In-home speech therapy for individuals in Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, Niles, and surrounding Illinois areas
Online speech therapy in IL, NY, NJ
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Online Articulation Therapy for Children
In-person Articulation Therapy near Skokie, Evanston, West Rogers Park, Wilmette & Niles
The development of speech is a complex process that begins in infancy when it's common for children to mispronounce, add, change, substitute, or omit certain sounds or syllables. By age four, children are expected to produce majority of sounds in their language. However, if they are unable to, it may indicate the presence of a speech-sound disorder.
Parents sometimes assume their child's speech delay will resolve on its own, but this is not always the case. Failure to seek assistance for a child with a speed-sound disorder can have a significant impact on their speech development.
Speech Development
The two most common types of speech-sound disorders:
1) Articulation disorder is a condition that affects an individual's ability to produce certain sounds, resulting in difficulty in communicating effectively. This can make it challenging to comprehend words, phrases, and sentences. A common example is a lisp. To gain a better understanding of when typically developing children acquire each sound, click here.
2) Phonological disorder is a condition where an individual, usually a child, struggles to comprehend the sound system and speech rules of our language. It's more intricate than an articulation disorder because the child may be able to produce sounds in some words but not in others. For instance, a child can say all sounds except for those in the final position of a word, resulting in saying "ca" instead of "cat." To learn more about typical and atypical phonological patterns and signs of a phonological disorder, click here.
Less common speech-sound disorders include apraxia and dysarthria. Apraxia, also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), is a condition where an individual struggles with planning and executing oral movements. Dysarthria, on the other hand, occurs when an individual's speech sounds distorted or slurred due to neuromuscular weakness, paralysis, or uncoordinated muscles required for speech production.
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What are the causes of a speech-sound disorder?
There's no clear cause behind this disorder, but it can be the result of one or several factors including:
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Cleft palate or other orofacial differences
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Dental issues (e.g., an overbite or underbite)
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Developmental delays
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Hearing loss
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Low muscle tone
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Neurological problems
It's crucial to be attentive to your child's speech and seek an evaluation from a Speech-Language Pathologist.
Articulation therapy is designed to address a range of challenges, including:
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difficulty with specific sounds such as /r/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/, /l/, and other sounds
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lateral and interdental lisps
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unclear speech that sounds mumbled and is difficult to understand
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speech that's labored, slurred, or unclear due to neurological damage.
Speech Therapy for Articulation with me
I can help improve the production of specific speech sounds and overall intelligibility of your child. Often, older children will substitute words to avoid producing problematic speech sounds, and I can help your child overcome this so they can use the words they want when speaking with friends, presenting in class, and more.
Speech Therapy for Children with Articulation Disorders Near Skokie, Illinois
I offer in-home speech therapy for children with articulation disorders who live near Skokie, Wilmette, Evanston, and West Rogers Park.
Online Speech Therapy for Children with Articulation Disorders Throughout Illinois, New York, ad New Jersey
I offer online speech therapy services for children with articulation disorders throughout Illinois, New York, and New Jersey.
If you would like to schedule a free consultation, please do not hesitate to contact me.
It's common for children to be unable to produce every sound in their language from birth. Typically, children acquire specific sounds at certain ages. To determine if your child is acquiring speech sounds within the appropriate timeframe, refer to the below chart.
Speech-Sound Development Chart
2-3
years old
3-4
years old
4-5
years old
p, b, d, m, n, h, w
t, k, g, ng, f, y
v, s, z, sh, ch, j, l
5-6
years old
th (voiced), zh, r
6-7
years old
th (voiceless)
Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2020). Children's English Consonant Acquisition in the United States: A Review. American Journal of Speech Pathology.
Phonological patterns/processes are a common occurrence in children, where complex words are simplified in a predictable manner. While most children eventually outgrow these patterns, some may not, indicating a potential phonological disorder. It's worth noting that atypical phonological patterns are not observed in typically developing children, and are often indicative of a phonological disorder.
Phonological
Patterns
Definitions
Examples
Typical age of elimination
Final Consonant Deletion
Deletion of the final consonant in a word
Cat is changed to "ca"
Sip is changed to "si"
3 years old
Final Consonant Devoicing
A final voiced consonant (ex: b, d) is replaced with a voiceless consonant (ex: p, t)
Bed is changed to "bet"
Tub is changed to "tup"
3 years old
Prevocalic Voicing
A voiceless initial consonant (ex: p, t) is replaced with a voiced consonant (ex: b, d)
Pig is changed to "big"
Cup is changed to "gup"
3 years old
Reduplication
First syllable is repeated two times
Bottle is changed to baba
3 years old
Velar Assimilation
A non-velor sound (sounds that are not k, g, -ing) is changed to a velar sound (k, g, -ing)
Sock is changed to "kack"
3 years old
Stopping of fricatives
A fricative (f, v, z, s, zh, sh, h, voiced & voiceless th) is substituted with a stop (p, b, t, d, k, g)
Four is changed to "bore"
3-5 years old depending on sound
Velar Fronting
A velar sound (k, g, -ing) is substituted with sound produced in the front of the mouth (usually an alveolar sound (t, d, n))
Can is changed to "tan"
3.5 years old
Palatal fronting
A palatal sound (sh, ch, zh, j) is substituted with a sound produced in the front of the mouth (usually an alveolar sound (t, d, n))
Chair is changed to "tair"
Fish is changed to "fis"
3.5 years old
Weak syllable deletion
The deletion of an unstressed syllable
Telephone is changed to "tephone"
3.5 years old
Cluster reduction
Reduction of a cluster (consonants with no vowels between them) in a word
Stop is changed to "top"
4 years old
Deaffrication
Changing an affricate (ch, j) to a fricative (f, v, z, s, zh, sh, h, voiced & voiceless th) or stop (p, b, t, k, g)
Chew is changed to "shoe"
4.5 years old
Stopping of affricates
An affricate (ch, j) is substituted with a stop (p, b, t, d, k, g)
Chop is changed to "pop"
4.5 years old
Gliding
A liquid (l, r) is substituted for a glide (w, y)
Leg is changed to "yeg" or "weg'
5 years old
Fricative simplification
An interdental (voiced & voiceless th) is substituted with a labiodental or alveolar fricative (f, v, s, z)
Thumb is changed to "fum"
5 years old
Epenthesis
A vowel is added between two consonants
Blue is changed to "bu-lue"
8 years old
Bowen, C. (1998). Developmental phonological disorders. A practical guide for families and teachers. Melbourne: ACER Press.
Bauman-Waengler, J. A. (2012). Articulatory and phonological impairments. New York, NY: Pearson Higher Education.
Bernthal, J., Bankson, N. W., & Flipsen, P., Jr. (2013). Articulation and phonological disorders. New York, NY: Pearson Higher Education.
Dodd, B., Holm, A., Zhu, H., & Crosbie, S. (2003). Phonological development, a normative study of British-English speaking children. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 17, 617—43.
Peña-Brooks, A., & Hegde, M. N. (2015). Assessment and Treatment of Speech Sound Disorders in Children: A Dual-Level Text. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
Shipley, K. G., & McAfee, J. G. (2016). Assessment in speech-language pathology: A resource manual. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Examples of atypical phonological patterns:
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Migration: a sound moves position in a word (e.g., "oaps" for soap)
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Initial consonant deletion: a sound in the initial position is consistently deleted (e.g., "at" for cat)
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Vowel alteration: one vowel is changed to another vowel (e.g., "but" for boat)
Speech Therapy for Children with Phonological Disorders Near Skokie, Illinois
I offer in-home speech therapy for children with phonological disorders who live near Skokie, Wilmette, Evanston, and West Rogers Park.
Online Speech Therapy for Children with Phonological Disorders Throughout Illinois, New York, ad New Jersey
I offer online speech therapy services for children with phonological disorders throughout Illinois, New York, and New Jersey.
If you would like to schedule a free consultation, please do not hesitate to contact me.