Variations in Typical Speech Development
“My son is 5 he can say ‘t’ on its own but when he says words such as ‘water’ he misses it out completely. Should I be worried?”
All children are unique and therefore often do the same activity but in a slightly different way, be it the way they walk or the way they hold a pencil. For example, typically children write by holding their pencil with a 3-finger pincer grip, but some children may write by griping the pencil with more than 3 fingers or some children may hold the pencil very close to the led. To others it may look different or uncomfortable but they are considered normal variations on “typical pencil grip”.
- Omitting ‘t’ in the middle and at the end of words e.g water becomes wa_er. This is a common speech habit and, in the absence of any other difficulties, is not indicative of a speech problem.
- Lisping in children aged under 7 years. This is when children protrude their tongue between the teeth and a ‘th’ sounds is heard instead of a ‘s’ sound. This is a normal variation and usually disappears as children mature and develop.
- ‘w’ substitution for ‘r’ e.g wabbit for rabbit. This is often referred to as gliding by speech therapists and is considered a normal part of speech development. Children can usually say a “r” sound by the age of 5 but may continue to use ‘w’ instead of ‘r’ in their everyday speech up until the age of 7.
- ‘f’ substitution for ‘th’ e.g fing for thing. This is another common speech habit, which in the absence of any other difficulties does not indicate a speech problem.
- Omitting ‘h’ from the start of words e,g _elicopter for helicopter. This is often associated with regional dialects especially those living in the South East. In the absence of any other difficulties this does not indicate a speech problem.
How Integrated Treatment Services can help?
There are many normal variations of speech and language development and the rate at which your child develops speech, language and communication skills can vary. However, if you are concerned that your child is showing other speech difficulties not mentioned in this article contact a therapist at Integrated Treatment Services (I.T.S) today for an assessment. We are available throughout the week to give advice on supporting your child’s speech, language and communication development at home, answering any questions you may have. We are happy to speak with you over the telephone on: 0845 838 2921 or by email info@integratedtreatments.co.uk.
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