{"id":2431,"date":"2015-03-24T14:31:24","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T14:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/?p=2431"},"modified":"2021-10-15T18:35:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T18:35:44","slug":"whats-the-bottom-line-regarding-articulation-in-ei-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/2015\/03\/24\/whats-the-bottom-line-regarding-articulation-in-ei-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Bottom Line Regarding Articulation in EI?!"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 3, 2015, I was honored to present a\u00a0Talk on Tuesday (ToT)<\/a>\u00a0webinar entitled,\u00a0It\u2019s Almost Never Apraxia: Understanding Appropriate\u00a0<\/a>\"ToddlerDiagnoses of Speech in Early Intervention<\/a>, that addressed appropriate diagnoses of speech sound disorders in infants and toddlers.\u00a0 The participants had some great questions and we wanted to ensure that the conversation continues\u2026so here I am!\u00a0 My March ToT was just Part 1 of 2. The second half will be presented on May 5th<\/sup>\u00a0and will focus on outcomes and intervention in regard to speech sound development!\u00a0 But in the meantime, it seems as though a big misconception from my March Talk is that I am advocating for fewer services for infants and toddlers\u2026this is not the message that I intended to convey and I am hoping to begin this blog series by clearing that up!<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s begin with a quick review of the facts:<\/p>\n

When Should We Become Concerned about the Development of Articulation?<\/h2>\n

Typically, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) will diagnose an articulation disorder if a child is demonstrating a delay of at least 6-12 months in regard to the production of certain sounds, based on the age at which mastery of the sounds is expected.\u00a0 To put this in perspective, because the \/k\/ and \/g\/ sounds are expected to be mastered by the age of 4 years, a child should not be differentially diagnosed with an articulation disorder characterized by errors of these sounds\u2026until the child is at least 4 and a half years old.<\/p>\n

What about Phonology?!<\/strong><\/p>\n

A child\u2019s speech development is not just about his or her articulation skills.\u00a0 When SLPs are assessing a child\u2019s speech, we are also looking at the sound patterns\u2014the phonological processes–that a child is, or is not, producing.\u00a0 As you can imagine\u2014and as most of you have experienced!\u2014in addition to developmental articulation errors, these processes often wreak havoc on our ability to\u00a0understand<\/a>\u00a0what children are saying.\u00a0 And yet\u2026should we be concerned when working with children under the age of 3 years old?\u00a0 Well\u2026not really.\u00a0 A phonological delay or disorder refers to when a child continues to simplify his or her speech by using these phonological processes well beyond the typical age expected.<\/p>\n

Unless we\u00a0consistently<\/em>\u00a0observe a toddler demonstrating the following red flags:<\/p>\n