Skip to content
  • Services
    • Speech & Feeding and Lactation Services
    • Insurance vs Self-Pay FAQs
    • Does My Plan Cover Speech Therapy?
  • About Us
  • Testimonials
  • SITC BLOG
    • SPEECH
    • FEEDING
    • AAC
    • Orofacial Myology
    • ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
    • LANGUAGE
    • Practice News
    • ESPAÑOL
  • Resources
    • Client Login
    • ADVOCACY
    • Boom Store
    • TPT Store
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Therapy Resources
    • Employment
  • Contact
  • Services
    • Speech & Feeding and Lactation Services
    • Insurance vs Self-Pay FAQs
    • Does My Plan Cover Speech Therapy?
  • About Us
  • Testimonials
  • custom-logo
  • SITC BLOG
    • SPEECH
    • FEEDING
    • AAC
    • Orofacial Myology
    • ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
    • LANGUAGE
    • Practice News
    • ESPAÑOL
  • Resources
    • Client Login
    • ADVOCACY
    • Boom Store
    • TPT Store
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Therapy Resources
    • Employment
  • Contact
Speech Sound Errors in Toddlers
SPEECH

Speech Sound Errors in Toddlers

April 2, 2024January 27, 2025 speechinthecity Comments Off on Speech Sound Errors in Toddlers

Have you ever listened to your child talk and wondered if their speech patterns are developmentally on track? If you’re curious to learn more about your child’s speech patterns and what’s considered typical, look no further! Children tend to speak in simplified speech sound patterns when they are learning to talk. Speech pathologists call them “phonological processes”.

A key example of this is when your toddler says “nana” for “banana”. Here they are simplifying a word by deleting the weak syllable in the word, which is completely typical until 3 years of age. Once this error persists beyond 3 years old, or varying ages depending on the specific process, a child will be diagnosed with what is known as a phonological disorder. In other words, phonological disorders are diagnosed when a child’s phonological processes continue past the age of when a majority of children have stopped using them, or when the processes vary from what’s typical.

There are several phonological processes that children utilize, however, today we will focus on two opposing patterns– fronting and backing.

Fronting is a typical and common phonological process consisting of a child using sounds produced at the front of their mouth instead of the back of their mouth. For example, the sounds /k/, /g/, or even /sh/ are made with the back of your tongue. With the fronting pattern, the child replaces these sounds with sounds produced in the front, with the tip of their tongue, such as /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/ and /z/. So, the word “cake” might be pronounced as “tate” or the word “go” might be pronounced as “do”. This pattern typically resolves around 3.5 years of age. If you notice you’re child fronting past this age, consider contacting a speech-language pathologist for further evaluation.

Backing, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of fronting. Instead of your child producing sounds with the tip of their tongue, such as /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, and /z/, they substitute it with sounds produced at the back of their tongue, such as /k/ and /g/. For example, “tap” might be pronounced as “cap”, or “tat” might be pronounced as “kak”. Whereas fronting is a phonological process for children with both typical and atypical development, backing is actually not a typical process and is seen in those with more severe phonological delays/disorders. As advised for children who use fronting past 3.5 years of age, children who are backing should seek assistance from a speech-language pathologist.

These are just some examples of phonological processes that we see in children, though there are many more and we can analyze a child’s speech during a speech evalation we can determine if the phonological process is typical or atypical for their age and speech development.

expressive languagespeech disordersspeech therapy

Related Posts

<em>Speech Therapy Activities Parents Can Do at Home in 10 Minutes a Day</em>
Speech Therapy Activities Parents Can Do at Home in 10 Minutes a Day
<em>Articulation vs. Language Delay: How to Tell the Difference</em>
Articulation vs. Language Delay: How to Tell the Difference
Finding the Right Key: Why the Best Speech Therapist for Your Child Matters, and How We Can Help
Finding the Right Key: Why the Best Speech Therapist for Your Child Matters, and How We Can Help
Speech Sound Milestones in Children
Speech Sound Milestones in Children

Post navigation

Dysarthria in Children
Articulation vs. Language Delay: How to Tell the Difference
Hey, There!

Hey, There!

Welcome from Rebecca
Welcome to Speech in The City's blog. Here you'll find out lots of resources to help you or your child in speech and/or feeding therapy. We are always looking for new families to meet and professionals to learn from -Rebecca

CATEGORIES

  • AAC
  • ADVOCACY
  • ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
  • ESPAÑOL
  • FEEDING
  • LANGUAGE
  • ORAL MOTOR
  • Orofacial Myology
  • Podcasts and Interviews
  • Practice News
  • SPEECH
  • Testimonials
  • Therapy Resources

Join Us

Get the latest speech news, home therapy ideas and practice updates.

More Posts

<em>Speech Therapy Activities Parents Can Do at Home in 10 Minutes a Day</em>
LANGUAGE ➤ August 26, 2025

Speech Therapy Activities Parents Can Do at Home in 10 Minutes a Day

To support your child's language development, focus on incorporating a few simple, effective strategies into your daily routine. By using these Speech Therapy Activities Parents Can Do at Home in 10 Minutes a Day, you can make a significant impact. First, make reading time interactive with repeated-line books like "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." Use different voices and pause to let your child fill in the blanks, which helps build their vocabulary and memory. Second, get down to your child's eye level to talk. Holding objects at your eye level encourages them to watch your mouth, which helps them learn how to form words. Third, respond to every sound your child makes—coos, babbles, or even grunts. Attribute meaning to their sounds and "serve it back" by turning their sounds into full sentences. Finally, use simple gestures while you talk to your child to give them a way to communicate before they have words, and consider creating a quiet play space, like a tent, for them to feel safe and calm.

Read More
<em>Articulation vs. Language Delay: How to Tell the Difference</em>
SPEECH ➤ August 22, 2025

Articulation vs. Language Delay: How to Tell the Difference

A parent’s excitement to hear their child’s first words can quickly turn to concern if those words are hard to understand. As children grow, their communication skills develop at different paces, and it can be...

Read More
The Power of “Let’s”: Unlocking Communication for Gestalt Language Processors
AAC ➤ July 22, 2025

The Power of “Let’s”: Unlocking Communication for Gestalt Language Processors

As parents and speech-language pathologists, we’re constantly searching for ways to unlock communication for our children, especially those who learn language in unique ways. If you have a child who is a Gestalt Language Processor...

Read More

Instagram

  • Contact
  • Client Login
  • Employment
  • Newsletter
© 2025 | Made in New York City