Many children work with a speech therapist to work on producing sounds correctly. As an SLP, I’m frequently asked, “Will my child just outgrow it?” or “Isn’t this developmental?” The answer is: yes and no. Some speech sound errors, such as saying /F/ instead of /TH/, are common in young children until age 6. If your child is younger than 6, a quick screening with a speech therapist will tell you whether or not the sounds should have developed.
Another point to consider is how well someone new can understand your child. Can a new teacher understand at least 75 percent of what your preschooler is saying? If not, reach out to a speech therapist for an evaluation.
Readers: Has your child worked on speech sounds?
About the Author: Melissa Goff, M.S, CCC-SLP, is the owner of Sunflower Speech & Myo Therapy, PLLC, in Charlotte, NC.
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