Articulation Disorder in Children
If you have a child struggling to produce the correct sounds when speaking, you may be wondering if speech therapy is the right solution. Articulation disorders can be frustrating for both children and parents, but with the help of a speech therapist, your child can start making progress quickly. This blog post will discuss articulation disorders in children and how speech therapy can help.
What is an Articulation Disorder?
Possible Causes of Articulation Disorders
How are Articulation Disorders Diagnosed?
How Does Speech Therapy for Articulation Work?
What is the Prognosis for Improvement?
What is an Articulation Disorder?
Articulation disorders occur when a child cannot produce the correct sounds, resulting in mispronunciations or omissions of entire words. Articulation disorder is also known as "speech sound disorder" or "phonological disorder."
Possible Causes of Articulation Disorders
There is not always a clear cause of articulation disorders, but they can be the result of many factors, including:
Neurological problems
Developmental delays
Poor muscle coordination
Low muscle tone
Hearing loss
Cleft palate
Dental issues (e.g., overbite or open bite, dental arch)
Anatomical variations (e.g., enlarged tongue or tonsils)
How are Articulation Disorders Diagnosed?
If you think your child may have an articulation disorder, the first step is to consult with a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The speech therapist will assess your child's ability to produce sounds.
The SLP will work with you to create a treatment plan to help your child improve their pronunciation. In some cases, the SLP may recommend a consultation with another professional, such as an audiologist, dentist, or orthodontist.
Articulation disorders can be harder to treat in adolescents because many have already developed speech habits that they will carry into adulthood. For this reason, it is important to seek an evaluation and treatment as early as possible.
How Does Speech Therapy for Articulation Work?
Speech therapy can be an extremely effective way to help your child improve their articulation skills. Articulation therapy usually consists of a series of one-on-one sessions with the therapist to improve pronunciation.
The therapist will first assess your child's speech and identify any areas of weakness. Then, the therapist will develop a treatment plan focusing on specific sounds or words that are causing difficulty for your child. Articulation therapy can be done through various activities, such as games, worksheets, and drills.
In general, speech therapy will involve:
Learning the correct pronunciation of sounds
Exercises to improve muscle coordination and strength
Games and activities that help with pronunciation
Articulation therapy can also involve reading, writing, and listening activities to improve pronunciation skills.
Your speech pathologist will work with you and your child to create a plan for practice at home, providing you with exercises to help improve your child's pronunciation of their target sounds. Sometimes, it can be challenging to find time to practice, so try incorporating these practice activities while you are on the go (e.g., during a walk outside or while riding in the car).
Articulation disorders in children can be frustrating, but your child can quickly progress with the right therapy approach and the right speech therapist.
What is the Prognosis for Improvement?
Articulation therapy is an important part of treating articulation disorders because it helps children develop better communication skills and become more easily understood.
In many cases, speech therapy can help children make significant progress in a relatively short amount of time. Articulation therapy typically takes place over several weeks or months, depending on your child's articulation disorder severity. If your child is making significant progress during each session, the therapy may be completed sooner. If your child is not making as much progress as you would like, the treatment may continue for a longer time.
Most children who receive articulation therapy make significant improvements in their pronunciation skills.
Articulation Activities to Practice at Home
The following activities can help you get started practicing your child's articulation sounds today. Empower your child by allowing them to choose the day and time to practice. When they feel like they have some control, they will be more likely to follow through with practice. Try these tips:
Articulation flashcards
Articulation flashcards are an excellent way for children to practice their speech sounds. There are many different flashcards sets available, and most of them include a variety of words that target specific speech sounds. Flashcards can be used in a variety of ways, such as during individual sessions with the therapist or at home with parents. Articulation flashcards are also great for reinforcing what is learned during speech therapy sessions.
Articulation sentence strips
Articulation sentence strips can be used in the same way as articulation flashcards. Articulation sentence strips are a great way for children to practice their speech sounds. There are many different sentence strip sets available, or you can make up your own! Sentence strips should include a variety of words that target specific speech sounds. This allows for repetitive practice of target sounds. Sentence strips can be used in various ways, such as during individual sessions with the therapist or at home with parents. Articulation sentence strips are also great for reinforcing what is learned during articulation therapy sessions.
5 Fun Articulation Games
If you are looking for some fun articulation games, check out our ideas below. Children can play many different games to practice their speech sounds. Articulation activities don't have to be boring! Articulation games can help children pronounce words correctly and improve their speaking skills.
1) Charades: Act out the word you want to guess. The word should include the target sound that your child is working on. Your speech pathologist can provide you with a list of appropriate words for your child to work on.
2) “I Spy”: Find items around the room that contain the target sound and have your child say the name of the word aloud. It may help to say the word aloud first, to show your child how to pronounce the word correctly.
3) Color or draw a picture of the target words: Coloring a picture of a word containing your child's target sound(s) is a great way to practice their speech. When children are coloring, they tend to feel relaxed. When they are calm, you can easily gain your child's attention and ask them to repeat the name of the picture and use it in a sentence.
4) Mystery box: You can have fun helping your child learn their articulation sound by placing small objects containing your child's target speech sound in an empty shoebox. Cut a hole in the shoebox and have your child reach their hand inside, pulling out an object and asking them to say the name of the object aloud.
5) “Hide-and-Go-Seek” in the dark: Place stick-it notes with your child's target words on the wall. Turn the lights off, and have your child find the words using a flashlight. Ask them to say the word aloud five times before they can search for the next word!
Finding a Qualified Speech Therapist
If your child is struggling with an articulation disorder, finding the right speech therapist is essential.
A qualified speech therapist will evaluate your child and determine the root of the problem. The therapist may also provide specific exercises or drills to help your child improve their pronunciation. In many cases, speech therapy can help children make significant progress in a relatively short amount of time.
Many qualified speech therapists can help children develop new skills and improve their pronunciation.
Connected Speech Pathology offers articulation therapy for children of all ages.
About the Author
Allison Geller is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) and the owner of Connected Speech Pathology. She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Florida in Speech-Language Pathology. Allison has practiced speech therapy in a number of settings including telepractice, acute care, outpatient rehabilitation, and private practice. She has worked extensively with individuals across the lifespan including toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged children, and adults. She specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of a variety of communication disorders including receptive/expressive language disorders, articulation disorders, voice disorders, fluency disorders, brain injury, and swallowing disorders.
Allison served as the clinical coordinator of research in aphasia in the Neurological Institute at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. She is on the Board of Directors for the Corporate Speech Pathology Network (CORSPAN), a Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) certified clinician, and a proud Family Empowerment Scholarship/Step-Up For Students provider. Allison is passionate about delivering high quality-effective treatment remotely because it’s convenient and easy to access. What sets us apart from other online speech therapy options is—Allison takes great care to hire the very best SLPs from all over the country.
