Speech Sounds

Speech sound disorders is an umbrella term used to refer to any difficulty, or combination of difficulties with the perception, motor production, or phonological representation of speech sounds. At Harmony Speech Therapy, we use targeted exercises and techniques to help individuals produce sounds correctly, enhancing their ability to communicate effectively and confidently. This service focuses on improving the clarity of speech sounds, including articulation issues, phonological disorders, lisps, and motor speech disorders. Here's how we can help!

Articulation

Articulation refers to the physical ability to move the tongue, lips, jaw, and palate (the roof of the mouth) to produce individual speech sounds, which are called phonemes.

Articulation disorders involve difficulties in making sounds correctly. For instance, a child might substitute one sound for another (saying "wabbit" for "rabbit") or omit a sound (saying "nana" for "banana").

During articulation therapy your SLP will move through a hierarchy of levels, beginning with accurate production of the sound in isolation and moving through all levels until the sound is considered mastered. A speech sound is mastered when a child is able to accurately produce it in conversational speech.

How We Help: We use techniques to teach the correct placement and movement of the articulators (tongue, lips, etc.) to produce clear, correct speech sounds.

What sounds should your child be saying? Take a look at the list below.

- 2-3 years: /p/, /b/, /d/, /m/, /n/, /w/, /h/ & vowels
- 3-4 years: /g/, /k/, /f/, /t/, /ng/, /y/
- 4-5 years: /v/, /j/, /s/, /ch/, /l/, /sh/, /z/
- 5-6 years: /r/, /zh/, /th/

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Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a speech disorder where a child has difficulty making accurate movements when speaking. The brain struggles to properly plan and coordinate the muscle movements necessary to form sounds into words. This isn't because of muscle weakness or paralysis; rather, the brain has trouble sending the right signals to move the mouth muscles. As a result, a child might know what they want to say but find it hard to physically say it, leading to speech that can be hard to understand.

Speech Language Pathologists play a crucial role in helping children with CAS. They use special techniques and exercises designed to improve the child's ability to plan, sequence, and execute the movements needed for speech. Through personalized therapy sessions, SLPs work closely with each child, often starting with the basics of making sounds and gradually building up to forming complete words and sentences. The goal is to help the child become a more effective communicator, ensuring they can express their thoughts and needs more clearly.

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Phonology

Phonological patterns refer to the patterns by which young children adapt or simplify the sounds within words as they master the art of speaking.

These patterns are a normal part of language development, helping to make speech production easier for them. However, when these patterns persist beyond the age-appropriate developmental milestones, they are identified as a phonological disorder.

How We Help: We focus on understanding and changing these patterns of errors. Therapy may involve activities to increase awareness of different sounds and teaching the rules of how sounds can be combined.

Some common phonological patterns:

- cluster reduction: occurs when a consonant cluster (a group of two or more consonants ) is simplified into a single consonant sound. For example, saying "top" for "stop" or "pane" for "plane."

- stopping: occurs when a fricative sound (sounds made by forcing air through the mouth, like /f/ or /s/) is replaced with a stop sound ((sounds produced by completely blocking the airflow like /p/ or /t/). For example, saying "tun" for "sun" or "doo" for "zoo."

- backing: occurs when a sound that is normally produced at the front of the mouth is replaced with a back sound. For example, saying "cap" for "tap" or "gog" for "dog".

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Lisps

A lisp is a common speech characteristic that affects the way a person pronounces certain sounds, often noticed with the "s" and "z" sounds. Instead of producing a clear "s" or "z," someone with a lisp might produce a sound that seems slurred or distorted. There are a few different types of lisps: the most familiar ones are the interdental lisp, where the tongue sticks out between the teeth when trying to say "s" or "z" sounds, making them sound more like "th," and the lateral lisp, where the air flows over the sides of the tongue, creating a slushy sound.

Speech-language pathologists are trained to help people overcome lisps. They start by assessing the type of lisp and then design a therapy plan tailored to the individual's needs. Therapy might include exercises to strengthen the tongue, improve tongue positioning, or practice specific speech sounds in different words and sentences. The goal is to help the person produce clearer speech sounds, improving their overall clarity of speech and boosting their confidence in communication.