Speech Sound Disorders

Speech sounds disorders (SSD) characterize children who have difficulty producing intelligible (understandable) speech. Articulation disorders and phonological disorders are two different types of SSDs.

Articulation disorders refer to the inability to produce an individual sound. Typically, these children are not able to use or coordinate their articulators (teeth, lips, tongue, hard palate, and/or the soft palate) to form an individual sound. This can greatly impact your child’s intelligibility which refers to how much of the child’s speech you can understand. Speech therapy for articulation disorders typically follows a hierarchy. Your child’s speech therapist will use a variety of therapeutic techniques (such as visual feedback, visual cues, tactile cues, auditory cues, mouth puppets, and more) to teach your child to form individual sounds that they have trouble producing. The speech therapist will then help your child learn to use their new sound in words, phrases, sentences, and eventually conversation!

Phonological Disorders also cause children to present with low intelligibility. However, this type of disorder is very different than an articulation disorder and requires a very different type of therapeutic approach. Phonology refers to the branch of language that deals with speech sounds. Children with phonological disorders can usually form sounds in isolation, but they don’t always use them in the correct place in a word. Children with phonological disorders do not have problems with the muscles used for speech or the articulators. It is a language-based disorder in which children have not learned the “patterns” used in speech. For example, a child may leave off the ending sound of each of their words. Even though they are able to produce sounds like /t/ and /m/, they haven’t learned the “rule” that words have ending sounds. This means that the child would be able to produce an /m/ sound, but the word “mom” would sound like “mah.” There are many different phonological processes/patters, and a variety of phonological treatment approaches that can be used to help your child improve their speech.

• It is important to note that a child’s intelligibility is NOT a reflection of their language or cognitive skills. Just because you can’t understand their speech doesn’t mean they can’t understand everything you say!

• Therapy will look different based on each child’s strengths and challenges. We may use supports such as movement, sensory equipment, and more to help your child gain the most benefit from their session.

• Children with SSDs may have difficulty participating in social or educational settings. Children may become frustrated with their speech and having to repeat themselves frequently. If you suspect your child may have an SSD, ask your pediatrician for a referral for speech therapy or book our free consultation today to learn more!

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