Articulation Therapy

Phonological disorders are speech sound disorders that occur when a child has trouble organizing and using the sounds of language correctly. This can impact their ability to speak clearly, which might make it harder for others to understand them. Unlike articulation disorders, which are about producing specific sounds incorrectly, phonological disorders involve patterns of sound errors that are often predictable and systematic.

For example, a child with a phonological disorder might consistently omit sounds like "s" in "sun," say "w" instead of "r," or use the wrong sounds in words. These difficulties can affect both their ability to communicate and their confidence in speaking.

It’s normal for children to go through stages of speech development, but if your child has trouble forming words correctly despite putting in effort, they might be experiencing apraxia of speech—a motor speech disorder that makes it hard for children to plan and coordinate the muscle movements needed for clear speech.

Apraxia of speech (also known as Childhood Apraxia of Speech, or CAS) is a neurological disorder that affects a child’s ability to produce speech sounds correctly. Unlike other speech disorders, children with apraxia don’t have weakness or paralysis in their muscles; rather, their brain struggles to send the right signals to the muscles involved in speech. This leads to inconsistent speech errors and difficulty producing sounds in the correct order.

For example, a child with apraxia may try to say a word multiple times, but each attempt might sound different, making communication challenging.

An articulation delay occurs when a child has trouble pronouncing certain sounds, syllables, or words as expected for their age. While it’s normal for young children to mispronounce words as they are learning to speak, children with an articulation delay will continue to have these struggles well beyond the age where most children have mastered clear speech.

For example, a child with an articulation delay might have trouble pronouncing sounds like “s,” “r,” or “th,” or may substitute one sound for another (e.g., saying “w” for “r” or “t” for “k”). This can make communication harder for others to understand, even if the child knows what they want to say.