Speech disorders
Articulation
Articulation difficulties are those related to a child’s ability to produce certain sounds or to combine particular sounds together. These difficulties will be seen across words, ie. not just a simple mispronunciation.
These difficulties can be divided into two categories, delay and disorder. A delay is seen where a child follows a normal pattern but at a slower rate, and a disorder is where speech contains unusual patterns not usually found in younger children.
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Fluency
Difficulties with fluency are seen as problems with the smooth flow and speed of speech. This is either through stuttering (stammering) or cluttering.
Stuttering is where speech is interrupted, ie. a word/sound won't come out or is repeated several times.
Cluttering is where someone speaks very quickly, merging words together or cutting parts of words off. It often sounds like slurring or mumbling.
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