Signs & Treatment of Phonological Disorder

You might be wondering about the phonological language disorder. In this blog post, we will discuss the primary signs of this disorder and share treatment methods for speech patterns.

What is a Phonological Disorder?

Phonological disorder definition refers to a disability in pronouncing sounds. It is a speech sounds disorder that causes difficulties with speech. The condition may lead to struggles with articulation, range of sounds, and awareness of phonemes.

There's a known connection between phonological speech disorders and phonemic awareness disorders (the comprehension of sounds and their rules in words), which could lead to persistent language and literacy issues.

Primary Signs of Phonological Disorder in Kids

Symptoms of a phonological disorder include repeating and mispronouncing certain words. It's important to recognize phonological disorder symptoms at an early stage, as the inability to produce sounds beyond 5 years of age may lead to a phonological process disorder in adulthood.

If not treated promptly, this struggle with pronunciation and sound formation can evolve into a condition known as a phonological processing disorder. It can potentially turn into long term speech errors and affect your child's overall quality of life.

1. Challenges in Verbal Communication

Challenges in verbal communication can manifest as difficulty in pronouncing certain sounds or words, controlling your voice tone, understanding or abiding by language rules, or issues with speaking too quickly or too slowly.

A phonological disorder becomes apparent when children struggle to express thoughts verbally, particularly under emotional stress. Feelings such as guilt, anger, or shame may significantly impede their speech, causing further distress and creating a difficult cycle to break without additional help.

2. Difficulty in Comprehension Skills

Difficulty in comprehension skills refers to challenges in understanding and interpreting information, especially in written or verbal communication. This could appear as struggling to understand the meaning of words, sentences, or entire texts, having trouble following instructions, or misunderstanding conversations or stories.

Children of all ages with phonological disorders may find comprehension skills particularly challenging. They can misunderstand sentences, feel isolated on social occasions, or experience difficulties in sentence comprehension due to phonological errors.

3. Issues with Language Development

Language development issues, essential in daily life, vary widely, influenced by age, environment, and personal factors. Common problems include difficulty understanding or using language, struggling with vocabulary or grammar, and failing to grasp nuances like sarcasm, idioms, or cultural references, leading to communication misunderstandings.

If your child has been showing signs of a phonological awareness disorder for some time, they may be dealing with speech and language development issues. These issues can manifest as struggles with forming complex sentences, comprehending context, and gaining a basic understanding of language.

4. Low Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem in kids, in terms of speech, means they lack confidence in talking and may avoid speaking in social situations. They might shy away from speaking in groups, feel anxious, or struggle with pronunciation. This impacts their social interactions and academic performance.

Kids' ability to participate in social interactions and group activities depends on their comfort with language. Clear expression and communication stem from a solid understanding of language rules. A lack of this understanding may cause a developmental phonological disorder, undermining self-esteem.

5. Increased Frustration

Phonological disorders can significantly impact a child’s ability to communicate effectively. When a child experiences such a disorder, they encounter difficulties in organizing speech patterns, which can lead to frequent misunderstandings.

Imagine a scenario where a child eagerly tries to express their thoughts or share a story, but their words come out jumbled or distorted. The frustration mounts as they struggle to convey their ideas clearly. These challenges can affect their interactions with peers and adults and also their self-esteem.

Phonological Disorder Examples

Here are several examples to help you understand what is a phonological processing disorder and what it may sound like in the everyday life of your kid. Identifying these examples can help you determine the most suitable treatment or therapeutic approach for your child.

1. Missing letters

If kids have problems with phonological processing disorder and reading, they might pronounce a letter incorrectly in one word but correctly in another in some cases. "Cat" may sound like "cah" or "at" or "Sun" could be "suhn" or "un".

Another example of missing letters is the word "butterfly" pronounced as "bu-er-fly" or "bu-fly", where certain sounds or letters are omitted.

2. Repeating Syllables

If your kid constantly repeats the same syllables when attempting to pronounce a word or simplifies the word's pronunciation significantly, they may potentially have an inconsistent phonological disorder.

You may consider adding phonological disorder therapy activities to your family routine to improve your child's pronunciation skills. These activities can include word repetition exercises, tongue twisters, and phonics-based games designed to strengthen your child's articulation and phonological awareness.

3. Changing Phonetic Sounds

Sometimes, kids might pronounce words incorrectly by changing letters, such as saying "flay" instead of "play" or "wabbit" instead of "rabbit". These pronunciation errors, while common in the early years, might potentially signal deeper underlying issues that could be related to conditions such as articulation disorders or phonological disorders.

Here, the important thing is recognizing the different symptoms of articulation vs phonological disorder. The main difference between articulation and phonological disorders is the physical production of speech sounds, where articulation disorders involve difficulties in formation of sounds, such as substituting, omitting, or distorting specific phonemes.

4. Fronting in Speech

Fronting is a phonological error observed in children's speech development. This happens when kids replace sounds produced at the front of the mouth, like "t" and "d", for sounds produced at the back of the mouth, such as "k" and "g".

When kids front, they might keep using sounds made in the front of their mouth instead of the ones from the back, which makes it hard for them to say words right. For instance, they might say 'tea' for 'key', 'tar' for 'car', or “tite” for “kite”. If fronting mistakes persist after age of 6, possibly phonological disorder occurs in adulthood.

Ways of Treatment for Phonological Disorder

Parents can help their children by detecting early symptoms and choosing the correct phonological disorder treatment. Here are treatment methods on how to help a child with phonological disorder:

1. MentalUP Learning Platform

MentalUP is an award-winning EdTech platform designed by child development experts, academics, and professional game designers to contribute to children's mental and physical development. It includes a wide range of games, such as word games, math challenges, puzzles, memory exercises, and gymnastics games.

MentalUP's child friendly and no-ads platform helps children learn by having fun and it isn't limited to nurturing children's cognitive skills. MentalUP app also focuses on their physical well-being with a fitness module featuring 240+ personalized exercises in balance, strength, stretching, coordination, and endurance categories.

In addition to hundreds of games and exercises, MentalUP offers tests and events to challenge kids with the right level of difficulty and keep them engaged in practicing their skills.

2. Speech Therapy

Speech-language therapy is an effective way of treatment for Phonological disorder. Certified Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) help kids to pronounce words and sounds correctly by dedicating their time and expertise.

Speech-language therapists can evaluate the child's particular speech issues and implement strategies such as articulation therapy or phonological process therapy. Through these therapy techniques, kids can learn to speak more clearly and feel more confident in their communication skills.

3. Using Minimal Pairs

Minimal pairs are a pair of words that vary by only a single sound or phoneme. They can be used to improve a child's focus on sound recognition and pronunciation. For instance, if a child substitutes /t/ for /b/, a minimal pair might be "tag" and "bag".

To make this practice more effective, it can be turned into a game. The child can be asked to pick out a word after hearing it, or to say a word after seeing a picture of its meaning. This way, it becomes a fun but educational activity.

4. Home Practice and Parental Support

A parent's approach plays a vital role in severe phonological disorder treatment. Consistent practice at home is necessary since kids tend to spend most of their time at home. This allows your kid to constantly hear correct speech patterns and helps them understand and use these patterns themselves.

You can enhance a child's speech by participating in activities like reading, singing, or word games together. As they make improvements - no matter how small - it's important to celebrate these achievements. Recognition of their efforts fosters motivation and creates a sense of accomplishment.

Parent Tips: How to Help a Child with Phonological Disorder

So far, we have explored what is phonological processing disorder. Now, let’s explore some tips to help you guide your kids in fighting challenges like phonological disorders:

1. Speak clearly and articulate words accurately when communicating with your child.
2. Encourage your child to participate in conversation with you and others by asking questions.
3. Create a daily practice routine with your kid in order to show your support for improvement.
4. Use visuals like pictures and flashcards to assist your child's recognition of specific sounds.
5. Read books or short stories with your kid to help them hear new words and different sounds.
6. Show them the correct way to pronounce sounds and certain words.
7. Be patient when you practice with them and ask them to repeat sounds carefully for improvement.
8. Celebrate achievements, acknowledging your child's effort in overcoming speech challenges.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are still wondering is a phonological disorder a language disorder, we've got you covered. Here are the most common questions and answers about phonological process disorder.

What is the difference between phonological disorder and articulation disorder

One of the key characteristics of phonological disorder is difficulties with the sound system of a language. Conversely, articulation disorder involves difficulties with the production of specific speech sounds.

At what age does phonological disorder end in kids?

Phonological disorders in children typically improve or resolve by age 6, yet variability exists, with some requiring speech therapy into their school-age years.

What is backing in terms of a phonological disorder?

Backing is a speech simplification technique used to define a phonological disorder. It is a type of speech error where front sounds like "t" and "d" are replaced with back sounds like "k" and "g."

What are the main categories of phonological processes?

Phonological processes are grouped into syllable structure, substitution, and assimilatory processes.

What are the types of phonological processes?

Phonological processes can be divided into three primary categories: syllable structure processes, substitution processes, and assimilatory processes.

How do you know if your child has a phonological disorder?

If your child is making phonological errors, frequently mispronouncing words, or using incorrect sound patterns, it may be one of the causes of phonological disorder.

What are the key errors of kids who have phonological speech disorder?

Children with phonological disorders often demonstrate key errors such as replacing one sound with another, omitting a sound, producing a letter in an unusual way, and adding sounds.

Are phonological disorders common in children?

Approximately 8% of young children have some speech or developmental delays, including phonological disorders. While these are normal up to a certain age, continued errors may indicate a disorder.