Speech Sound Errors: Stopping
What is a Phonological Process
A phonological process is a pattern young children use to simplify speech as they learn to talk. Since some sounds are harder to say than others, children might change them to make speaking easier. These processes are normal and usually disappear as the child grows older and gains more control over their speech.
What is Stopping
Stopping is a phonological process where a child substitutes a stop consonant (like /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, or /g/) for a fricative (like /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, or /ʒ/). For example, they might say "tun" instead of "sun" or "pish" instead of "fish."
Age of Elimination
Stopping is quite a broad speech sound error pattern. It can depend on the specific sound and what it is being swapped for. Broadly, stopping should be eliminated somewhere between 3 and 5 years of age*.
We generally expect forms of stopping that involve sounds your child learnt earlier to be eliminated by 3 to 3 and a 1/2 years old. These include:
Stopping f: e.g., ‘f’ -> ‘t’ as in ‘fish’ becomes ‘tish’ (3 years old)
Stopping s: e.g., ‘s’ -> ‘d’ as in ‘soap’ becomes ‘doap’ (3 years old)
Stopping v: e.g., ‘v’ -> ‘b’ as in ‘very’ becomes ‘berry’ (3 and a 1/2 years old)
Stopping z: e.g., ‘z’ -> ‘d’ as in ‘zoo’ becomes ‘do’ (3 and a 1/2 years old)
More complex sounds learned later in life are usually eliminated by about 4 and a 1/2 years old. These include:
Stopping ‘sh’: e.g., 'sh' -> ‘d’ as in ‘shop’ becomes ‘dop’ (4 and a 1/2 years old)
Stopping ‘j’: e.g., 'j' -> ‘d’ as in ‘jump’ becomes ‘dump’ (4 and a 1/2 years)
Stopping 'ch': e.g., ‘ch’ -> ‘t’ as in ‘chair’ becomes ‘tare’ (4 and a 1/2 years old)
The final bracket of stopping occurs with sounds your child only adds to their toolkit much later and are usually eliminated by 5 years old. These include:
Stopping Voiceless 'th': e.g., ‘thing’ becomes ‘ting’ (5 years old)
Stopping Voiced 'th': e.g., ‘them’ becomes ‘dem’ (5 years old)
*Please note these ages of elimination are intended as a general guide only. Other sources can change age ranges by six months to a year. Phonological processes is a murky area of speech pathology.
Fixing Stopping
Model Correct Sounds: Clearly and slowly pronounce words with the correct fricative sounds so the child can hear the difference.
Practice Minimal Pairs: Use pairs of words where one word uses a stop and the other a fricative (like "tea" and "sea"). This helps the child hear and practice the difference.
Visual and Tactile Cues: Use mirrors or feel the airflow by placing a hand in front of the mouth to show how fricatives have a continuous airflow compared to the sudden stop of air in stops.
Games and Activities: Make practising fun with games that encourage the use of fricative sounds in words, like picture matching or word repetition games.
With regular practice and positive reinforcement, children can learn to use the correct fricative sounds in their speech.
Please note the above information is general in nature and is not intended as professional medical advice. Please seek an appointment with a registered speech-language pathologist if you are at all worried about your child's development.
References:
ASHA. (2022). Selected Phonological Processes. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/articulation-and-phonology/selected-phonological-processes/
Bowen, C. (2011). Table 3 - Elimination of Phonological Processes. Speech-Language-Therapy.com. https://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31:table3&catid=11:admin&Itemid=117
Suggested Resources
Stone Age Struggle: Stopping ($0.50)
Practice eliminating various stopping errors with dangerous dinos in a fun interactive game of minimal pairs.
Shopping Trip: Stopping ($0.50)
Practice eliminating various stopping errors with minimal pairs by competing to see who can fill their shopping basket first.
Monster Madness: Stopping ($0.50)
Practice eliminating various stopping errors with mad monsters in a fun interactive game of minimal pairs.