In this newsletter:

• Language In Bloom

• SLP Spotlight: Alana Verdejo

• Topics in Speech-Language Pathology: Understanding …

• Overheard at CA

• Do it at home: Discover the Power of Routines

March 2025

Language In Bloom

SLP Spotlight: Alana Verdejo

Topics in Speech-Language Pathology: Understanding Speech Sound Disorders

Articulation Disorders

Children with articulation disorders have difficulty producing specific speech sounds due to the way they are moving their tongue, lips, or other articulators. This could be because of differences in dentition or palate structure. With an articulation disorder, children may substitute one sound for another (e.g., saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”), distort sounds (a lisp on “s” sounds), or omit sounds altogether.

Treatment: Speech therapy focuses on teaching the correct placement of the tongue and lips through modeling and repetitive practice. The therapist may use visual or tactile cues (e.g., using a mirror or placing a hand on the throat to feel vibration). Traditional articulation therapy includes stimulability testing (consistent assessment of a child’s ability to produce a sound when provided with varying levels of support) and discrimination training (differentiating between correct and incorrect sound production). Treatment typically starts at the isolated sound level and moves through practice of the target word at the levels of syllable, word, sentence/phrase, and spontaneous speech.

Phonological Processing Disorders

Unlike articulation disorders, phonological processing disorders involve patterns of errors. For example, a child may always replace back sounds “k” and “g” sounds with front sounds “t” and “d” (“tar” instead of “car”) or simplify clusters (“poon” instead of “spoon”). These errors indicate difficulty understanding the rules of sound used in language rather than anatomical or structural differences.

Treatment: Therapy focuses on helping the child recognize and correct error patterns by increasing awareness of sound differences. Techniques focus on teaching the rules of sound production and may include auditory discrimination activities, minimal pairs therapy (contrasting words like “key” and “tea”), and structured practice with feedback.

Motor Planning Issues (Childhood Apraxia of Speech)

Children with motor planning difficulties, such as Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), have difficulties coordinating the movements needed for speech. Their speech errors may be inconsistent—sometimes saying a word correctly but mispronouncing it the next time, or mispronouncing it differently each time. They may also have difficulty with longer words and exhibit groping (movements of the articulators) as they attempt to execute the motor plan required to produce the sound.

Treatment: Therapy for apraxia is intensive and focuses on motor learning. Children practice speech movements in a structured, repetitive way with a focus on planning and sequencing sounds rather than just producing them. Therapists use multisensory cues such as visual modeling, tactile cues, and rhythm-based techniques (like tapping out syllables) to improve accuracy. One of the most well-known treatment method for CAS is Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets (PROMPT), in which the SLP uses tactile-kinesthetic cues to stimulate articulatory movement. Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) is another motor-based approach that follows a specific cueing hierarchy with the goal of increasing speech production accuracy.

In Summary

There are different types of speech sound disorders, and treatment methods vary. Articulation therapy focuses on specific sound production, phonological therapy targets sound patterns, and motor-based therapy helps with movement coordination. SLPs at CA are well-versed in treatment approaches for all types of speech sound disorders and take an individualized approach when it comes to assessment and treatment.

Overheard at CA

Do it at home: Discover the Power of Routines

Morning Routine

• Vocabulary: Name basic clothing and personal items, or introduce more advanced words like “wrinkled,” “layered,” or “hygiene.”

• Descriptive Language: Talk about textures and colors (“Your sweater is so soft!”), or discuss preferences (“I wonder what you like about this sweater”).

• Speech Sounds: Start noticing items with their target sounds. Practice /s/ (“socks,” “soap”), /sh/ (“shirt,” “shoes”), and /t/ (“toothbrush,” “teeth”). Use the mirror when brushing teeth to spot which parts of the mouth are used to make each sound. Challenge your child to make their mouth “match” your model!

Mealtime

• Vocabulary: Introduce food categories like “protein,” “dairy,” and “grains.” Name all the foods that fit into each category.

• Descriptive Language: Talk about flavors and textures (“This apple is crunchy!”), and compare and contrast favorite food items (“I wonder how spaghetti is different from macaroni!”).

• Speech Sounds: Make a menu highlighting the words with their target sounds. Practice ordering!

Running Errands

• Vocabulary: Think about specific terms like “receipt,” “transaction,” or “aisle.”

• Descriptive Language/Problem solving: Predict outcomes (“I wonder what would happen if we forgot our shopping list!”).

• Speech Sounds: Practice sounds in conversation by asking them for clear directions (“How can I get to the cereal aisle?”).

Bath Time

• Vocabulary: Use words like “moisturize,” “absorbent,” or “lather.”

• Descriptive Language: Describe sensations (“The water is so warm!”) and discuss cause and effect (“I wonder what would happen if I didn’t rinse all the shampoo”).

• Speech Sounds: Practice /b/ (“bubbles,” “bathtub”), /p/ (“pop,” “pour”), and /w/ (“wet,” “wash”).