Difficulty saying words clearly
To be able to speak clearly a child has to be able to:
- Hear the range of speech sounds - if you are concerned about your child's hearing please ask your Health Visitor or GP to refer him/her for a hearing test
- Physically move the muscles that are used to make speech sounds,
- Co-ordinate the right movements to make the different speech sounds
- Learn and use all the different speech sounds in the English sound system.
It is a complicated skill that develops gradually from birth when babies start to coo and babble and continues developing throughout the pre-school years and beyond.
Most children are using a range of speech sounds and can be easily understood around the age of 5 but they may still be making mistakes, for example saying "fum" instead of thumb.
Children with speech sound problems may: -
- Use a limited number of sounds
- Swap sounds around for example saying 'tup' instead of 'cup'
- Miss sounds out e.g. saying 'poon' for 'spoon' or 'du' for 'duck'
- Have difficulty saying long or complicated words like 'elephant' or 'aeroplane'
If your child appears to have a physical difficulty with the muscles that are used to make speech sounds, go to Speech Problems associated with physical disabilities e.g. cerebral palsy for more information
If you are concerned that your child is not speaking as clearly as you feel he should, then go to What to expect in Speech and Language Development for more information (and to find out how to refer to speech and language therapy).