Articulation is simply defined as the ability to move the tongue, lips, jaw, and teeth to produce speech or an understandable sequence of sounds. Articulation is composed of two elements, and these are talking and pronunciation. It is very important to articulate well for one to be easily understood when speaking.  

Pronunciation Difficulties

Problem with articulation is evident among children, and that is fairly okay. However, if these problems become too persistent, then that’s when the issue has to be addressed head-on. Otherwise, the way that children interact with other people will be affected, thus degrading their social skills in general.  

Keys to Proper Articulation 

Articulation can be achieved by performing several methods that can improve the way a person speaks or pronounces words. The parents of children with persistent pronunciation problems can adopt these methods to see a drastic improvement in their speech.  

  1. Concentration and Attention Exercises

Children with articulation issues need to do several activities that could enhance their undistracted listening skills. Through sustained effort, they should be able to hold out long enough to get the task done.  

  1. Hearing Exercises 

Hearing exercises are essential to help them detect the sound of speech and implement them in the right way. There are different types of hearing exercises and the right level of difficulty to be used should be proportional to the problem that has to be addressed.  

  1. Ear Function Check-up

To ensure that the pronunciation problem of a child has nothing to do with the way he or she hears things, a middle ear check-up is in order. It’s important to determine if the middle ear functions fairly well and there are no ear infections, colds, or glue ear that could be blocking the ears as these can cause fluctuating hearing levels that can affect one’s speech.  

  1. Speech Sound Processing

This method focuses on identifying the differences between sounds. The patient under therapy would eventually hear and learn more about these differences, especially when letters are combined together to form words. 

  1. Muscle Coordination Therapy 

The muscles of the diaphragm, tongue, lips, jaw, palate, and vocal cords should work in a coordinated movement in order to produce the right sounds. This is one area where a speech-language pathologist or SLP can help most. 

Speech-Language Pathologists 

Speech-language pathologists are experts who can help children and even adults who have pronunciation problems. They help in correct the issue by using all the methods and processes listed above, as well as in helping the patient in understanding the fact that each sound conveys a meaning.  

There’s an SLP near you and if you think that your child has persistent pronunciation problem, it is highly encouraged that you set up an appointment with this professional as soon as possible for a diagnosis. An Oshawa SLP is always ready to provide you with fast, efficient, and caring service when it comes to speech-related disorders. Persistent pronunciation problems are not the type that would go away easily on their own. But with the help of professionals, they possibly can.