Speech and the Kindergarten Child When children enter school, whether it is in preschool or kindergarten, they need to learn a whole new repertoire of communication skills. Many children have difficulty pronouncing some sounds (speech). Chances are, their family is familiar with their speech patterns but now they need to communicate with new adults and peers. Kindergarten is often a time when children’s awareness of sounds is awakened. With the help of their classroom teacher, they begin to learn letter names and sounds. Our teachers use a program of pointing “cues” which help to heighten each child’s awareness of the placement of their lips, tongue, and teeth. It is appropriate for kindergarten children to still mispronounce many sounds (e.g. l, r, th, s, v) but children often develop improved sound production during kindergarten and first grade due to maturation and exposure to print. In kindergarten, children also need to develop new language skills. Information is no longer presented to them individually as it is at home. They need to learn the kindergarten vocabulary (e.g. what a “cubby” is, which part of the room is the “circle area,” etc.) There are new turn-taking skills for talking in groups and, most importantly, children are taught to use descriptive language to participate in discussions. They learn to “predict” what is going to happen in a story, they learn to “estimate” the number of objects in a jar, they learn to describe a graph using terms such as “more than” and “equal to,” they learn to discuss possible causes and effects, they learn to relate information in a sequence, and much, much more. Kindergarten teachers understand that these skills are just beginning to develop and that different children will master skills at different times. The classroom curriculum is designed to teach these skills rather than require consistent, independent use right from the start. If a teacher feels that a child is having difficulty in one of these areas, she may request a screening or observation. Often times, this will result in some suggestions for classroom use. However, if it is suspected that the child may have a speech/language disability (e.g. oral motor planning problem, auditory processing disorder, etc.) an evaluation may be recommended. If treatment is initiated, it will usually include a home component and will always involve classroom carryover of skills. Functioning in school is our primary objective! Speech Screening Results Parents of kindergarten children are often concerned about their child’s ability to speak clearly. While some children may use all sounds correctly by the age of five, some may not finish maturing in this area until they are seven or eight years old. Several studies have been conducted to collect information on normal sound development. One widely accepted study by E. Sander (1972) provided both average age estimates and upper age limits of consonant production (i.e. age when 50% of all children produce a sound, age when 90% of all children produce a sound.) They are as follows: 50% standards 2 years: p, m, h, n, w, b, k, g, d, t, ng 2.5 years: f, y 3 years: r, l, s 3.5 years: ch, sh, z 4 years: j, v 5 years: th 90% standards 3 years: p, m, h, n, w 4 years: b, k, g, d, f, y 6 years: t, ng, r, l 7 years: ch, sh, j 8 years: s, z, v, th Therefore, while sounds such as “r, l, and s” may be produced correctly by half of all 3 year olds, they are not typically produced by most (90%) children until the ages of six or eight. If you are noticing that your child is mispronouncing 1-3 sounds, especially “th, l, r or s,” there is probably no need for concern. This is considered to be typical kindergarten speech production. However, if your child is mispronouncing more than 3 sounds, especially those which are usually produced correctly by 90% of all 3 and 4 year olds, you should discuss this matter with your child’s classroom teacher. She can provide you with information about your child’s ability to be understood in the classroom as well as some information on activities to reinforce good sound production at home.