Articulation (Speech/Language Impaired) DISABILITY AWARENESS TRAINING

What are Speech Sound Disorders? Most children make some mistakes as they learn to say new words. A speech sound disorder occurs when mistakes continue past a certain age. Every sound has a different range of ages when the child should make the sound correctly. Speech sound disorders include problems with articulation (making sounds) and phonological processes (sound patterns). http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/

Typical Speech Sound Development http://www.talkingchild.com/speechchart.html

Causes of Speech Sound Disorders Many speech sound disorders occur without a known cause. A child may not learn how to produce sounds correctly or may not learn the rules of speech sounds on his or her own. These children may have a problem with speech development, which does not always mean that they will simply outgrow it by themselves. Many children do develop speech sounds over time but those who do not often need the services of a Speech Language Pathologist to learn correct speech sounds. Some speech sound errors can result from physical problems, such as: developmental disorders (e.g., autism) genetic syndromes (e.g., Down syndrome) hearing loss illness neurological disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy) Children who experience frequent ear infections when they were young are at risk for speech sound disorders if the ear infections were accompanied by hearing loss. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/

Signs of Articulation Disorder An articulation disorder involves problems making sounds. Sounds can be: Substituted Omitted Added Changed Young children often make speech errors. "w" sound for an "r" sound (e.g., "wabbit" for "rabbit") Leave sounds out of words, such as "nana" for "banana." Not all sound substitutions and omissions are speech errors. They may be related to a feature of a dialect or accent. Example: People who speak African American Vernacular English (AAVE) may use a "d" sound for a "th" sound (e.g., "dis" for "this"). This is not a speech sound disorder, but rather one of the phonological features of AAVE. ww.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/

Phonological Disorders A phonological process disorder involves patterns of sound errors. Example: Substituting all sounds made in the back of the mouth like "k" and "g" for those in the front of the mouth like "t" and "d" (e.g., saying "tup" for "cup" or "das" for "gas"). http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/

Word-final de-voicing pig = pick PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS  EXAMPLE  GONE BY APPROXIMATELY  Pre-vocalic voicing  pig = big  3;0  Word-final de-voicing  pig = pick  Final consonant deletion  comb = coe  3;3  Fronting  car = tar  ship = sip  3;6  Consonant harmony  mine = mime  kittycat = tittytat  3;9  Weak syllable deletion  elephant = efant  potato = tato  television =tevision  banana = nana  4;0  Cluster reduction  spoon = poon  train = chain  clean = keen  Gliding of liquids  run = one  leg = weg  leg = yeg  5;0  Stopping /f/  fish = tish  Stopping /s/  soap = dope  Stopping /v/  very = berry  Stopping /z/  zoo = doo  Stopping 'sh'  shop = dop  4;6  Stopping 'j'  jump = dump  Stopping 'ch'  chair = tare  Stopping voiceless 'th'  thing = ting  Stopping voiced 'th'  them = dem  Bowen, C. (1998). Developmental phonological disorders. A practical guide for families and teachers. Melbourne: ACER Press.  Grunwell, P. (1997). Natural phonology. In M. Ball & R. Kent (Eds.), The new phonologies: Developments in clinical linguistics. San Deigo, CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc.

English Language Learners & Articulation An accent is the unique way that speech is pronounced by a group of people speaking the same language. Accents are a natural part of spoken languages. It is important to realize that no accent is better than another. Accents are NOT a speech or language disorder. If specific sounds are not present in a person’s native language, we CANNOT expect them to be able to say them in English. Therefore, it is not considered an articulation disorder. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/

Tips and Strategies Develop a procedure for the student to ask for help. Speak directly to the student. Be a good speech model. Have easy and good interactive communication in classroom. Encourage participation in classroom activities and discussions. Model acceptance and understanding in classroom. Anticipate areas of difficulty and involve the student in problem- solving. Provide assistance and provide positive reinforcement when the student shows the ability to do something unaided. Use gestures that support understanding. Model correct speech patterns and avoid correcting speech difficulties. Be patient when student is speaking, since rushing may result in frustration. http://do2learn.com/disabilities/CharacteristicsAndStrategies/SpeechLanguageImpairment_Strategies.html