Professional Background:
Beth has experience working on speech sounds with people of all ages, and has further attended professional development courses on Speech Sound Disorders and Childhood Apraxia of Speech.
What is “speech” anyway?
In Speech Therapy, we refer to speech as the use of sounds while talking. Sometimes this can impact the clarity of what the person is saying, and other times it may just be one or two sounds that a person would like to work on to improve their confidence with talking (e.g. a lisp, or difficulties with r).
My child can say the sounds, why don’t they use them?
When a child can say the sounds but doesn’t use them in their everyday speech, it is likely that they have a phonological delay or disorder. When learning to speak all children will use speech patterns to make their words easier to say. As their speech system matures, children systematically correct these patterns. Some children may present with delays in resolving these patterns (phonological delay), and some children may use patterns which are not part of typical development.
Phonological delays/disorders refer to a difficulty in using age appropriate speech patterns, not an inability to physically say the sounds. Children may need support in understanding how sounds work, understanding that changing sounds can change meaning (e.g. fat vs bat), and learning which sounds go where.
My child’s speech seems unclear, is it normal for their age?
Children develop at different rates, and it can be difficult for parents and teachers to know what is normal. You can read about speech development here…
Please give Beth a call on 0273794767 if you have any questions about speech development.