Articulation, or the process of
making sounds in words, is a complex motor skill involving multiple
articulators including the jaw, tongue, teeth, lips, and cheeks. According to
Super Duper Publications, an analogy that helps understand articulation and the
process of developing sounds is similar to riding a bicycle. Some children will
take months to coordinate the steps to riding a bike while others will get on
the bike, possibly wobble a little bit, and then take right off! The children
that get it right away quickly learned how to peddle, steer, balance, and brake
simultaneously. The same goes with our mouth and learning how to speak. The
teeth, lips and tongue are the pedals, handlebars, and brakes that need to work
together to carry out the speech sounds needed to communicate. Sometimes it
takes a little extra work or explicit instruction to achieve this skill.
Early or first sounds (mastered
around 2 years old) usually include p (pup), b (ball), m (mom), w (what), h
(high chair), & n (nuts). Around 3 years old, the following sounds are
achieved: t (top), d (dog), k (kite), g (go). The following sounds are mastered
around 4-5 years old: f (fun), v (vase), y (yes). The later developing sounds
mastered around 5-7 years old are s (sun), z (zebra), j (jar), l (laugh), r
(run), sh (shoe), ch (chain), th (thumb), ng (ring), and blends including sk as
in Skittles, sp as in spot, bl as in black, and br as in break, etc.
If your child does not have these
sounds by the specified age, consider seeing a speech-language pathologist who
will evaluate your child’s speech and language skills and provide further
recommendations.
Below is a chart that will help
you identify which sounds your child should have at what age:
As always, we'd love to hear your comments or questions! Respond below or email us at bbtherapyinc@gmail.com
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