Children with Speech Sound Disorders

Phonological Process

A pattern of speech sound errors a child produces, indicating regularities in their speech production.

Articulation Disorders

Common deficits related to the articulatory placement, speed, timing, or integration of movements leading to incorrect or absent speech sound production.

SODA

An acronym for classifying articulation errors: Substitution, Omission, Distortion, and Addition.

Substitution Errors

Errors where one phoneme replaces another, such as /bæθ/ becoming /bæf/.

Omission Errors

Phonemes left out of words, reducing intelligibility, often common in preschoolers.

Distortion Errors

Modifications of standard phonemes that are approximated, but not acceptable as a different standard sound.

Addition Errors

Sound added where it shouldn't be, such as 'balloon' becoming 'ballona'.

Intelligibility

The ability of a speaker to be understood by a listener; a crucial measure in assessing speech quality.

Weak Syllable Deletion

Pattern where one or more syllables are deleted from a polysyllabic word.

Assimilatory Processes

Changes in sound to make it more similar to another sound in a word, often seen in sound harmony.

Fronting

Substitution of anterior consonants for posterior consonants, commonly seen in phonological disorders.

Stopping

Substitution where a stop consonant replaces a non-stop consonant, common in children with phonological disorders.

Gliding

Substitution of /w/ or /j/ for another consonant, frequently seen among preschoolers.

Cluster Reductions

Patterns of omission or substitution of consonant clusters; can be total or partial.

Didochokinexis

Assessment of the speed and regularity of repetitive articulation movements in an oral motor exam.

Culturally Responsive Practice

Providing assessment and intervention services that consider each client’s cultural and linguistic characteristics.

Dialect

A variation of language that can be social or regional in nature.

Criterion Testing

Assessment of a client's performance before and after intervention to measure progress.

Pre-therapy Criterion Testing

Evaluation conducted to determine a child's performance level before intervention.

Post-therapy Criterion Testing

Assessment conducted after therapy to evaluate progress in the child's speech performance.