Speech Sound Disorders

Many children make speech mistakes while learning to talk. However, some children continue to have difficulty producing speech sounds clearly beyond the age we would expect, making them difficult for others to understand.

 

These difficulties are known as speech sound disorders.

 

At Vibrance Speech Pathology, we support children across Wollongong and the Illawarra with a wide range of speech sound difficulties, including:

• articulation disorders,

• phonological disorders,

• childhood apraxia of speech (CAS),

• developmental dysarthria,

• and broader speech intelligibility difficulties.

 

We provide evidence-informed assessment and therapy tailored to your child’s communication profile, developmental stage and learning style.

 

Children with speech sound disorders may:

• be difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand,

• leave sounds out of words,

• substitute one sound for another,

• speak in a way that sounds “immature” for their age,

• become frustrated when communicating,

• avoid talking in groups or at school,

• or experience difficulties with reading and spelling later on.

 

Research and clinical evidence show that persistent speech sound difficulties can also impact literacy development, phonological awareness, confidence and participation at school. There are some good resources published by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association on this topic.

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What is a Speech Sound Disorder?

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A speech sound disorder (SSD) is an umbrella term used to describe difficulties producing speech sounds clearly and accurately.

 

Speech sound disorders can affect:

• the way individual sounds are physically produced,

• the way a child organises sounds into words,

• or the motor planning and coordination required for speech.

 

Speech sound disorders are not all the same. Understanding the underlying cause of a child’s speech difficulty is important because different speech profiles respond best to different therapy approaches.

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Articulation vs Phonology vs CAS vs Developmental Dysarthria

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Articulation Disorders

An articulation disorder occurs when a child has difficulty physically producing a specific speech sound correctly.

 

For example:

• saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”,

• producing a lisp on /s/ sounds,

• or distorting particular sounds.

 

Children with articulation difficulties usually:

• have errors on a smaller number of sounds,

• know the difference between sounds,

• but struggle with the physical production or placement of the sound.

 

Therapy for articulation disorders often focuses on:

• tongue placement,

• airflow,

• motor practice,

• auditory discrimination,

• and repeated practice across words and sentences.

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Phonological Disorders

 

A phonological disorder is different from an articulation disorder.

 

In phonological disorders, the child has difficulty learning the sound patterns and rules of the language system. Rather than isolated sound errors, children tend to use predictable patterns of mistakes.

 

For example:

• saying “tat” instead of “cat”,

• “doe” instead of “go”,

• or leaving sounds off the ends of many words.

 

Children with phonological disorders may be able to produce a sound correctly in some situations, but not use it consistently within words.

 

Common phonological patterns include:

• fronting,

• cluster reduction,

• stopping,

• final consonant deletion,

• and weak syllable deletion.

 

Because phonological disorders affect a child’s awareness and organisation of sounds, they are often closely linked with literacy development and phonological awareness skills.

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Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)

 

Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder affecting the planning and programming of speech movements.

 

Children with CAS often:

• have inconsistent speech errors,

• struggle sequencing sounds and syllables,

• find longer words harder,

• show disrupted rhythm or stress patterns,

• and may make slow progress without highly specialised therapy.

 

A child with CAS usually knows what they want to say, but their brain has difficulty planning and coordinating the precise movements needed for speech.

 

CAS requires a different therapy approach from standard articulation or phonological therapy, often involving:

• intensive motor-based practice,

• high repetition,

• cueing systems,

• and carefully structured speech movement practice.

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Developmental Dysarthria

 

Developmental dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by weakness, reduced coordination or reduced control of the speech muscles.

 

Speech may sound:

• slurred,

• slow,

• quiet,

• breathy,

• or less precise.

 

Children with developmental dysarthria may also have difficulties with:

• feeding,

• drooling,

• breath support,

• voice quality,

• or oral motor control.

 

Dysarthria is commonly associated with neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, genetic syndromes or acquired neurological injury.

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Speech Sound Disorders and Literacy

 

Speech sound development and literacy are closely connected.

 

Children learn to read and spell by developing awareness of the sound structure of language. This includes skills such as:

• recognising rhyme,

• identifying sounds in words,

• blending sounds together,

• and manipulating sounds within words.

 

Children with persistent speech sound disorders — particularly phonological disorders — are at increased risk of difficulties with:

• phonological awareness,

• reading,

• spelling,

• decoding,

• and written language.

 

For this reason, assessment at Vibrance Speech Pathology does not just focus on speech sounds in isolation. We also consider:

• speech intelligibility,

• phonological awareness,

• literacy readiness,

• language development,

• and participation in daily life.

 

Early intervention can help support both communication and later academic success. You can read more about how speech pathologists support literacy development on our Literacy Support page.

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What Does Speech Therapy for Speech Sound Disorders Involve?

 

Assessment may include:

• detailed speech sound analysis,

• oral motor assessment,

• phonological pattern analysis,

• intelligibility measures,

• stimulability testing,

• literacy and phonological awareness screening,

• and differential diagnosis between articulation, phonology and motor speech disorders.

 

Therapy is tailored to your child’s needs and may include:

• motor-based speech therapy,

• phonological intervention,

• minimal pairs therapy,

• cycles approaches,

• DTTC-style motor speech intervention,

• auditory discrimination training,

• parent coaching,

• and home practice support.

 

We aim to provide therapy that is functional, evidence-informed and meaningful for everyday communication.

 

​Concerned About Your Child’s Speech Clarity?

 

If your child is difficult to understand, becoming frustrated when communicating, or showing ongoing speech sound difficulties, early support can make a meaningful difference. Vibrance Speech Pathology provides mobile speech therapy services across the Illawarra, including:

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• Wollongong

• Figtree

• Corrimal

• Balgownie

• Fairy Meadow

• Dapto

• Albion Park

• Woonona

• Bulli.

 

Telehealth appointments are also available.

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If you are concerned about your child’s speech clarity or sound development, early support can make a substantial difference to the duration of therapy and the impact of speech difficulties on social connections and literacy skills.