Pediatric Speech Therapy for Articulation Disorder
in San Diego, CA
Expert Care to Help Children Speak Clearly and Confidently
Every child has their own ideas they want to share with family and friends. But some children can struggle to share their ideas because they have trouble speaking clearly. If your child is difficult for you or others to understand when they speak, pediatric speech therapy can help. Our experts at SmallTalk Pediatric Therapy provide specialized care to help children improve their communication skills so they can share all their ideas confidently.
What Is an Articulation Disorder?
An articulation disorder happens when a child has difficulty physically making certain sounds. Instead of pronouncing the sound correctly, they may substitute it with another sound, leave it out, or change it in some way. These speech sound errors can make it challenging for others to understand what your child is trying to say.
It’s common for younger children to make speech errors as they develop. For example, most children struggle with the “R” sound when they’re young and may say words like “red” as “wed.” But as they grow, they typically develop the ability to make the “R” sound correctly.
If speech sound errors continue beyond the expected age, speech therapy can help your child learn the correct way to make these sounds.
Common Symptoms of an Articulation Disorder
Your child may struggle with articulation if they often:
- Leave off sounds from words (saying “ca” instead of “cat”)
- Substitute one sound for another (saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”)
- Distort sounds (e.g., having a lisp when saying “s” or “z”)
- Struggle to be understood by people outside of their immediate family
- Become frustrated when others don’t understand them
- Avoid talking to others or reading out loud
- Stop saying words that are hard for them to pronounce clearly
What Causes Articulation Disorders?
Some children may have structural differences, such as a cleft palate, that make it harder for them to pronounce certain sounds. Others may have hearing impairments, developmental delays, or difficulties with motor planning that impact their ability to clearly articulate their words. Sometimes, no specific cause can be identified.
The good news is that no matter the reason, speech therapy can help your child overcome these challenges and learn to speak and share their ideas clearly.
How Pediatric Speech Therapy Can Help with Articulation
Our pediatric speech therapists are trained to identify and treat articulation disorders using fun, evidence-based methods. We will help your child learn how to correctly position their tongue, lips, and jaw in order to produce sounds more clearly. And we’ll give them practice using these sounds while playing games and doing other fun activities that make therapy enjoyable and motivating.
We also work with parents and caregivers to give you practical strategies you can use at home to help your child keep building their speech skills. Together, we can give your child the tools they need to achieve their speech and language milestones for clear and confident communication.
Why Choose SmallTalk?
When it comes to your child’s communication, you want the very best, and so do we! We help children throughout San Diego achieve their greatest potential.
Our speech-language pathologists are highly trained, passionate, and experienced in working with a wide range of diagnoses and ages. They’re also warm, playful, and great at connecting with kids.
We make therapy fun, family-centered, and goal-driven. From your very first phone call to each session after, you’ll feel supported and heard. We collaborate closely with parents and provide practical strategies you can use at home to help your child keep progressing beyond the therapy room.
Schedule Your Child’s Evaluation Today
If your child struggles to be understood, speech therapy can make a life-changing difference. At SmallTalk Pediatric Therapy, we’re here to help your child build the speech skills they’ll use at school, in their future career, and beyond.
Call us at (619) 647-6157 today to schedule an evaluation for pediatric speech therapy.