From our Literacy Specialist
We have previously explored the importance of oral language and ideas for promoting its development. Many of our students who experience difficulties in their development of reading and writing skills also display challenges in their production of the speech sounds explored in my last edition. Here’s the link to a rundown of the 44 sounds:
This raises the question, what is appropriate speech at each age and stage of development?
The graphic below gives a summary of the ages that certain sounds should be correctly articulated in a typically developing child’s speech. There are also examples of pronunciation errors your child SHOULD NOT be making.
Incorrectly forming speech sounds can really impact on a child’s ability to blend sounds together to make words in both their reading and writing. If the sounds don’t come out right, how can you accurately hear the word you are reading, or record a written word correctly? This can negatively impact on confidence and attitude to learning as well, so it is important to address speech challenges as early as possible. If you have concerns about your child’s speech, or your child’s teacher flags a concern with you, it is essential to chat to your GP or a speech pathologist for appropriate support. We want to give our young people the very best chance of developing strong literacy skills that will serve them well into their futures.
