Speech therapy can address any or all of the following:

Articulation-the production of vowel and consonant sounds when speaking

Fluency- the flow of speech (i.e. stuttering)

Voice- aspects of your speaking voice (i.e. tone, pitch, volume, quality)

      Red Flags          

• If child’s speech cannot be easily understood by listeners, and the parents frequently interpret what the child is saying
• If the child does not use consonants in the beginning, middle, and ends of words. Some of the more difficult sounds may be distorted, but attempts to say them
• Substituting one sound for another
• Omitting speech sounds
• Distorting speech sounds
• Lisps

This chart reflects at what age these sounds are produced correctly by 90% of children (2000, Goldman-Fristoe Supplemental Norms).

Key

“ng” as in “fishing”

“voiced th” as in “the”

“voiceless th” as in “bath”

5 Year Olds

-The child is unable to use 5-6 words in a sentence

- The child has difficulty with time sequence (what happens 1st, 2nd)

- The child has difficulty using descriptive words or answering simple questions about a story

- The child cannot follow 3 step directions 

- The child is not using complex sentences

6 Year Olds and Older

- The child has difficulties predicting what happens next in a story

-  The child has difficulties putting sentences together in conversation about past events

- The child needs prompts to ask "how" questions

- The child has difficulty telling a connected story or answering complex questions about a story