Phonological Processes

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    How we can help shape smooth consonant blends

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    For many children, especially those navigating Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), the challenge isn’t just making individual sounds. It’s the ‘speech gymnastics’ required to move smoothly from one sound to the next.

    You might notice that instead of saying ‘Train’, your child says ‘Ter-ain’, or for ‘Frog’, you hear ‘Fer-og’. That sneaky little ‘uh’ sound in the middle is what we call a schwa vowel. In the world of speech science, this is known as epenthesis. It’s essentially a ‘repair strategy’ the brain uses to break up a difficult cluster of sounds into two easier pieces.

    While it might seem like a small detail, that tiny vowel makes a big difference in how fluent and clear a child’s speech sounds. In today’s post (and the video below), I am working with my student on ironing out that schwa by focusing on co-articulation—the art of getting the mouth ready for the second sound while still finishing the first.

    The ‘best friends’ strategy

    To help my student understand this complex movement, I use visual cues and a story. There are many ways to portray two sounds living closely together, but for this session, I used the ‘Best Friends’ story.

    In our story, the /T/ and the /R/ are older brother best friends who want to play together. The ‘schwa’ sound is represented by a little sister who keeps trying to jump in the middle of their game! Because my student has a younger sister, this scenario was instantly familiar and helped him visualise why we needed to ‘close the gap’ between those two sounds.

    Alternative methods I often use:

    Beyond stories, I often use other visual and tactile methods to show the closeness of two sounds:

    • The sliding finger: I draw two dots on a paper—one for /T/ and one for /R/. We slide a finger quickly from one to the other. I might say, ‘Don’t let the ‘uh’ monster jump in the gap!’
    • The rubber band: We stretch a rubber band as we speak. I tell my student that the word is one long, smooth stretch, rather than two separate ‘pops’.
    • Visual cues for ‘quiet’ sounds: I often put my finger to my lips or tap my throat to remind a child to keep the first sound voiceless. If the voice stays ‘off’ during the /T/, it’s much harder for that schwa vowel to creep in.

    The importance of ‘pure’ modelling

    A major hurdle in clearing up these blends is how we, as adults, model sounds. Often, when teaching the alphabet, we say ‘Kuh’, ‘Puh’ or ‘Tuh’. But if you listen closely, you’re actually adding a vowel! If a child learns that /K/ says ‘Kuh’, it’s only natural they will say ‘Kuh-R’ for /KR/.

    To give your child a cleaner blueprint, try modeling ‘pure’ sounds. Think of whispering rather than talking:

    • The /K/ sound: A short, sharp burst of air from the back of the throat. No voice! (A quiet /K/ click).
    • The /P/ sound: Just a ‘pop’ of air from the lips. If your throat vibrates, the vowel has snuck in.
    • The /T/ sound: A tiny tap of the tongue behind the teeth.

    Why is this important?

    You might ask, ‘If I can still understand them, does it really matter if they say “ter-ain”?’

    The goal of speech therapy isn’t just functional communication; it’s building phonological awareness. When a child adds extra vowels, it can eventually impact their literacy. If they hear ‘ter-ain,’ they are much more likely to eventually spell it as ‘terain’ or ‘traint’.

    By helping them master these clusters through co-articulation now, we are setting them up for success in reading and writing. And we are giving them the confidence to speak with ease.

    Feel free to contact me if your child needs help with clusters or other difficulties either aligned with Childhood Apraxia of Speech or other articulation difficulties.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    References

    • Hall, N. (2011). Vowel Epenthesis. In The Blackwell Companion to Phonology (eds M. Oostendorp, C.J. Ewen, E. Hume and K. Rice). In this work, epenthesis is defined as the insertion of a vowel to break up complex consonant clusters into simpler, more manageable syllables. This is often viewed as a ‘repair strategy’ used by the brain when a transition between sounds is too complex to execute quickly.
    • Aichert, I., & Ziegler, W. (2004) Brain and Language 88(1):148-59. Syllable frequency and syllable structure in apraxia of speech. This research highlights that children with Apraxia often struggle specifically with word-onset clusters, leading to distortions like the schwa.
    • Browman, C. P., & Goldstein, L. (1992) Phonetica 1992;49(3-4):155-80. Articulatory Phonology: An Overview. This paper explains that fluent speech requires ‘gestural overlap,’ where the movements for two different sounds happen simultaneously. This supports the ‘Best Friends’ method of keeping sounds close together.
    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    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.

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  • · ·

    When speech difficulties overlap: Helping children with phonological delay and childhood apraxia of speech

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    One of the questions parents often ask is:

    ‘What kind of speech difficulty does my child have?’

    It’s a very understandable question. We often hear different terms such as phonological delay, articulation difficulties, or Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), and it can be confusing.

    The reality is that many children don’t fit neatly into one single category.

    In fact, quite often I see children whose speech profile includes a mixture of difficulties. They might have some phonological patterns (where they substitute one sound for another) alongside challenges with motor speech planning, where coordinating the movements needed for speech is harder.

    When this happens, therapy needs to be flexible, responsive, and tailored to the child sitting in front of us.

    Example

    Recently I filmed a short clip from one of my therapy sessions which shows exactly how this works in practice.

    The child I was working with has difficulties with several speech sounds. Part of the challenge relates to a phonological pattern called fronting.

    Fronting is when sounds that should be made further back in the mouth (like /K/ or /G/) are produced further forward instead.

    At the same time, this child also shows signs of motor speech planning difficulty, which means the brain has to work harder to organise and sequence the movements of the tongue, lips and jaw for speech.

    This type of profile can sometimes overlap with characteristics seen in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).

    When difficulties overlap like this, therapy cannot rely on a single approach. Instead, it needs to draw on multiple evidence-based strategies.

    That is exactly what you see happening in the clip. We started out generalising the /K/ sound which until recently had been replaced by a /T/ sound. Whilst looking at a sound loaded picture of /K/ sounds we somehow got talking about a ‘dent’ (I don’t recall how we got there!) but the ‘dent’ was a ‘det’ and I decided to tackle this there and then because there are other great words that end in ‘nt’ like : ‘count’ ‘giant’ ‘point’ or ‘paint’.

    Using visual cues to support motor planning

    Speech is incredibly complex. For children with motor speech difficulties, the challenge is not only knowing what sound they want to say, but also how to move their mouth to produce it.

    This is where visual cues can be incredibly helpful.

    In the clip, you can see me using a whiteboard with pictures and simple visual prompts. These help to:

    • Focus attention on the target sound
    • Understand where the sound occurs in the word
    • Remember the sequence of sounds needed

    Visual supports can act almost like a map for the mouth, guiding children as they practise new speech movements.

    For children with motor planning difficulties, this type of cueing can make a huge difference.

    Why repetition of a single word (massed practice) is so important

    Another key feature you will notice in the clip is lots of repetition.

    This is very deliberate.

    When we are supporting children with motor speech challenges, the brain needs repeated opportunities to practise the correct movement patterns. Just like learning a musical instrument or a new sport, repetition helps the brain build stronger and more efficient pathways.

    In therapy we call this massed practice.

    Rather than saying a word only once or twice, we practise it many times in a structured way, helping the child stabilise the new speech pattern.

    But repetition alone is not enough. The child also needs to understand why the sound matters.

    Showing children that sounds change meaning

    This is where another powerful therapy approach comes in: minimal pairs.

    Minimal pairs are word pairs that differ by only one sound. For example:

    • debt
    • dent

    In the clip, I use these two words to help the child realise that the /N/ sound makes a meaningful difference.

    Without the /N/, the word becomes something else entirely.

    This approach helps children recognise that speech sounds are not random: they carry meaning. If a sound is missing or substituted, the message may change.

    Helping children notice these differences can be a very motivating moment in therapy. Suddenly the sound is no longer just an abstract exercise; it becomes part of real communication.

    Blending approaches for the best outcomes

    In this short therapy moment, I am combining:

    • Visual cueing

    • Motor speech practice

    • High repetition (massed practice)

    • Minimal pair contrasts

    • Listening and awareness of sound differences

    Each element supports a different part of the speech system.

    Some strategies help with motor planning, others support phonological awareness, and others build accuracy and consistency.

    Together they create a therapy session that is both structured and responsive.

    Every child’s speech journey is unique

    One of the most important things I want to convey is that speech development is not always straightforward.

    Two children may both struggle with speech sounds, yet the underlying reasons may be very different.

    This is why careful assessment is essential, and why therapy needs to stay flexible as we learn more about how a child’s speech system works.

    Sometimes a child needs more motor-based work.

    Sometimes the focus shifts towards phonological contrasts.

    Often, as in this example, the most effective therapy uses both.

    Small steps lead to big progress

    Every session helps us understand a little more about how a child’s speech system works and what support will help them move forward.

    And when the pieces start to come together, when a child realises that one tiny sound can change a whole word, that is when the real progress begins.

    If you are concerned about your child’s speech sounds, clarity of speech, or possible motor speech difficulties, early support can make a significant difference. A detailed assessment can help identify the nature of the difficulty and guide a therapy approach tailored to your child’s individual needs.

    Feel free to contact me on www.londonspeechandfeeding.co.uk

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    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.

    Reference

    McNeill, B. C., Gillon, G. T., & Dodd, B. (2009). Effectiveness of an integrated phonological awareness approach for children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 25(3), 341-366.

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  • · ·

    Understanding phonological processes in 3–7-year-olds: What’s typical and when to seek help

    ByLondon Speech and Feeding

    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.

    This blog will help you understand:

    • what phonological processes are
    • which patterns are typical at different ages
    • and when it might be time to seek speech therapy support

    What are phonological processes?

    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.

    A speech and language assessment helps identify:

    • which processes are present
    • how many are affecting speech
    • how consistent the errors are
    • and whether intervention is needed

    Signs it may be time to seek speech therapy

    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.

    If you’d like support or advice, please contact me and I can help guide the next steps.

    Sonja McGeachie

    Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

    Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

    Research references

    Health Professions Council registered
    Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
    Member of ASLTIP

    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.

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