Articulation disorders (dyslalia)
When sounds are not produced accurately and speech is not understood: therapy for clearer speech.
An articulation disorder - also known as dyslalia - is difficulty producing sounds accurately. The child may have good vocabulary and full sentences, but certain sounds come out wrong, are replaced by others, or are left out of the word.
In Albanian, the sounds that most often cause difficulty are R and RR, then L and LL, S, Z, C, Ç, SH, ZH, as well as TH and DH. K and G are sometimes replaced with T and D.
What parents notice
- The child substitutes one sound for another, for example R with L.
- The sound is omitted from the word.
- The sound is distorted, unlike how others produce it.
- The family understands, but the teacher or classmates find it hard.
- The child avoids words containing a particular sound.
- The child withdraws from conversation with people they do not know.
- Spelling errors appear at school that mirror the pronunciation.
When to be concerned about articulation
Sounds are not all acquired at the same time. Some come first; others - and R and RR are among them - come later in development. For that reason imperfect pronunciation at a young age is not automatically a concern.
Assessment makes sense when the child's speech is not understood by people outside the family, when the child has started school and sounds are still missing, or when the child is suffering for it - avoiding speech, withdrawing, becoming self-conscious.
The precise age at which each sound should be expected depends on the individual child. That is one of the concrete facts an assessment provides.
How the assessment works
The assessment establishes point by point which sounds are affected, how they are produced incorrectly, and in what position within the word - beginning, middle or end. A sound can be fine in isolation and break down inside a word.
We also check the articulators - lips, tongue, palate - and their mobility, because sometimes the cause is structural. Hearing is examined as well, because a sound that is not heard accurately is not produced accurately.
How therapy works
Work on a sound follows a set order: first the child learns to produce it in isolation, then in syllables, then in words, then in sentences, and finally in free conversation. That last step is the most important and often the longest - a sound mastered in exercises but unused in conversation is not finished work.
The order of sounds is not chosen at random: we start with those the child is closest to, because the first success builds the readiness for the work that follows.
The parent's role
Short, frequent practice at home is worth more than one long session once a week. The parent receives concrete exercises and, just as importantly, guidance on how to correct without making the child self-conscious.
One practical rule: do not correct every word. Constant correction closes a child down and turns speaking into a source of anxiety.
Frequently asked questions
- At what age should R and RR be produced?
- R and RR are among the sounds acquired latest in speech development, and the expected age varies from child to child. For that reason the accurate answer for your child comes after an assessment, not from a general table.
- Do pronunciation problems resolve on their own?
- Some do, with development. Others persist and settle in as habit, and then need longer work. An assessment is how you tell the first case from the second.
- Does pronunciation affect reading and writing?
- It can. When a child does not distinguish or produce sounds accurately, this is often reflected in writing, particularly in the early school years. Pronunciation is therefore not only a matter of how speech sounds.
The first step is a conversation.
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