Ages & Stages
Phonological Processes
Speech Sound Terms
Treatment of SSD
Case Scenarios
100

The agechildren typically say their first recognizable word.

What is around 12 months?


100

The process is happening when a child says “ca” for “cat”.

Final Consonant Deletion
100

The smallest unit of sound that can change word meaning

Phoneme

100

The main goal of intervention for children with SSDs

To improve intelligibility in everyday speech and increase communicative participation.

100

A 2-year-old says “ca” for cat and “do” for dog. Typical or atypical?

Typical (final consonant deletion is normal at this age).


200

The age should a child be 100% intelligible to strangers.

What is by age 5?


200

A toddler says “wawa” for “water.”

Syllable Reduction/Reduplication

200

A word that ends in a vowel sound, like hi.

An open syllable

200

Therapy approach targets error patterns (like final consonant deletion) instead of single sounds

Phonological-based approaches.


200

A 7-year-old still says “wabbit” for rabbit. Typical or atypical?

Atypical (substitution of /w/ for /r/ should fade by school-age).

300

The age are most consonants acquired.

What is around age 5. 

300

When a child simplifies blends, like saying “top” for “stop”

Cluster Reduction

300

The three main features used to classify consonants

Place, manner, and voicing

300

In motor-based therapy, what are two techniques SLPs might use to help establish correct sound production.

Phonetic placement and sound shaping.

300

 A bilingual child substitutes /b/ for /v/ in English, but this is not an error in their first language. Disorder or difference?

Difference (cross-linguistic influence, not a disorder).

400

The age do children typically master consonant clusters like “str” or “sts."

What is by age 8? 

400

A child says “tat” for “cat.”

Fronting (back sound → front sound)

400

The difference between an articulation disorder and a phonological disorder

  • Articulation disorder = difficulty producing individual sounds (motor-based).

  • Phonological disorder = difficulty with rules/patterns of sound use.

400

When selecting targets for bilingual children, what should SLPs prioritize?

Phonological error patterns that occur in both languages and greatly affect intelligibility.

400

A preschool child can produce /s/ correctly in single words, but not in conversation. What does this suggest?

Phoneme acquisition is not fully generalized.

500

The speech sounds are usually mastered first in development (around toddler years). 

Stops, nasals, and glides (e.g., /p, b, m, n, w, j/)

500

A child says “won” for “run.”

Gliding (liquid → glide)

500

Consonant pairs that differ only by voicing, like /p/ and /b/.

Cognate pairs

500

What is an example of a motor-based treatment approach? 

What is visual biofeedback, tacticle cues, etc.

500

A child in therapy can produce /k/ with cues, but never on their own. Are they stimulable? What does this mean for treatment?

Yes, they are stimulable → they may respond quickly to therapy and possibly self-correct with practice.