Speech Sound Disorders
As a child grows and develops, s/he will often make mistakes when learning to produce sounds necessary for saying new words. In most cases this is normal. However, some children have significant difficulties producing sounds, words, and sentences. Speech sounds (phonemes) normally develop in a particular manner along with specific patterns. The sequences of speech sound development, of course, can differ depending on the culture or ethnic background of children. Disruptions in the typical manner or patterns of speech sounds can result in what is commonly known as problems with articulation or phonological processes. An articulation disorder usually has a physical/motor cause, while a phonological disorder has a linguistic or developmental language cause. Most children will outgrow these difficulties. However, when a child does not develop speech sounds or speech sound sequences in a normal manner, the cause(s) need to be examined more carefully. Do you know a child who substitutes, distorts, or omits speech sounds?
Speech-Language Pathologists have specific interests in working with clients who have difficulties acquiring speech sounds, especially consonant sounds. Though correct production of vowels is important, the proper acquisition and correct production of consonants contribute more to overall speech intelligibility; meaning how well speech is understood by listeners.
There can be different causes of speech sound disorders. One of the primary causes is hearing loss due to recurring chronic ear infections. Other causes might include genetic syndromes such as Down Syndrome, illness, neurological disorders such as Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Apraxia of Speech, Dysarthria, Cleft Palate, Cerebral Vascular Accident (Stroke), or developmental disorders such as Autism. On the other hand, functional articulation disorders have no known cause. They are labeled as functional because these disorders seem to have no underlying etiology, nor does there seem to be any contributing factors. No matter the cause, known or unknown, speech-language pathologists embrace the task of treating people with all kinds of speech sound disorders.
As a child grows and develops, s/he will often make mistakes when learning to produce sounds necessary for saying new words. In most cases this is normal. However, some children have significant difficulties producing sounds, words, and sentences. Speech sounds (phonemes) normally develop in a particular manner along with specific patterns. The sequences of speech sound development, of course, can differ depending on the culture or ethnic background of children. Disruptions in the typical manner or patterns of speech sounds can result in what is commonly known as problems with articulation or phonological processes. An articulation disorder usually has a physical/motor cause, while a phonological disorder has a linguistic or developmental language cause. Most children will outgrow these difficulties. However, when a child does not develop speech sounds or speech sound sequences in a normal manner, the cause(s) need to be examined more carefully. Do you know a child who substitutes, distorts, or omits speech sounds?
Speech-Language Pathologists have specific interests in working with clients who have difficulties acquiring speech sounds, especially consonant sounds. Though correct production of vowels is important, the proper acquisition and correct production of consonants contribute more to overall speech intelligibility; meaning how well speech is understood by listeners.
There can be different causes of speech sound disorders. One of the primary causes is hearing loss due to recurring chronic ear infections. Other causes might include genetic syndromes such as Down Syndrome, illness, neurological disorders such as Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Apraxia of Speech, Dysarthria, Cleft Palate, Cerebral Vascular Accident (Stroke), or developmental disorders such as Autism. On the other hand, functional articulation disorders have no known cause. They are labeled as functional because these disorders seem to have no underlying etiology, nor does there seem to be any contributing factors. No matter the cause, known or unknown, speech-language pathologists embrace the task of treating people with all kinds of speech sound disorders.