Articulation: Miss-Pronounced & Mr. E

It is often a Mystery (Mr. “E”) why children Mispronounce (“Miss Pronounce”) words. Sometimes it’s simply a normal developmental phase, and sometimes it’s due to a physical difficulty (such as weak oral-motor muscle tone, language processing issues, or motor planning difficulties).  Two things are important: (1) It is not unusual for a child to have difficulties with at least some sounds as language unfolds (3-year old children are expected to be about 75% intelligible in spontaneous language use with adults that are not their parents), and (2) Standardized articulation testing and therapy is often not formally undertaken until a child is about 3 years old or beyond.  What to do:  Acknowledge mispronounced words without punishing, but be sure to positively model:  If your child says “Bup” for cup, do not reply, “No, it’s cup,” rather, simply say “Yes, cup.”