Studies in Speech: Developmental Articulation Inaccuracy

Abstract

curacy in early school-age children is a subject of increasing interest and concern to educators. As school systems recognize the importance of articulation, they are adding speech correctionists to their staffs. The interrelationships between speech, language, and learning ability are opening new avenues of approach for those who have the responsibility of securing the best interests of the child as an individual. There is a lack of definitive information, however, about certain types of articulatory problems. The lack of information is certainly one reason for the ill-defined philosophy on the prevention and treatment of such problems. The need for guidelines on the appropriate handling of individual children is becoming abundantly clear. In the nomenclature of the speech therapist, dyslalia, or defect of aiticulation, is the result of either organic or non-organic causes. Among the organic causes of articulatory defects are cleft palate, mental retardation, a d hearing loss. Among the nonorganic causes are emotional retardation and infantile perseveration. The most common type of speech defect noted, however, and therefore the type encountered most often by the c ssroom teacher and the speech therapist-for that matter, by all individuals in the environment of yo ng children-is characterized by the absence of known pathology. For years the literature has reported studies that consistently agree that more than 50 per cent of the speech defects evidenced in the early grades f the elementary school have no apparent pathological cause. The speech inaccuracy that falls into this category is generally labeled functional (1). Researchers have studied the problem from various points of view to achieve a better understanding of the nature of this difficulty in speech and of the problems of the children who evid nce it. As long ago as 1947 R id (2) surveyed many studies of