What Are Speech Sound Disorders? A Parent’s Guide

As parents, it’s natural to notice how your child talks and to wonder whether their speech is developing as expected. If your child is hard to understand or struggles to say certain sounds, you may have heard the term “speech sound disorder.” But what does that mean? Let’s break it down together.

Understanding Speech Sound Disorders

A speech sound disorder (SSD) happens when a child has difficulty producing sounds correctly. Every child makes speech mistakes as they learn to talk—this is a normal part of development. For example, many toddlers say “tat” instead of “cat” or “wabbit” instead of “rabbit.”

• What makes it a disorder is when those errors:
• Continue beyond the age when children are expected to grow out of them
• Make it hard for others to understand what the child is saying
• Interfere with school, social interactions, or confidence in communication

Two Main Types

There are two broad categories of speech sound disorders:

• Articulation Disorders – difficulty physically making a sound (e.g., trouble placing the tongue or lips correctly to say “r” or “s”).
• Phonological Disorders – difficulty understanding the rules of sound patterns in language (e.g., leaving off ending sounds like “ca” instead of “cat”).

Sometimes, children may show a combination of both.

Signs Parents Might Notice

You may want to consider a speech evaluation if your child:

• Is harder to understand than other children their age
• Gets frustrated when trying to communicate
• Replaces, skips, or distorts certain sounds consistently
• Is teased or corrected often by peers or adults about how they speak

How Are Speech Sound Disorders Treated?

The good news: with speech therapy, children can make tremendous progress! Therapy is tailored to your child’s specific needs, but it usually involves:

• Practicing target sounds in a fun, engaging way
• Learning how to move the tongue, lips, and jaw to produce sounds correctly
• Using games, stories, and activities to make practice meaningful
• Supporting parents with strategies to reinforce progress at home

The Bilingual Perspective

For bilingual children, speech sound development can look different. Some errors are perfectly normal when learning two languages. That’s why it’s important to work with a bilingual speech-language pathologist who understands how languages interact and can tell the difference between a language difference and a true disorder.

Final Thoughts

If you’re worried about your child’s speech, you’re not alone. 

At Bilingual Speechie LLC, we specialize in helping bilingual and multilingual children find their voice—in every language they speak. If you’d like to learn more or schedule an evaluation contact us today.