WHAT ARE SPEECH SOUND DIFFICULTIES
Speech sounds are the individual sounds of a given language that are combined together to make words.
Around the world, children acquire and master all the various sounds of their language in a predictable way and these developmental patterns are well documented.
Please click HERE for an illustration showing the expected ages that children acquire each of the consonant sounds in English.
Most children acquire these sounds quite easily by listening and copying the people around them but some children can have difficulty acquiring or mastering them by the expected ages.
Around the world, children acquire and master all the various sounds of their language in a predictable way and these developmental patterns are well documented.
Please click HERE for an illustration showing the expected ages that children acquire each of the consonant sounds in English.
Most children acquire these sounds quite easily by listening and copying the people around them but some children can have difficulty acquiring or mastering them by the expected ages.
WHEN SHOULD I SEEK HELP
Speech Pathologists are uniquely-qualified and trained to assess a child with speech sound difficulties to determine the nature of those difficulties and how best to help.
It is recommended that you consult with a Speech Pathologist if you are noticing any of the below:
Research shows that earlier intervention is preferable and can offset knock-on effects to acquiring phonics knowledge when children start school.
It is recommended that you consult with a Speech Pathologist if you are noticing any of the below:
- A 2 year old child is not using many words or the words are mostly unclear (for example, using mostly vowel sounds)
- A 3 year old child is difficult for familiar listeners to understand
- A child who is 3.5 is difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand
- At 4, a child is able to be understood but has persistent errors with sounds like /sh/, /s/, /k/ or /f/ or /l/.
- If older and the child still has difficulty with particular sounds like /r/ or /th/
Research shows that earlier intervention is preferable and can offset knock-on effects to acquiring phonics knowledge when children start school.