Condition : Speech sound disorders

Condition Speech sound disorders

What are speech sound disorders?

Speech is a series of sounds which are used together to form words and sentences.

The development of speech sounds in children follows a normal developmental pattern, from simple sounds based on the letters “b”, “m” and “d”, progressing to more complex sounds like “ch” and, finally, to blends like “bl” and “sm”.

By the age of eight, your child should be able to produce all speech sounds. If they are struggling with making sounds, but have no issues with understanding speech, they may have a speech sound delay or disorder.

If your child has a speech sound delay or disorder, they may:

avoid conversation
drop, add, distort, or swap certain sounds (for example, they say “seep” instead of “sheep”)
sound immature or use unusual vocabulary because they are choosing words with simpler sounds to replace more difficult ones
replace difficult words with simplified versions (for example, “baba” instead of “bottle”)
have difficulty making sounds in the right order

The following areas often worry parents, carers and teachers, but they’re all perfectly normal and don’t need treatment:

lisping (when a “th” sound replaces the letter “s”) in children under seven – this usually disappears as children get older, and it can be temporary, due to lost teeth or braces
rhotacism (saying “w” instead of “r”) in children under seven
t-glottalization (leaving out the “t” in the middle and at the end of words) – this is often caused by an accent, but it is worth noting if your child is showing other speech problems
th-fronting (saying “thing” as “fing”, “the” as “ve”, or “brother” as “bruvver”) – this is usually caused by accent, rather than speech difficulties

What causes speech sound disorders?

There are a number of reasons why children might struggle with speech, including:

hearing problems
poor phonological awareness (recognition and organisation of sounds)
physical problems that affect the tongue, palate (roof of the mouth), or lips
disorders affecting the nerves or areas of the brain involved in speech or coordination of the lips, tongue, and jaw

Sometimes, there may be no clear reason for a speech sound delay or disorder.

Bilingualism (speaking more than one language) or having an accent does not cause speech sound disorders.

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