Speech Sound Disorders

​ impacts the production of individual speech sounds with no known cause i.e. wabbit for rabbit etc. Developmental norms are used to determine when a child is considered to have an articulation disorder, speech delay or is developing speech sounds age appropriately. Articulation disorders are common and should be treated by a speech language pathologist.

involve rule based errors of speech sounds such as deletion of final consonants i.e. /cu/ for cup, cluster reduction i.e. /poon/ for spoon and many more. Speech language pathologist transcribe a child’s speech production at the word level to identify phonological errors in their speech. Developmental norms are used to identify the appropriate age targets and reteach speech production at a rule base level that targets several sounds concurrently

is a neurological pediatric speech sound disorder that presents with errors in precision and consistent movements in the production of speech absent of any neuromuscular deficits. Observable characteristics include a large percentage of speech sound omissions, difficulty with voicing and sequencing speech sounds and syllables as well as prosodic impairments that impact intelligibility of speech.

speech impairments include genetic syndromes associated with impaired intelligibility. There are limitations in adaptive skills and structural differences in in tongue size i.e. macroglossia seen in Down Syndrome. Signs and symptoms might include poor articulatory precision and errors in pausing and phrasing in speech, vowel errors due to structural and motor limitations, deletions of final consonants i.e. /ca/ for cat are frequently seen. Errors are typically inconsistent and result in reduced intelligibility for the known and unknown listener.

 impact children and adults with hearing loss and impairments. Speech sound production is impacted to different degrees depending on the age, onset and severity of the hearing loss or impairment.

 involve congenital defects that affect the structure of the oral mechanism such as the lips and palate related to cleft palate and or cleft lip. Individuals may experience decreased intraoral pressure needed to produce consonants, resonance disorders impacting vowels and consonants, nasal air emission and compensatory errors manifested in phonological processes such as stopping of consonants, glottal stops, cluster reduction and speech sound omissions.

is a neurologenic motor speech condition that effects the muscles used in speech production. Characteristics include slow labored imprecise articulation, sound prolongation, irregular pausing between words, syllables and sounds with imprecise and fluctuating articulation.sociated with impaired intelligibility. There are limitations in adaptive skills and structural differences in in tongue size i.e. macroglossia seen in Down Syndrome. Signs and symptoms might include poor articulatory precision and errors in pausing and phrasing in speech, vowel errors due to structural and motor limitations, deletions of final consonants i.e. /ca/ for cat are frequently seen. Errors are typically inconsistent and result in reduced intelligibility for the known and unknown listener.

is a neurogenic speech disorder that impacts the ability to plan or program sensorimotor commands needed for directing movement in speech sound production and normal prosody of speech. Causes may include stroke, traumatic brain injury, tumor, surgical trauma and neurogenic diseases.

​is a complex disorder that affects the fluency of speech. The exact cause of stuttering is unknown however research suggest there is a genetic role in the disorder. Typically stuttering appears around 2 1/2 to 4 years of age. Though 75% of preschoolers who begin to stutter will eventually stop, if dysfluencies continue for longer than a month or two it is important for your child to be evaluated and monitored by a speech language pathologist to best determine when intervention should begin. Stuttering is characterized by disruptions in the production of speech sounds including part word repetitions i.e. w-w-w what, sound prorogations “sssit with me” and interjections i.e. “um um um where are we going”. These dysfluencies typically can and do impact an individuals social, emotional, academic and work life.