Table 2 – Most Common Phonological Processes Common Phonological ProcessĪge of Elimination for Monolingual English Speakers (ASHA, Shriberg)Īge of Elimination for Bilingual English-Spanish Speakers (Goldstein+)

Below please find Table 2 for more information on the most common phonological processes with the approximate ages at which children suppress them, both for monolingual English speakers and for bilingual English-Spanish speakers. There are a variety of phonological processes that fall within each of these three categories, and the majority of children will suppress each distinct phonological process around the same age-range. The resemblance of syllables/sounds to surrounding sounds (e.g., “Sippy Cup” → “Pippy Pup”) The reduction, omission, or repetition of syllables in a word(e.g., “Star” → “Tar”) The replacement of one class of sounds, with another class of sounds (e.g., “Get” → “Det”)

Table 1 provides a description of these three different types: Phonological processes have been classified into three different types of categories: substitution processes, syllable structure processes, and assimilation processes. In fact, it is arguably more surprising to see a 2-year old with “perfect” adult speech, than it would be a 2-year old with sound errors. These patterns are completely natural and expected. Childrens’ brains learn these patterns of speech sound errors, which are called phonological processes. As children develop speech-language skills, they simplify words until they have learned to articulate all sounds in words appropriately. Why does this happen? While learning to coordinate the tongue, lips, jaw, teeth, and palate to make speech sounds, all children will display speech sound errors. Have you ever heard your child say words like “wain” for “rain”, or “pane” for “plane”? For some, it can be extremely cute to hear a child speak in this manner, and while it’s a natural characteristic of speech development, it’s definitely something worth learning more about.

Phonological processes screener