Stopping phonological process is a common issue where children replace harder sounds with easier ones, such as saying “pish” instead of “fish.” This occurs when fricatives (sounds produced by forcing air through a narrow channel, like /f, v, s, z/) and affricates (sounds made by combining a stop and a fricative, like /ch, j/) are substituted with stop sounds like “p” or “b.” While this is a typical part of speech development, most children outgrow it naturally. However, some may require speech therapy to improve their articulation.
If you’re concerned about your child’s speech, don’t panic. There are effective resources and exercises available. Speech therapy can significantly help, ensuring your child communicates more confidently.
Understanding Phonological Processes
Phonological processes are sound error patterns that children use to simplify speech as they are learning to talk. These patterns are normal in early speech development but should diminish as children grow older.
For example, fronting occurs when a child produces a sound at the front of the mouth instead of the back, such as saying “tat” for “cat.” Gliding involves replacing liquids like “l” and “r” with glides like “w” and “y,” so “rabbit” might become “wabbit.” Stopping happens when fricative sounds like /f, s, z/ or affricates like /ch, j/ are replaced with stop sounds like “p” or “b,” making “sun” sound like “tun.” Understanding these processes helps in identifying when a child might need speech therapy to correct persistent patterns.
Defining the Stopping Phonological Process
Stopping occurs when fricative or affricate sounds are replaced by stop sounds. For example, “sun” might become “tun.” According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), children typically stop using this process by certain ages. If it persists beyond these milestones, speech therapy might be necessary to help improve their speech skills effectively.
This table summarizes the information from ASHA on the stopping phonological process:
| Examples | Age of Elimination |
|---|---|
| “pun” for “fun”; “tee” for “see” | 3 years |
| “doo” for “zoo”; “berry” for “very” | 4 years |
| “top” for “shop/ chop”; “dump” for “jump”; “dat” for “that” | 5 years |
Intervention Techniques for Stopping
A speech therapist uses several methods to address the phonological process of stopping. Incorporating phonological awareness activities can significantly help in making progress. Consistent practice and reinforcement in both therapy sessions and at home play a crucial role in improving speech clarity.
Approaches to Treatment for Stopping
Contextual Utilization: Selecting a small set of words and then encouraging your child to use the correct sounds in meaningful and functional contexts like play.
Auditory Discrimination Training: Helping your child learn to distinguish between the correct sound and the error sound through listening activities.
Visual and Tactile Cues: Using visual aids (like pictures or mouth diagrams) and tactile feedback (such as feeling the airflow) to teach your child the correct sound production.
Cycles Approach: Targeting specific speech sound patterns for a while, then moving to others, allowing gradual improvement. This helps children recognize and use correct sounds, making their speech clearer.
Minimal Pair Therapy: Using pairs of words that differ only by the target sound (e.g., “tea” vs. “sea”) to help your child hear and produce the correct sounds.
Nanette Cote is an ASHA certified speech pathologist, published author, and private practice business owner with 30 years experience.
