The ‘Late Eight’: Speech Sounds By Seven & A Half
Knowing when and what speech sounds should be ‘expected’ by a certain age has long proved difficult for speech pathologists and concerned parents alike. Luckily there is a framework that divides all the sounds we learn as we grow into three distinct phases. Compiled by the famous Shriberg, he surveyed the research available and came up with the ‘late eight’ speech sounds. By 90 months your child could have mastered the following:
/ʃ/ - as in "shoe"
/ʒ/ - as in "measure"
/s/ - as in "sun"
/z/ - as in "zoo"
/θ/ - as in "think"
/ð/ - as in "this"
/l/ - as in "leaf"
/r/ - as in "red"
These sounds are more challenging and require advanced oral-motor skills and fine articulatory movements. /l/ for example requires the tongue to be behind the teeth, but with gaps on either side to allow air to flow through. Mastery of these sounds is important for clear and precise speech. Speech pathologists often focus on these sounds in therapy for older children with speech sound disorders.
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:
Shriberg, L. D. (1993). Four new speech and prosody-voice measures for genetics research and other studies in developmental phonological disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 36(1), 105-140.
Suggested Resources
FREEBIE Stone Age Struggle: /b/ Sound
Practice your child’s /b/ sounds with dangerous dinos in a fun interactive game
FREEBIE Shopping Trip: /b/ Sound
Practice your child’s /b/ sounds by competing to see who can fill their shopping basket first.
FREEBIE Monster Madness: /b/ Sound
Practice your child’s /b/ sounds with mad monsters in a fun interactive game.