Several different sources suggest that 1 to 2% of the young adult population overall continue to present with speech sound disorder errors.
There are usually fewer errors than with a phonemic disorder, and distortions are more likely (though any omissions, additions, and substitutions may also be present).
Even though most speech sound disorders can be successfully treated in childhood, and a few may even outgrow them on their own, errors may sometimes persist into adulthood rather than only being not age appropriate.
Some terms can be used to describe more than one of the above categories, such as lisp, which is often the replacement of /s/ with /θ/ (a substitution), but can be a distortion, producing /s/ just behind the teeth resulting in a sound somewhere between /s/ and /θ/.
Speech sound disorders (SSDs) can arise from a variety of causes, which are generally categorized into organic and functional factors: Organic causes These include physical or neurological issues that affect speech production: Functional causes These are cases where there is no identifiable physical cause: Other influences Identifying the underlying cause is key to determining the appropriate intervention.
When a child continues to have issues with articulation beyond typical age, it is recommended to speech a speech-language pathologist.
Diagnosing a speech sound disorder involves a structured process that includes the following steps: This comprehensive assessment allows the SLP to develop an individualized treatment plan tailored to the child’s specific needs.
For most children, the disorder is not lifelong and speech difficulties improve with time and speech-language treatment.
[8] There are several treatments available which depends on the cause of speech sound disorders: A certified speech-language pathologist should make a full assessment and diagnosis to indicate appropriate therapy.
When a speech-language pathologist trains parents to implement language and communication intervention techniques this can improved outcome for children.