What Is an Articulation Disorder?
An articulation disorder (also called speech sound disorder) is difficulty producing specific speech sounds correctly. This is different from language delay — the child has vocabulary and sentence structure, but certain sounds are consistently produced incorrectly.
Normal Development of Speech Sounds
All children make sound errors during development. What's concerning is when errors persist past expected ages:
- By 3 years: most people outside the family can understand the child (75% intelligibility)
- By 4 years: 100% intelligible to strangers; errors on /r/, /l/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/ are still normal
- By 5–6 years: all sounds correctly produced (except /r/ which may continue until age 7–8)
Common Articulation Errors
Substitution: Replacing one sound with another ("wabbit" for "rabbit," "tan" for "can").
Omission: Leaving out sounds ("ba" for "ball," "nake" for "snake").
Distortion: Producing sounds in an unusual way (lateral /s/ producing a "slushy" sound).
When to Be Concerned
If strangers cannot understand your child's speech at 3 years, this warrants evaluation. If specific sounds persist incorrectly past the expected age. If the child avoids talking due to awareness of errors.
Speech Therapy for Articulation in India
Speech therapy for articulation involves drill-based practice targeting specific sounds, moving from isolation (the /s/ sound alone) to syllables, words, sentences, and conversation.
Typical timeline: 6–18 months of therapy, 2–3 sessions per week. Consistent home practice accelerates progress dramatically.
Cost in India: ₹300–1,500 per session, government services free.