Ocean Beach Speech | Pediatric Speech Therapy in San Diego
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Speech Production
    • Language
    • Pragmatics
    • Literacy
    • School Services
  • Schedule
  • Client Portal
  • FAQ
  • Resources
  • Contact

Helpful
​​Resources

Phonological Processes

7/4/2022

0 Comments

 
Phonological processes are speech sound error patterns that children use to simplify speech. Unlike articulation errors, which occur when a child has difficulty producing one or two specific speech sounds, phonological processes are error patterns that can occur across groups of sounds. For example, in the pattern called ‘fronting’, all “back sounds” (sounds made in the back of the mouth like k and g) may become “front sounds” (sounds made in the front of the mouth like t and d). Similarly, with the process called ‘stopping’, many “long sounds” (such as fricatives like s, z, and f) may become “short sounds” (such as stops like p, t, and d. 
​


It is normal and expected for very young children to simplify speech sounds until a certain point. In fact, many of these patterns are considered typical until around age 3. However, as communication develops, these errors are expected to fade away, and the majority of phonological patterns should disappear altogether by age 5 years. A child may have a phonological disorder if:
  • he/she continues to use phonological processes past the typical age of elimination
  • he/she exhibits many patterns at the same time resulting in significantly reduced speech intelligibility (meaning it is VERY difficult to understand him/her)

Signs of a Phonological Disorder:
  • Consistent speech errors that seem to follow a pattern 
  • Difficulty with early skills related to reading (such as rhyming, blending sounds, etc.)
  • Difficulty noticing the difference between similar sounds 

The table below provides information regarding some of the most commonly occurring phonological patterns. The age of elimination indicates the typical age by which the process should fade away.
PATTERN
DEFINITION
EXAMPLE
AGE OF ELIMINATION
Backing
Sounds produced in the front of the mouth (like t, d, or s) are substituted with sounds produced in the back of the mouth (like k, g, or h)
ouk for out
gog for dog
hick for sick
key for tea
​
Not considered typical - may indicate a severe phonological disorder​
Fronting
Sounds produced in the back of the mouth are substituted with sounds produced in the front of the mouth
​doh for go
tat for cat
toin for coin
doddy for doggy
3.5 years
Gliding
Liquids r and l become glides w and y
​wing for ring
yight for light
twuck for truck
bwoo for blue
6 years
Stopping
Fricatives and affricates like f, s, v, z, th, ch, or j become stops like p, d, t, or k
pull for full 
tip for chip 
dat for that 
sebin for seven
f and s: 3 years
v and z: 3.5 years
sh, ch, and j: 4.5 years
th: 5 years
Vowelization
Liquids like l and r are replaced with a vowel at the end of a word
tabo for table
teachuh for teacher
puzzo for puzzle
Cawuh for car
5-7 years, although l and r should be in other parts of words (beginning & middle) by 5
Affrication
Non-affricates are replaced with affricates ch and j
​jig for dig 
chee for tea 
catch for cats
3 years
Deaffrication
​Affricates ch and j are replaced with fricative or stop sounds like sh, s, t, d, or g
sheez for cheese
dump for jump
bridze for bridge
4 years
Labialization
Non-labial sounds are replaced by labial sounds like p, b, and m
​pake for take 
bog for dog
6 years ​
Assimilation
A sound is replaced with another sound in the word or  a sound that is similar to another sound in the word
goggy for doggy
mummy for money
bop for top
​3 years
​Final Consonant Devoicing
Voiced consonants at the end of words become voiceless
​bick for big 
haff for have 
mutt for mud
3 years
​Prevocalic Voicing
​Voiceless consonants at the beginning of words are voiced
​gan for can
big for pig
3 years
​Reduplication
​A complete or incomplete syllable is repeated
​wawa for water
baba for bottle
​3 years
​Cluster Reduction
​Consonant clusters are reduced to fewer consonants
​Pay for play 
lied for slide 
staw for straw
​l and r clusters: 4 years
s clusters: 5 years
​Final Consonant Deletion
​Final consonant are left off of words
​pih for pig 
fih for fish 
daw for dog
​3 years
Initial Consonant Deletion
​Beginning consonants of words are left off
​ow for cow 
eet for feet 
ocks for rocks
Not considered typical - may indicate a severe phonological disorder
Weak Syllable Deletion
​Unstressed (“weak”) syllables of words are omitted
​jamas for pajamas
tefone for telephone 
ehfint for elephant
4 years
If you have more questions about phonological processes or would like to get help for your child’s speech, book a free consultation now!
BOOK NOW
Sources: McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100. Available from: https://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2701897

From Mommy Speech Therapy handout citing: Bleile, Ken M. (1995). Manual of Articulation and Phonological Disorders. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group, Inc. Bowen, Caroline, (2011). Elimination of Phonological Processes in Typical Development. Linguisystems, (2008). Phonological Pattern Suppression by Age. http://www.linguisystems.com Hedge, M.N. (2001). Pocket Guide to Assessment in Speech-Language Pathology (2nd Edition). San Diego, CA: Pena-Brooks, Adriana, & Hedge, M.N. (2007). Assessment and treatment of articulation and phonological disorders in children (2nd Edition). Austin, TX: PRO-ED
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Articulation
    Early Intervention
    Language
    Phonology
    Speech
    Speech Sound Production
    Speech Sounds

    RSS Feed

Picture

​

​Ocean Beach Speech
4870 Santa Monica Ave #2B
San Diego, CA 92107

(619) 560-1270
office@oceanbeachspeech.com
Fax: (619) 684-3765

Testimonials

“My son was just accepted into a highly competitive private school program with a limited number of gifted learners, and I know that he wouldn’t be on the path he is now without [Ocean Beach Speech].”

“At 18 months we started sessions with [my son] saying 1 word. A year later, he is putting together sentences with 10+ words! The play-based structure of our sessions was a perfect fit for my little one.”
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Speech Production
    • Language
    • Pragmatics
    • Literacy
    • School Services
  • Schedule
  • Client Portal
  • FAQ
  • Resources
  • Contact