, are upset by noisy environments, and have difficulty following directions. Abstract information and verbal (word) math problems are difficult for these children as well. These children are often regarded as disorganized, forgetful, or behavior problems due to their lack of ability to pay attention.

Understanding Auditory Processing:
http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Understanding-Auditory-Processing-Disorders-in-Children/