Articulation Delays - What Causes a Speech Sound Disorder?

What causes an articulation disorder? Why do some children have perfect speech at age three while others are difficult to understand at age seven?

There are many causes of articulation disorders. Some children have a hearing loss, either permanent or intermittent loss caused by frequent ear infections. When children go through the critical language learning period of birth to three years, it is very important that they be able to clearly hear those around them. Even a mild loss may make it difficult for the child to differentiate sounds, making it harder for him to master those sounds in his own speech. Hearing deficits account for over 10% of all speech defects.

Other children have physical disabilities that hinder them from producing accurate articulation. Certainly, structural differences, such as cleft palate can cause difficulties with nasality or articulation. Other children have a tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) that may be undiagnosed, yet prevent them from raising the tongue enough to produce the tongue-tip sounds, although this is seldom a significant factor.

Neuromuscular problems, such as cerebral palsy, can affect the control of the speech mechanism. These include dysarthria and apraxia. Dysarthria is a problem with the motor control of the speech mechanism while apraxia is a problem with the coordination of speech.

Children with overall developmental delays often have corresponding delays in the development of both language and articulation skills. It is always advisable to consider a child's mental age when assessing his speech and language skills.

In most cases, however, there is no known cause for the articulation delay. Most children with articulation delays have no other disabilities. Their language skills are normal. Their home environments are loving and stimulating, and they are of normal intelligence. While it is wise for parents to obtain advice and assistance dealing with their children's speech errors, they are in no way at fault.

When a speech-language pathologist evaluates a child, he or she will consider the possible causes of a disorder. These contributing factors will often need to be addressed or at least considered in the treatment decisions. Ultimately, however, the primary focus will be on remediation, whether or not any cause is apparent.

Deborah M. Lott is a speech pathologist who has published the Super Star Speech series of books to help parents correct their children's articulation errors at home.. She blogs about speech and language topics and provides additional information and free speech therapy resources at http://www.superstarspeech.com/.