Articulation disorder can arise due to structural anomalies such as cleft lip or palate, neurological/developmental disorders, hearing loss, and other causes. Because of the disorder, individuals produce speech sounds of their native language incompletely or incorrectly. A child with a speech disorder may be exposed to peer bullying! Experts state that low intelligibility affects an individual's social and emotional development. Speech and Language Therapist Ayşe Buse Saraç emphasizes that articulation disorder does not self-correct and early intervention is of critical importance. Saraç also points out that children with articulation disorder have a high probability of encountering peer bullying.
Lecturer Ayşe Buse Saraç from Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences discussed the factors causing articulation disorder and the problems it creates in an individual's life, offering important advice to prevent it from negatively affecting their future life.
Makes speech difficult to understand
Speech and Language Therapist Ayşe Buse Saraç stated that articulation disorder is characterized by an individual's difficulty in producing speech sounds, and continued her words as follows:
“Because of the disorder, individuals produce speech sounds of their native language incompletely or incorrectly. Articulation disorder can arise due to structural anomalies (cleft lip or palate), neurological/developmental disorders, hearing loss, and other causes. It can also occur without any specific cause. Accordingly, different error types can be observed, such as ‘tapı’ instead of ‘kapı’ (door) or ‘donduyma’ instead of ‘dondurma’ (ice cream). These types of errors can hinder the listener's comprehension of speech. Therefore, in early childhood, it is necessary for parents to notice incomplete or incorrect productions during speech and to consult a speech and language therapist without delay.”
They avoid communication with their environment
Saraç stated that due to the individual's speech disorder, it becomes difficult for them to be understood, adding: “Low intelligibility can also affect social and emotional development. Individuals with low intelligibility may avoid communicating with others in their environment. In early childhood, children with articulation disorder have a high probability of encountering peer bullying. Parallel to this situation, peer interaction can also be hindered. Furthermore, children with articulation disorder may face difficulties in the reading and writing process in later stages.”
Early intervention is required
Speech and Language Therapist Ayşe Buse Saraç emphasized that articulation disorders do not self-correct, stating: “In this context, early intervention is of critical importance in articulation disorder. For incorrectly or incompletely produced sounds, a speech and language therapist should be consulted without delay. Otherwise, we can say that it takes more time to bring speech sounds that have been produced incorrectly or incompletely for a long time closer to target sound production. Especially in early childhood, interventions for articulation problems, when carried out with parental support, help achieve more successful results.”
Incorrect and incomplete sounds are identified first
Saraç stated that as a result of informal and formal evaluations conducted by speech and language therapists, it is determined whether an individual's speech sound deficiency is characterized by articulation disorder, and continued her words as follows:
“Subsequently, the incorrectly or incompletely produced sounds of the individual with articulation disorder are identified, and a therapy program is individually tailored to the person's needs. In this context, awareness of the target sound's articulation behavior is raised, and old articulation behavior is changed. Parallel to the successful production of the target sound, the results obtained are produced within words, word phrases, and sentences, and are generalized to daily speech through activities and home exercises. Parents play a significant role in the children's ongoing work outside the clinical environment.”
Overlooked problems can affect life
Speech and Language Therapist Ayşe Buse Saraç stated that children typically acquire speech sounds in a developmental sequence, and warned: “Research emphasizes that children between the ages of 4 and 4.5 should correctly produce the sounds within their native language, and their speech should be understood by people other than their parents. Articulation problems ignored from the specified age range can continue into adulthood. This situation can hinder an individual's professional, social, and academic life.”