The inability to properly pronounce a word, letter or speak a proper sentence can be devastating to a child. According to Jo Carlon, Author & Publisher of www.speech4kids.com, most children will have trouble with these letters and sounds at some point of their lives: s, f, ur, su, r, sh, ch, th, d, f, th.
I have spent an ample amount of time with young children and I have noticed that this definitely holds true. The question that I have asked myself, and that I am sure many parents ask themselves, is, “How can I tell the difference between normal speech development and a speech problem?”
According to Pam Gentry of International Children’s Education, the following may help you know if your child has a speech problem:
- The child is frustrated in his oral communication.
- He is difficult to understand.
- His speech is the object of amusement to others.
Again, it is normal for children to go through a period of mispronunciation, but it is up to you to tell the difference between normal growth and an actual issue.
A loosely-drawn developmental scale for standard American speech production would look something like the following:
By age 3 — vowels p, b, m, n, d, g, h
By age 4 — k, t, th, f, v, ng, j, ch
By age 5 — sh, zh
By age 7 — l, r, s, th
-International Children’s Education http://www.iched.org
Because I am such a lover of books and a believer in the knowledge one can gain from books, I have some recommendations. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not implying that these books will cure your child’s speech problem, but they may be helpful. Plus, they are really entertaining!
All three books are written by Pamela Duncan Edwards and they all focus on a certain sound.
-Some Smug Slug (focuses on the letter S)
-Rosie’s Roses (focuses on the letter R)
-Clara Caterpillar (focuses on the letter C)
Again, these books are really great! They use the letter that is being focused on again and again! They are a joy to read and to listen to.
