Many of my students have difficulties telling stories. When looking at a book together, even books they love and have seen many times, they often struggle to understand what they are reading and cannot therefore retell the story in any sequence. A great method I often use with those students is called Colourful Semantics.
What is Colourful Semantics?
Colourful Semantics is an approach aimed at helping children develop grammar and meaning of phrases and sentences. We help children identify WHO is the subject in a story, what is he/she/it DOING to WHAT and WHERE. There are lots of colour coded stages but we tend to start with the basic 4:
WHO = ORANGE
DOING = YELLOW
WHAT = GREEN
WHERE = BLUE
Once a student is accomplished at this level, we move on to different colour codes for describing words (adjectives), connecting words (with/together/and/therefore) feeling words (PINK), timing words (BROWN) eg. when, tomorrow, last week etc.
Colourful Semantics is a really useful method and helps children to organise their sentences. It also helps me knowing how to guide a student in thinking about the story.
The approach can be used with children with a range of Speech and Language Needs, such as:
Developmental Delay / Disorder
Autistic Spectrum Condition
Down Syndrome
Any other syndromes and related speech and language delays
General Literacy difficulties
There are a wide range of benefits to using this approach and I use it in my therapeutic work with children of around 3 years plus. Below is a little video which shows how I use it with this student who has general language difficulties associated with Autism. One of the main benefits with this student is that seeing the Cue Cards helps her to use a much wider range of vocabulary than she would ordinarily generate. Her sentences are getting longer and she is more able to answer questions. In general, I find it useful to help with storytelling and to guide us through the story in a sequence.
There are many on-line games these days that have incorporated the Colourful Semantics Approach. Once a child is familiar with the basic colour scheme then gradually the visual prompts can be reduced to using verbal prompts.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
As a speech therapist, few things are as rewarding as helping a child find their clear, confident voice. Among the various speech sound disorders, the ‘lateral lisp’ – often described as a ‘slushy’ or ‘wet’ /S/ sound – presents a unique challenge. While it can be tricky to treat, I’m thrilled to share that I’ve had significant success in helping children overcome this particular hurdle.
What is a lateral lisp?
Most people are familiar with a frontal lisp, where the tongue protrudes between the front teeth, resulting in a /TH/ sound for an /S/ (e.g., ‘thun’ for ‘sun’). A lateral lisp, however, is different. Instead of the air escaping over the front of the tongue, it escapes over the sides, often giving the /S/ and /Z/ sounds a distinct, muffled, or ‘slushy’ quality. This happens because the tongue is not forming the correct central groove, allowing air to spill out laterally.
The science behind a perfect /S/ vs. a slushy one
To understand how to fix a lateral lisp, it’s helpful to understand how a ‘perfect’ /S/ sound is made. Imagine a narrow, focused stream of air. For a clear /S/ sound, your tongue forms a shallow groove down its centre, directing a precise, thin stream of air right down the middle, over the tip of your tongue, and out through a tiny opening between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. This focused airflow creates that crisp, sharp /SSSS/ sound we recognise.
Now, picture what happens with a lateral lisp. Instead of that neat, central channel, the tongue is often flatter or positioned in a way that allows the air to escape over one or both sides. Think of it like a river overflowing its banks – the air, instead of flowing in a controlled stream, spills out sideways, creating that characteristic ‘slushy’ sound. This lateral airflow is what we need to retrain.
Why is it tricky to treat?
Treating a lateral lisp can be challenging for a few reasons:
Habitual muscle memory: The way the tongue moves and positions itself for a lateral lisp is deeply ingrained. It’s a motor habit that needs to be unlearned and replaced with a new, more precise movement.
Subtle differences: The difference between a lateral lisp and a correct /S/ sound can be quite subtle to perceive, both for the child and sometimes even for parents. This makes it harder for the child to self-monitor and correct.
Oral motor control: It requires fine motor control of the tongue muscles to create and maintain that central groove for airflow.
My success with children aged six years and over
I’ve found great success in treating lateral lisps, particularly with children aged six years and older. Why this age group? By this age, children typically have:
Increased awareness: They are more aware of their speech and often more motivated to make changes. They can better perceive the difference between their ‘slushy’ /S/ and a clear one.
Improved cognitive skills: They can understand and follow more complex instructions and strategies.
Better self-monitoring: Their ability to listen to themselves and correct their own speech improves significantly.
Enhanced oral motor control: Their fine motor skills, including those of the tongue, are more developed, allowing for greater precision.
My approach focuses on a combination of auditory discrimination, tactile cues, and targeted myofunctional exercises to help children ‘feel’ the correct airflow and tongue placement. We use a variety of engaging activities to make the process fun and effective.
It is crucial to understand tongue functioning and focusing on correcting improper oral resting posture and muscle function, which are often significant contributors to a lateral lisp. For example, if the tongue rests low and wide in the mouth consistently, or if there’s a tongue thrust during swallowing, these habits can prevent the tongue from achieving the precise, midline placement necessary for a clear /S/ or /Z/ sound. Through targeted exercises I aim to re-educate the oral and facial muscles, promoting correct tongue posture at rest, during swallowing, and, ultimately, during speech production. By strengthening the muscles responsible for tongue lifting and encouraging a more appropriate swallowing pattern we can establish the correct oral motor skills needed to overcome a lateral lisp and achieve clearer articulation.
The recipe for success: Little and often
The single most crucial ingredient for success in treating a lateral lisp is daily home practice of all the strategies given. This isn’t about long, arduous sessions; it’s about consistency. Think of it like building a muscle: short, frequent workouts yield better results than sporadic, intense ones.
My recommended formula is ‘little and often’. This means:
Short, focused sessions: Aim for 5-10 minutes of practice, 2-3 times a day. This prevents fatigue and keeps the child engaged.
Integrate into daily routines: Practise while waiting for dinner, during a car ride, or before bedtime. Make it a natural part of their day.
Positive reinforcement: Celebrate every small success! Encouragement goes a long way in building confidence and motivation.
Parental involvement: Parents play a vital role in providing consistent cues and encouragement at home. I equip families with clear, easy-to-follow strategies.
Overcoming a lateral lisp requires dedication, but with the right guidance and consistent practice, a clear, confident /S/ sound is achievable. If your child is struggling with a ‘slushy’ /S/, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can achieve success!
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
When parents first enquire about speech and language therapy, many assume it will happen face-to-face, in a clinic room, with a therapist sitting across from their child.
So when therapy is offered online, it’s natural for questions to arise:
Can this really work? Will my child engage? Will progress be slower?
This short video offers a glimpse into what online therapy can look like: calm, interactive, relationship-based, and surprisingly effective.
Online therapy is not ‘less than’ in the right circumstances
Teletherapy is not suitable for every child in every situation. However, for many school-aged children, particularly those who enjoy conversation, technology, and shared activities, online therapy can be an excellent fit.
The child you see in this video is around eight years old and was supported for a persistent lisp. Sessions were primarily online, with the occasional in-person appointment when helpful.
What made the difference was not the screen. It was the combination of engagement, support, and consistency.
Parent involvement changes everything
One of the greatest strengths of online therapy is the way it naturally invites parents in.
In this case, parents regularly joined the video sessions:
Listening in
Taking part when appropriate
Learning how to support practice gently between sessions
This meant that therapy didn’t stay ‘on the screen’. Strategies carried over into everyday conversation, making progress faster and more meaningful.
Speech sound therapy, including support for lisps, relies heavily on awareness, feedback, and confidence, all of which can be supported very effectively at home with the right guidance.
Therapy through a screen can still be deeply relational
A common concern is whether connection can truly be built online.
In reality, many children feel more relaxed in their own home environment. They are often more willing to talk, experiment with sounds, and reflect on their speech when they feel comfortable and supported.
Online sessions allow:
Shared focus and conversation
Clear visual feedback
Real-life practice in a familiar setting
Immediate parent support
For some children, this actually enhances engagement rather than limits it.
Real progress, real outcomes
Over the course of approximately 12 online sessions, alongside a small number of in-person appointments, this child achieved resolution of their lisp.
Progress was steady, positive, and confidence-building. Importantly, the child remained motivated and proud of their achievements throughout the process.
While every child’s journey is different, this example highlights what is possible when:
The child is ready
Parents are involved
Therapy is tailored and collaborative
If you’re considering online therapy
If you’re unsure whether teletherapy could work for your child, it’s worth remembering that effective speech and language therapy is less about the room you’re in, and more about:
Relationship
Understanding
Consistency
Carryover into daily life
For many families, online therapy offers flexibility, accessibility, and excellent outcomes especially when parents are active partners in the process.
If you’re at the start of your child’s speech journey and wondering whether online therapy could be the right fit, I’m always happy to talk it through. Sometimes clarity begins with simply understanding what therapy can look like
Teletherapy: Frequently Asked Questions
Is online speech and language therapy really effective?
Yes. For many children, particularly school-aged children, online therapy can be highly effective. Progress depends far more on engagement, consistency, and support than on physical location.
What age does online therapy work best for?
Teletherapy often works well for children from around six years and up, especially those who can attend to a screen, enjoy conversation, and follow simple instructions. That said, suitability is always considered individually and often a supportive adult is needed to help guide the child through the activities.
Can speech sound work (such as a lisp) really be done online?
Absolutely. Speech sound therapy relies on clear visual feedback, listening skills, and practice all of which can be supported very effectively online. Many children respond particularly well when practising in their own home environment.
Do parents need to be involved in sessions?
Parental involvement is strongly encouraged. Parents may sit in, join parts of the session, or support practice between appointments. This involvement often leads to quicker progress and better carryover into everyday speech.
Will my child still build a relationship with the therapist?
Yes. Strong therapeutic relationships can and do develop online. Many children feel more relaxed and confident communicating from home, which can actually enhance connection and learning.
Is online therapy suitable for every child?
Not in my experience. Some children benefit more from in-person support, or a combination of online and face-to-face sessions. A discussion and initial assessment help determine the best approach for each child.
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
I have been avoiding the use of the Empty Set approach for the longest time as I was not sure if it would work seeing that I am challenging two sounds my student struggles with at the same time. But I decided to give it a go and it works a treat!
With this approach, we use two sounds that our student is struggling with. For example, in my video this student cannot produce /sh/ and /r/. Both sounds have different rules, so I decided to contrast them with each other.
The rules of /sh/ are: no voice, air is pushed out through teeth, produced at the front.
The rules for /r/ are: use your voice, produce the sound in the middle of the mouth by shaping your tongue in a particular way.
So I chose the words ‘shoes’ and ‘ruse’ as their rules are quite different. Contrasting two sounds the student does not know has been shown to lead to greater change in the child’s articulation. And I can certainly vouch for this as my student is making the best progress with this approach.
Phonology Therapy – what is it, why and how?
Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language. It’s distinct from articulation therapy which focuses on the physical production of sounds.
Phonology therapy focuses on rules. For example, sounds that are produced at the front of the mouth, in contrast to sounds that are produced at the back of the mouth, or sounds that are produced with a long air stream: /s/ or /f/ versus short sounds like /p/ or /t/; sounds are produced with voice or without voice.
Many children, and sometimes adults, are unaware of some of the speech rules and confuse and replace individual sounds. They might say TAT instead of CAT or SIP instead of SHIP.
A quick overview of phonology approaches I use:
Minimal Pairs:
This approach is good for single sound substitutions. We offer word pairs that differ by only one sound, like ‘ship’ and ‘sip.’ One of our first goal in therapy is to highlight the difference between the target sound (e.g., /sh/) and the sound the child uses (e.g., /s/). This helps discriminate and eventually produce the correct sound.
Multiple Oppositions:
A child might replace lots of sounds with a single sound like a /d/. So instead of ‘four’, ‘chore’ and ‘store’ our child says ‘door’, making speech very unintelligible.
The approach is typically geared towards shaking up the phonological system. Our goal is to choose two to four targets that are different from each other, and different from the substituted sound. If our child’s favourite sound is /d/ they can use their voice and make a short sound by stopping their airflow. So I will choose a different target sound to change up the speech system. For example I might choose an /f/, a /m/ and a /k/ sound. So I would contrast: ‘door’ with ‘four’, ‘more’ and ‘core’.
Maximal Oppositions:
In the Maximal Oppositions approach the treatment sets consists of words that are minimally contrasted and that have maximal or near maximal feature differences between each word pair. One word in a pair represents a sound the child ‘knows’ (can say at word level) and the other represents a sound the child does not know (cannot say).
For example, a child may ‘know’ /m/ and be able to say words like ‘man’, ‘mat’ and ‘mine’. However, the same child may be unable to say /f/ as in ‘fan’, ‘fat’ and ‘fine’. The consonants /f/ and /m/ are maximally opposed as follows.
I am always delighted to work on speech sound disorders, I love the challenge and the successes we can celebrate together. Get in touch with me!
Sonja McGeachie
Early Intervention Speech and Language Therapist
Feeding and Dysphagia (Swallowing) Specialist The London Speech and Feeding Practice
The London Speech and Feeding Practice
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
If your child’s speech is difficult to understand, it can feel tempting to focus straight away on individual sounds: those tricky /S/, /K/, or /SH/ sounds that just won’t come out clearly.
But in therapy, we don’t always start there.
When a child is very difficult to understand, and I have ruled out that the underlying cause is motor-based, I often opt for the Cycles Phonological Approach. This is helpful for those kids where we can feel like we don’t know where to start! The Cycles Approach helps to generate a broad overall increase in speech clarity by sequentially targeting a variety of speech patterns over the course of 8–10 weeks.
So rather than working on one sound until it’s ‘fixed,’ we:
Work on patterns (not just individual sounds)
Target each pattern for a short period of time
Then cycle to the next one
And come back around again later
This mirrors how speech development naturally happens: gradually, with increasing accuracy over time.
Why don’t we start by fixing erroneous sounds straight away?
To use a metaphor, if a child doesn’t have a strong syllable structure, working on individual sounds is like decorating a house that doesn’t have solid walls yet.
Many children with speech sound difficulties:
Drop syllables (e.g. ‘banana’ → ‘nana’)
Simplify longer words
Struggle to maintain rhythm and stress patterns
So, before we refine speech sounds, we need to build the framework of speech.
Why syllables come first in every cycle
In the Cycles Approach, we always begin with 2- and 3-syllable words, even if that’s not the main concern.
Why?
Because syllable awareness supports:
Speech clarity (intelligibility)
Word structure and sequencing
Prosody (rhythm and stress)
Motor planning for longer words
Without this, even perfectly produced sounds can still be hard to understand in real speech.
What do ‘2 and 3 beats’ mean?
When we talk about ‘beats’ we mean syllables you can clap.
Try it:
‘Table’ → ta-ble (2 beats 👏👏)
‘Banana’ → ba-na-na (3 beats 👏👏👏)
In therapy, we help children:
Hear the beats
Feel the rhythm
Produce the full word (without dropping parts)
What this looks like in therapy
In my sessions, this part of the cycle is active, visual, and repetitive.
You might see me using:
👏 Clapping or tapping out syllables
🧩 Using visual supports or blocks for each beat
🎲 Play-based repetition of target words
🎯 High-frequency practice (lots of turns!)
I also keep the focus on success and flow, rather than correction.
If you’re watching the video clip I’ve shared here, you’ll notice:
I’m not over-correcting every sound
I’m prioritising getting the whole word out
I’m building rhythm, confidence, and consistency
Why this stage is so powerful
It can look simple, but it’s doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Working on syllables helps children:
Say longer words more clearly
Reduce ‘mumbling’ or collapsing of words
Improve overall intelligibility quickly
Prepare for more precise sound work later
Often, parents notice early wins like:
✨ ‘They’re easier to understand already’
✨ ‘They’re saying longer words!’
✨ ‘They’re more confident speaking’
And that’s before we’ve even fully targeted specific sounds.
But will my child still learn their sounds?
Yes. Absolutely.
The Cycles Approach is structured so that after syllables, we move into:
Early developing sounds
Then more complex patterns (like fronting or clusters)
And importantly, we come back around again.
Nothing is missed. It’s just sequenced in a way that supports success.
A different way of thinking about progress
One of the biggest mindset shifts with the Cycles Approach is this:
👉 We’re not aiming for perfection straight away
👉 We’re aiming for gradual system-wide change
That means:
Your child doesn’t need to ‘master’ something before moving on
Progress builds across cycles
Speech becomes clearer over time, not overnight
So, to sum up
Starting with syllables might seem unexpected but it’s one of the most powerful foundations we can give a child whose speech is hard to understand.
By building rhythm, structure, and confidence first, we make everything that comes next more effective.
If your child is starting speech therapy and you notice we’re clapping words like ‘banana’ or ‘elephant’, there’s a very good reason for it.
We’re not going backwards.
We’re building from the ground up.
We’re making later sound work more effective and more likely to generalise into everyday talking.
Next steps:
If you’re concerned about your child’s speech clarity or wondering whether they might benefit from a structured approach like this, feel free to get in touch. I offer individualised assessments and therapy plans tailored to each child’s speech profile whether that’s early sound development, phonology, or motor speech difficulties.
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
Parent FAQ section
Why is my child practising words like ‘banana’ instead of sounds like /K/ or /S/?
Because your child first needs to be able to hold and produce the full shape of a word. If they’re dropping syllables (e.g. ‘banana’ → ‘nana’), working on individual sounds won’t carry over into real speech. We build the structure first, then refine the sounds.
What if my child can already say some long words?
That’s great. But we’re looking for consistency and clarity across many words, not just a few familiar ones. This stage helps stabilise that skill so it becomes reliable in everyday talking.
How long will we stay on syllables?
Usually, this is a short but important phase within each cycle. We revisit it regularly, but we also move on to other patterns (like specific sounds or sound processes) within the same therapy block.
Will this delay my child learning their sounds?
No. In fact, it often speeds things up overall. Once the syllable structure is in place, children are much more able to use correct sounds in longer words and sentences.
What can I do at home?
Keep it simple and playful:
Clap out words together (e.g. ‘el-e-phant’)
Emphasise full words naturally in conversation
Repeat back what your child says with the full structure (without pressure)
Consistency and exposure matter more than correction.
My child gets frustrated. Will this help?
Yes. Many children become frustrated when they’re not understood. Improving syllable structure often leads to quick wins in clarity, which can boost confidence and reduce that frustration.
Building clearer speech: Why we practise syllables first
What are syllables?
Syllables are the ‘beats’ in words.
‘Table’ = 2 beats (ta-ble)
‘Banana’ = 3 beats (ba-na-na)
Why is my child working on this?
If your child:
Drops parts of words (‘banana’ → ‘nana’)
Mumbles longer words
Is hard to understand
…then we need to build the structure of words first.
This helps your child:
✔ Say longer words clearly
✔ Be easier to understand
✔ Feel more confident speaking
What does this look like in therapy?
We practise:
Clapping or tapping out beats 👏
Saying full words with rhythm
Repeating target words through play
Using visuals or actions to support learning
How you can help at home
Keep it light and playful, little and often!
Try this:
Clap words together أثناء play (e.g. toys, food, animals)
Model full words naturally (‘Yes, ba-na-na!’)
Repeat and expand what your child says
Example:
Child: ‘nana’
You: ‘Yes! Ba-na-na‘
Important to know
This is a key first step in speech therapy
We will move on to sounds—but this helps them stick
Small changes here can make a big difference in clarity
How should we start? Should we use prompts? What kind of prompts? hand-over-hand or just pointing? Should we wait, and, if so, how long? Introducing an alternative communication system (AAC) to our child is for many of us a confusing and sometimes scary prospect, but it needn’t be! Let me reassure you and share some tricks of my practice in this area.
Once we have decided to try for a picture based communication system, I usually start with a paper-based single page with between 48–88 core-words. I choose the number of words depending on where the child is developmentally and also verbally.
If a child does have a small handful of words already, I might start with the 88-cell board below. If, on the other hand, my student is completely non-speaking and still quite little then I might go for the 48-cell below here or I might have even less cells to start with. Again, sometimes I start with an electronic device in my clinic just to trial and introduce the idea and to see if, or how, a student responds.
Below are some samples: a 49-cell board which I made for a child in a nursery setting
Example of a slightly more advanced board, again from the Saltillo Website
And here below one example of a board I made for a specific activity for a child who loves water and sand play:
It is perfectly possible to be very flexible and create a suitable board for any student, starting with as few as 2–5 cells and working up to over a 100 (very small ones) on a sheet of A4 or A3 paper.
So once we have a good board for our child, what now? How do we start introducing this into our daily life?
We can start by showing/pointing to the word GO within a play activity. For example:
a car run,
or a marble run,
or a spinner activity,
a wind-up toy,
anything that can be stopped and started easily.
How to start?
I will talk us through each of the steps using the example for the word ‘GO’.
First phase
The first phase is a TEACHING/ LEARNING PHASE. In this phase we do not expect our student to do anything, to copy us or to point to the board. If they do that it is of course a huge bonus and we will celebrate it.
Our job is to simply MODEL/SHOW/GIVE EXAMPLES of how we can use the board, by steadily and regularly pointing to the chosen word or words. We do so across the day and across settings:
play
meal time
getting dressed/undressed
bath time
going to the car/shops
etc
Once we can be sure that our student has been submerged and SOAKED in seeing the coreboard being used, say after some 3–4 weeks of using it consistently…
Second phase
We can begin to move into the second phase which is the PRACTICE PHASE. By now the student has seen the boards and he or she has seen the word GO (as a example) modelled many times.
Now we can start to see if we can tempt our student into trying this out for themselves.
What sort of TEMPTING are we talking about? Take a look at the Prompt Hierarchy below, which shows us what to do to get our student to be independently communicating as soon as possible.
The PROMPT HIERARCHY: what sort of prompting should we do, should we expect something from our student or how should we view this stage?
TEMPT AND PAUSE
I have the AAC near to the toy and each time the child starts another round of the activity I say clearly ‘GO’ and I point to the picture as do so. I then pause and wait to see what happens. NOTHING? Then…
USE SIGNS AND BODY LANGUAGE
Next time the child starts another round I might be very animated and do a Makaton sign for GO as I say ‘GO’ and I make a very over point to the picture again. Then I wait. STILL NOTHING? OK then…
OPEN-ENDED QUESTION
Now I might say ‘GO’ and follow with: ‘OOH I WONDER IF THERE IS A PICTURE TO POINT TO…’
‘OH LOOK HERE IS GO!’ I then point to GO.
STILL NO RESPONSE?
ASK FOR A RESPONSE
I might say ‘GO’ followed by ‘LOOK! LET’S POINT TO GO HERE ON THE PICTURE.’
STILL NO RESPONSE?
PHYSICAL TOUCH
Next time I say ‘GO’ I will try and take the student’s hand, help isolate their finger and help him or her to point to the actual picture.
REMEMBER: Prompting serves a very important function in scaffolding learning for students BUT if we are constantly prompting kids, then we are teaching them to only communicate when someone tells them to. We want our student to become as independent in speaking and using words as possible.
So once I have done Physical Prompting I will try and phase back down to number 1 where all I need to do is point to the picture or look at the board with the aim that the student will then point to the picture.
Take away points:
Keep the learning phase pressure-free and model without expecting our student to jump in. In other words, let’s model first without expectation. Later we can have a little bit of expectation.
After they’ve been exposed to and have been ‘soaked’ in plenty of AAC input, then, YES, we can create an opportunity to help them say or point to the word on their own.
We can model BOTH with and without expectation.
Only after LOTS of exposure, use the least to most prompting hierarchy and start creating opportunities for a student to become an independent communicator.
Do get in touch if you have any questions or comments or if you would like some practical help.
I am always pleased to hear from you.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
As a speech and language therapist, one of the most common questions I hear from parents is:
‘They can talk, but their speech still sounds immature. Is this normal?’
Many children between the ages of three and seven use speech patterns that make their words sound different from adult speech. These patterns are known as phonological processes, and for younger children, they are a normal part of speech development.
However, when these processes persist beyond the expected age, they can start to affect clarity, confidence and learning, especially once children enter school.
Phonological processes are patterns of sound simplification that children use while their speech system is developing.
Instead of learning each sound one by one, children initially organise sounds into patterns that make speech easier to produce. This is a normal and efficient strategy for a developing brain.
For example:
saying ‘tar’ instead of ‘car’
saying ‘poon’ instead of ‘spoon’
saying ‘bud’ instead of ‘bus’
These are not ‘bad habits’. They are part of how speech develops.
The key question is how long these patterns last.
Common phonological processes (and when they usually disappear)
Below are some of the most common processes parents notice in 3–7-year-olds.
1. Final consonant deletion
Leaving off the last sound in a word
‘ca’ for cat, ‘da’ for dog
Typically resolved by 3–3½ years
2. Fronting
Replacing back sounds (k, g) with front sounds (t, d)
‘tar’ for car, ‘do’ for go
Typically resolved by 3½–4 years
3. Cluster reduction
Omitting one sound in a consonant cluster
‘poon’ for spoon, ‘top’ for stop
Typically resolves by 4–5 years (some clusters slightly later)
4. Gliding
Replacing /R/ or /L/ with /W/ or /Y/
‘wabbit’ for rabbit, ‘yion’ for lion
Can be typical up to 5–6 years
5. Weak syllable deletion
Leaving out unstressed syllables
‘nana’ for banana
Usually resolved by 4 years
If these patterns continue past the expected age, speech can remain difficult to understand particularly for unfamiliar listeners such as teachers, peers, and also Auntie Karen or grandparents who visit once in a while.
Why phonological processes matter in school-age children
By the time children reach reception and Year 1, speech clarity becomes increasingly important.
Persistent phonological difficulties can affect:
being understood by teachers and peers
phonics and early reading
spelling
confidence in speaking
willingness to participate in class
Some children become aware that they ‘sound different’ and may speak less, avoid longer words, or become frustrated when misunderstood.
What’s the difference between a delay and a disorder?
This is an important distinction.
A phonological delay means a child is following the normal pattern of development, just more slowly.
A phonological disorder means the child is using atypical patterns, or continuing age-expected patterns well beyond when they should have resolved.
You may want to seek professional advice if your child:
is 3½ years or older and still hard to understand
is understood well by family but not by others
becomes frustrated or avoids talking
has difficulty with phonics or spelling
uses several phonological processes at once
has not made progress despite time and encouragement
Early support does not mean something is ‘wrong’. It simply helps speech development move forward more efficiently.Research consistently shows that unresolved phonological processes beyond the expected age can impact intelligibility, literacy and confidence (Dodd, 2014; Bowen, 2015).
How speech therapy helps phonological development
Phonological therapy is not about drilling individual sounds endlessly.
Instead, therapy focuses on:
helping children recognise sound patterns
building awareness of contrasts (e.g. ‘tar’ vs ‘car’)
practising speech in meaningful, playful ways
supporting generalisation so progress carries into everyday speech
For school-aged children, therapy is usually structured, motivating and highly targeted and progress can be very encouraging.
A final reassurance
Many children with phonological difficulties go on to develop clear, confident speech with the right support.
If you’re unsure whether your child’s speech is ‘just a phase’ or something that needs attention, a professional assessment can give clarity and peace of mind.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
