Articulation

Articulation therapy is focused on teaching children new sounds in place of error-sounds or omitted sounds, one at a time, and then gradually introducing them new sounds into longer and longer utterances, eventually into a normal conversational speech. The goal of articulation therapy is to improve overall speech intelligibility. Treatment approaches vary depending upon the age, severity and etiology of the speech disorder. Families are encouraged to participate in a home program to facilitate progress and carry-over of skills. The etiology of articulation disorders can vary with each child. The child’s anatomy, processing and programming or a combination can affect articulation.

Anatomy: Structural differences that can affect speech sounds include dental issues, tongue thrust or neurological and facial deformity problems. A simple example of how basic anatomy can affect speech is a stuffy nose with the common cold. The sounds that are supposed to go through the nose (m, n, ng) are blocked. Those sounds have to be made in the mouth instead. The result is that we "have a cold 'id' our 'dose'", instead of "a cold in our nose".

Processing/Perceptual: Some children may actually perceive sounds differently than adults perceive the same sounds. Children with processing breakdowns usually cannot hear the difference between how they say a sound and how you say the same sound. Children actually go through stages in which it is normal and acceptable to produce sounds differently than adults. For example, it is normal for a 2 year old to say, "I see the 'tar'," (I see the car). By the age of 4, however, all children should be able to perceive and produce the c/k sound correctly. If the child is not producing a sound by a particular age, and there is no structural reason for the difference, we will usually treat the child by engaging in activities that will improve their perception of the error sound.

Programming: This refers to the brain's ability to tell the body what to do. Equally important is that the body has to be able to follow the brain's directions. When the brain and the body do not work together well, the result can be an articulation disorder. Frustrated children know what they are trying to say and know that they are not saying it right. These children will struggle to get even simple sounds out. Some children do okay with simple sounds but have a hard time with multisyllabic words. Children with speech programming difficulties may or may not have other programming problems such as with puzzles or pencils.

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