Typically, as children are learning to talk, they use phonological processes (patterns of sound errors), to simplify their speech because they often don’t yet have the ability to coordinate the lips, tongue, teeth, palate, and jaw for clear speech. These phonological processes often correct themselves over time as children continue to develop and are considered normal unless they persist beyond the “age of elimination” (the age when most typically developing children have stopped using them).

As a parent, you should be better able to understand your child as they get older and their ability to use a sound correctly improves. If your child is extremely unintelligible or is still presenting with any phonological processes beyond the age of elimination, families are encouraged to reach out to a speech-language pathologist for a phonological or articulation assessment.