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Speech Sound Disorders

Speech Sound Disorders

Overview

What Are Speech Sound Disorders?

Texas Talkers provides evaluation and treatment for speech sound disorders in Flower Mound and surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth communities. We support children with articulation differences, phonological disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, and other speech sound challenges that affect speech intelligibility and everyday communication. Therapy is individualized to help children become more clearly understood and more confident expressing themselves.

There are several types of speech sound disorders:

Articulation Disorders occur when a child has difficulty producing specific sounds correctly. For example, a child may say "wabbit" instead of "rabbit" or have trouble with sounds such as /r/, /s/, or /l/.

Phonological Disorders occur when a child uses patterns of speech errors. For example, a child may consistently say "tat" instead of "cat" or "poon" instead of "spoon." These patterns are often called phonological processes.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder that affects how the brain plans the movements needed for speech. Children with CAS often know what they want to say but have difficulty coordinating their mouth movements to say it clearly.

Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by weakness or reduced coordination of the muscles used for speech. Speech may sound slurred, slow, quiet, or difficult to understand.

Speech therapy for speech sound disorders focuses on helping children produce sounds accurately, improve speech clarity, and communicate with greater confidence. Treatment may include play-based activities, motor-based practice, language-rich interactions, caregiver coaching, and home strategies to support progress beyond the therapy room.

Speech-language therapy can evaluate and treat speech sound disorders while also helping families understand when support for childhood apraxia of speech, early intervention, or broader language disorders may also be relevant.

When to look closer

Speech therapy may be helpful if...

  • Speech is difficult for others to understand in daily conversation
  • Sounds are left off, changed, or produced in a way that affects clarity
  • Speech patterns do not seem to improve over time
  • Teachers, coworkers, friends, or family members often ask for repetition
  • Talking feels frustrating, tiring, or less confident than it should
  • Speaking is avoided in certain settings because of clarity concerns
  • A lisp, distorted sound, or unusual sound quality stands out
  • Longer words or more complex sound combinations are especially hard to say
  • You notice speech differences after illness, injury, or other communication changes
  • You simply feel that speech is not as clear or comfortable as it could be

If one or more of these signs sounds familiar, an evaluation can help clarify what is happening and what kind of support would be most useful. The goal is not perfection. It is clearer, more effective communication that feels more comfortable and confident.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What are speech sound disorders?

Speech sound disorders are communication differences that affect how clearly a child produces speech sounds and words. They can include difficulty producing individual sounds, using sound patterns correctly, or planning the movements needed for speech. A speech-language evaluation can help determine which type of speech sound difficulty is present.

What are articulation disorders?

An articulation disorder is a type of speech sound disorder that affects a person’s ability to produce specific speech sounds correctly. Producing speech requires precise placement and movement of the tongue, lips, teeth, jaw, and other structures used for speech. A person with an articulation disorder may have difficulty learning or coordinating where and how to position these structures to produce certain sounds clearly.

For example, a child may have difficulty producing the "r" sound and substitute another sound or produce it differently than expected. A speech-language pathologist can identify which sounds are difficult, determine what may be contributing to the errors, and use individualized strategies to help the person learn more accurate speech sound production.

What is a phonological disorder?

A phonological disorder is a type of speech sound disorder where a child has difficulty organizing speech sounds into the correct adult patterns in the brain. Instead of having difficulty with only one specific sound, a child may use patterns of sound errors that affect multiple sounds and words.

For example, a child may consistently leave off the final sounds of words, saying "ca" for "cat," or replace sounds made in the back of the mouth with sounds made in the front, such as saying "tat" for "cat." These patterns can make it more difficult for others to understand what the child is saying.

A speech-language pathologist can identify the patterns a child is using, determine whether those patterns are expected for their age, and select an individualized treatment approach to help improve their overall speech intelligibility.

Questions about speech?

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