Q: What if my child is speaking in full sentences but his/her speech sounds are unclear and it is hard to understand what he/she is saying? Is this just part of normal development or should I be concerned?
A: The acquisition and mastery of speech sounds (articulation skills) typically follow a developmental sequence, which means that in a normally developing child, speech clarity and articulation skills spontaneously improve with maturation and may not become fully developed until seven or eight years of age. Given that, however, there can be a number of reasons why speech sound development is delayed or does not progress as expected with age, and results in speech that is hard to understand. These could include a history of frequent ear infections, motor speech difficulties (trouble forming certain speech sounds easily with tongue or lips), family history of speech delay, or other contributing factors such as general developmental delay or disorder. Sometimes there is no easily identifiable reason for articulation delay but a child’s speech clarity does not improve. This could be related to more subtle factors in the area of auditory processing, such as poor perception of speech sound differences, poor attention/listening abilities, and reduced auditory memory. A good rule of thumb is to seek an initial assessment by a certified SLP if you are at all concerned about the clarity of your child’s speech. Following an assessment, the clinician will be able to determine if your child would benefit from articulation therapy sessions at this time to improve his/her speech or if it would be better to wait.