Speech Sound Difficulties Pathway

Who is this pathway for?

If your child is aged up to 11 years old and they have been referred for Speech and Language Therapy to support their pronunciation of speech sounds, they will be placed on the Speech Sound Difficulties Pathway.

What to expect at 'Speech Sounds' therapy sessions

In your first appointment we will take a case history and complete an assessment to identify your child’s speech sound difficulties.

We have a ‘blocks and breaks’ model. To start with, you will be offered a block of sessions – for example, one every week for six weeks (some blocks will be longer or shorter). After that, there will be a break to allow time for the progress to get settled in your child’s speech. If they still need more sessions, these will be offered as a new block after the break. Your therapist will talk to you about how long the break needs to be.

We work together with you. Your therapist will encourage you to get involved in the sessions, and they will give you activities to practice with your child at home. Home practice is when progress happens. It takes 1 – 5 minutes (depending on your child’s needs) and needs to be done once or twice a day. If there is a reason you will not be able to practice at home (for example if you are Deaf), someone else like a relative or a member of school staff will need to do the activities during the week.

We know that it can be difficult to fit practice into the day and to get your child on board with it. If this happens, please let your therapist know as soon as possible. They might be able to change the activities or help you think of a solution.

Following the block of therapy, we will discuss next steps with you, write a report that is sent to you and nursery/school, your GP, and any other professionals involved in helping your child.

Information about Speechs Sounds and Pronounciations Difficulties

It’s normal for children to find certain sounds tricky while they’re still learning to talk. For example, lots of children start out by saying ‘tar’ instead of ‘car’ or ‘bish’ instead of ‘fish’. However, just like any other skill, some children find speech sounds particularly difficult and may need extra support with them. This page explains how we can help.

Age	When we can help	When you don’t need to worry
3 (or older)	If parents can’t understand the child at least 80% of the time	If others who don’t see them every day are struggling to understand
4 (or older)	If most adults can’t understand at least 80% of the time If the child is so worried about being understood that they avoid talking	If it’s only hard to understand when they are very tired or excited If only certain letter sounds are hard for them to say
5 (or older)	If there are often times when the child can’t be understood	If ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound ‘slushy’ or like ‘th’ Problems with ‘l, r, v, sh, ch, j, th’ sounds
7 – 10	Any ongoing speech sound difficulty that bothers the child

If you notice that certain sounds are difficult for your child to say, you may be able to help them yourself. It is not helpful to ask your child to copy the sound from you. Instead, make a point of using the sound a lot yourself during activities your child enjoys. For example, if your child is struggling with ‘s’ sounds, you could:

go to the library for books about snakes or Spiderman
do some drawing about the weather – sunshine, snow and splashy puddles!
ask for their help matching socks or making smoothies
go to the park to play on the swing and the slide

By keeping it fun, you will help your child to pay attention and listen to the way you say the sound. Remember – don’t ask your child to repeat, just make sure they’re getting plenty of chances to hear it from you at times when you really have their attention. Do this for at least three activities a week, for three months (they don’t all need to be different – if something works well, repeat it!). If your child still finds the sound just as difficult after that time, they may need to have sessions with us.