Children are likely to mispronounce some sounds as they learn to talk. By the age of 4 years, we
expect children to be able to produce most sounds accurately according to developmental
milestones.
A child who does not or cannot say the sounds accurately by the expected age may
have a speech sound disorder.
What are speech sound disorders?
Speech sound disorders (SSD) is a generic term used to describe a range of difficulties producing
speech sounds in children (McLeod and Baker, 2017). The various disorders can be further
categorised.
How are speech sound disorders identified?
Speech and Language Therapists will assess a child’s speech by using specialised assessment tools,
listening to how a child produces sounds and by checking the movement and strength of the their lips,
tongue and jaw.
It is important to ensure that the child’s hearing has been checked and that there is no hearing
impairment. Hearing impairments affect the way a child perceives and produces speech sounds.
Speech therapy and tips for parents
Speech therapy sessions can be beneficial for the child to learn to say the sounds correctly.
Treatment approach (i.e. method) and targets (i.e. the speech sounds to work on) are dependent on
several factors such as the type of speech sound disorder and child factors (e.g. error patterns,
relevance to child and family, etc.)
Often treatment includes:
Learning to differentiate speech sounds
Learning to produce the speech sounds correctly
Learning to produce the speech sounds in words, sentences and conversations
Examples of Treatment Approaches includes:
Articulation Approaches
Phonological Approaches e.g cycles therapy, minimal pairs etc
Motor Planning Approaches e.g. R.E.S.T, DTTC etc
How can parents help their children with speech sound disorders?
Model – Always model the words for by mildly exaggerating the sounds that the child is
mispronouncing (e.g. sssssnake) but do not expect the child to repeat the word
o Provides clear model by emphasizing the sound that child is mispronouncing
Visual feedback – Stand in front of a mirror or use the internal camera function on the phone
and model the word
o Allows child to see how the adult moves their articulators (tongue, lips, jaw) and
compare it to their own
Story time – Look for words with the sounds that child has difficulty producing and emphasize
the sound in the words (e.g. “s” sound – snake, slither, hiss, scared)
o Provides opportunity for child to be bombarded with that sound that he/she has
trouble producing
“I spy” game – Play “I spy” games with using the sounds that child has difficulty producing
(e.g. find words starting with “s” sound” – I spy something that is yellow, hot and in the sky –
Sun)
o Provides opportunity for child to be bombarded with that sound that he/she has
trouble producing
Playdoh – Roll the play dough into shapes that start with the sounds that child has difficulty
producing (e.g. Roll playdoh into long and short snakes and make hissing sound)
o Provides opportunity for child to be bombarded with that sound that he/she has
trouble producing
