Sound Development

Children learn to use sounds in a predictable pattern. They do not all learn at exactly the same rate. There are age ranges in which sounds are learned.

The beginning of the solid bar shows the age when children will begin to use the sound. The end of the bar shows the age when children are using the sound in words correctly all the time.

The following are errors commonly made by children at a given age. These errors are normal. If your child demonstrates one of these errors, there isn't great reason for concern. If they tend to produce many errors, you may wish to have their speech assessed by a speech-language pathologist. For example, a 5 1/2 year old who has trouble with both "s" and "r" should probably be assessed.

2-3 years	shortening words: "nana" for "banana", "puter" for "computer leaving off last sound: "daw" for "dog" using front sounds (t,d) for back sounds (k,g): "tup" for "cup"
3-3 1/2 years	using "w" or "y" for "l": "weg" for "leg", "yight" for "light"
4 - 5 years	shortening blends: "boo" for "blue", "nake" for "snake" using "b" for "v": "bacuum" for "vacuum"
5 - 6 years	using "w" for "r": "wabbit" for "rabbit" using "th" for "s": "I thee it", for "I see it".
6 -7 years	using other sounds for "th": "fum" or "tum" for "thumb", "free" for "three", "dem" for "them"