Speech

​Speech refers to how we produce and articulate sounds and words.   

This includes: 

• Articulation – producing accurate speech sounds using precise mouth movements 

• Phonology – understanding and developing accurate sound systems and rules for speech sound combinations 

 

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Speech sound delay

This is where children are developing speech typically, but more slowly than their peers.  

Typical error patterns that children may get ‘stuck’ on include:

• Producing ‘long’ sounds as ‘short’ sounds e.g. ‘dock’ for sock, ‘bork’ for fork, or ‘deep’ for sheep.

• Producing sounds we make at the back of the mouth, at the front of the mouth e.g. ‘tar’ for car or ‘dot’ for got.

• Simplifying consonant blends e.g. ‘bider’ for spider or ‘geen’ for green

 

I can help children who present with speech sound delay through using evidence-based interventions such as minimal pairs and phonological awareness interventions.  

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Speech sound disorders

Sometimes children present with more unusual speech error patterns, or their speech can be very difficult to understand (including to close family).  They may mix up lots of sounds, or only have a very limited range of sounds that they produce.  These children may be diagnosed as having a speech sound disorder.

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I am able to provide specialist intervention for children presenting with speech sound disorders, including  consistent and inconsistent phonological disorder, articulation disorder, and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)

I use a range of evidence-based intervention approaches, depending on the child's specific needs.  These include Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC), Nuffield Dyspraxia Programme, Rapid Syllable Transition Treatment (ReST), Minimal Pairs, and Core Vocabulary intervention ​​