Please read below to learn more about the various disorders of speech-sound production.                  Developmental Articulation Disorders Children’s development of speech sounds follows an orderly sequence that is generally mastered by age seven. Misarticulation is a failure to make some speech sounds correctly. It may involve distortion errors that occur when the articulatory movement is imprecise (an /s/ that is produced with the tongue between the teeth instead of behind it), or substitution errors when one sound is used in place of another sound ( a child says "fum" instead of "thumb"), or errors of omission when sounds are left out of word s ("c-own" for "clown"). When a child's misarticulations are following an orderly pattern, and intelligibility is not grossly affected, he or she is said to have a developmental articulation delay. Some children with developmental articulation disorders or delays simply need more time; however, when intelligibility is seriously impacted, therapy might be indicated. A certified speech pathologist can help you make the correct decision regarding therapy   Phonological Disorders A Phonological Disorder exists when a child fails to use sounds correctly, even though he might produce them correctly. Phonological sound substitutions and omissions occur when children have not learned the sound patterns of language. Sometimes they might not put the right sounds in the right places in words and sentences. Sometimes they might confuse two different sounds (such as /s/ and /sh/) using them interchangeably, even though they can produce both sounds correctly. To these children, the two sounds are the same and they are not discriminating the minimal acoustic differences between them. Sometimes sounds are changed by the presence of neighboring sounds. When children say "gog" for "dog" they are anticipating the /g/ at the end of the word, there by producing it too soon. The cause or causes of such delays are often unknown. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment, however, usually result in significantly improved intelligibility.   Developmental Apraxia Developmental Apraxia of speech refers to impaired ability to motor-plan for the production of speech, in the absence of muscle weakness or paralysis. Speaking requires good physical coordination of the lips, tongue and throat muscles. Production of just one sound often involves a whole sequence of coordinated movements. When children cannot anticipate and execute the sequences involved in the production of one sound or a string of sounds, they are said to have developmental apraxia. Unlike developmental articulation disorders, an apraxic child's error pattern is variable and does not follow typical developmental sequences. Children with apraxia usually have more difficulty as words and phrases become more motorically complex. Early diagnosis and treatment of children with developmental apraxia is essential to their progress. For more information on Developmental Apraxia, please see www.apraxia-kids.org.   Developmental Dysarthria Dysarthria involves problems with articulation that involve paralysis, weakness and lack of coordination usually resulting from impairment of the nervous system. Speech may be slowed, slurred, nasal, jerky or unclear, depending upon the severity of impairment of the muscles used for speech. Therapy for treatment of dysarthria usually involves a combination of articulation therapy, development of proper breath control and support, and oral-motor therapy. Evaluation results will determine the possible treatment methods employed.