Speech motor coordination is immature when children first learn to talk. As a result, it is common for children to simplify words containing multiple syllables (e.g., “nana” for “banana”) or substitute certain sounds for others that are easier to produce (e.g., “tup” for “cup”). This process of simplifying and substituting sounds is considered a normal part of typical speech development in young children.
These patterns usually disappear between the ages of 3 and 4 as children have more practice talking and acquire typical adult-like articulation. However, sometimes these patterns of substitution and simplification persist beyond the typical ages of elimination. This makes it difficult for your child to be easily understood by others and can become even more challenging as the length and complexity of their sentences grow. This can negatively impact relationships and play with peers and the ability to share their ideas with confidence.
If your child is 3 years old and is understood less than 75% of the time by friends, teachers, and family members, it is appropriate to seek a speech evaluation. An assessment will determine whether your child’s skills are age-appropriate and whether they may benefit from support to enhance their speech development.
At Open Lines, a licensed SLP will conduct a one-on-one comprehensive evaluation of your child’s ability to accurately perceive and produce all sounds in the English language. The SLP will also look at how production changes if a sound is produced in the beginning vs. at the end of a word and will examine if the length of the utterance also influences production and speech intelligibility. This will help your SLP establish the nature of the speech sound errors and whether those errors are developmentally appropriate.
Further testing allows an SLP to try treatment techniques to determine if your child is able to accurately produce target sounds with models or multimodal cues (i.e., verbal, visual, and tactile cues.) This information is used to customize tailored treatment plans and exercises to help your child correctly and naturally modify how they produce sounds. This improves speech intelligibility, which also boosts confidence while speaking.
Articulation Disorders Program