Positively Parenting - March 2017

Once a month, we pose a question submitted by one of our readers to a local professional or expert regarding parenting issues. For this issue’s question, we focus on speech therapy. Daniel Island resident and professional speech therapist Deborah Scarlett provides our answer.

QUESTION:

My first grader seems to have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds. I am worried that she may have a speech problem. What can/should I do to help her?

ANSWER:

In general, there is a range that is considered normal in speech sound development. Every sound has a range of ages when the child should make the sound correctly. Boys tend to acquire sounds at slightly different ages than girls and their rates of mastery are slightly different as well. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), signs of a speech disorder can be detected between birth and four years of age. A child may have a speech sound disorder if he/she:

• Says the P, B, M, H, and W sounds incorrectly in words (1-2 years)

• Says the K, G, F, T, D, and N sounds incorrectly in words (2-3 years)

• Produces speech that is unclear, even to familiar people (2-3 years)

By the age of three, a child should be understood most of the time by family members and other familiar listeners. By the age of four, a child should be understood by unfamiliar listeners, even when some words may contain sound substitutions (wabbit for rabbit) or sound omissions (cool for school). Up to age six or seven, one or two sound errors may still exist. It is not uncommon for a six year old to acquire the R, TH, or ZH sounds later than his/her peers. Examples of typical errors at this age include: bafroom for bathroom or bedwoom for bedroom. All English sounds should be mastered no later than age eight.

Additionally, it is important to note that a speech sound disorder is not related to differences due to dialect patterns or foreign accented English.

Helpful hints for parents of younger children:

• Face your child when speaking and listening.

• Say the sounds correctly when you speak. It is okay if your child makes some mistakes with sounds.

• Do not correct speech sounds – it is more important to let your child keep talking.

Helpful hints for parents of children ages 4-7:

• Model a mispronounced word correctly one time to the child. It is okay if the child does not attempt to repeat the word. Over time, the child may begin to make attempts to articulate the word correctly on his/her own.

• If your child has difficulty with the L sound, for example, is he/she able to imitate the L sound in isolation? Is he/she able to correctly produce the sound in at least one position of the word? If the answer to both of these questions is no, a speech language pathologist is qualified to determine the exact nature and degree of a suspected speech sound disorder.

Deborah Scarlett is a licensed speech-language pathologist who has worked in the public schools for over 25 years and in private practice since 2014. Her special interests include working with children ages 2-18. She provides services that include diagnosis of and treatment for: speech sound disorders (articulation/phonological), speech motor disorders (apraxia), receptive/expressive language disorders, autism spectrum disorder, childhood stuttering, and dyxlexia. She may be reached at dispeechtherapy@gmail.com or 843-420-8262.