ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the development of speech production and provides definitions and information about speech impairments in children. Most children follow a similar pattern of development as they acquire speech. Vocabulary gradually increases and a number of characteristic speech patterns have been identified in two-year-olds as they attempt to say words and link two or more words in a phrase. By age 3 children usually pronounce the ends of words, and become able to use a wider range of speech sounds. The chapter defines some of the typical error patterns found in children between the ages of 2 and 7. The error patterns are divided into groups according to the type of error. Some children continue to use the error patterns and found in typical development, beyond the age of most of their peer group. These children are described as having a phonological delay.
