Children with speech disorders face unique challenges that can impact their ability to communicate effectively. For parents and caregivers, understanding the nature of these disorders and the potential interventions is key to supporting their child’s speech and language development. One critical distinction in speech therapy is between primary speech disorders and secondary speech disorders. Here, our Akron speech therapists explore what a primary speech disorder is, how it differs from secondary speech disorders, and the various interventions a pediatric speech therapist may use to treat these conditions.

What is a Primary Speech Disorder?

A primary speech disorder refers to a speech difficulty that is not associated with any other cognitive, developmental, or medical condition. In other words, the child’s speech issues are the primary concern, and there is no underlying condition contributing to the speech delay or impairment. Children with primary speech disorders often have normal cognitive and physical development but struggle with articulating sounds, producing speech fluently, or using appropriate speech patterns for their age.

Examples of primary speech disorders include:

• Articulation disorders: Difficulty producing specific sounds (e.g., substituting “w” for “r”).
• Phonological disorders: Patterns of sound errors, such as leaving off the final consonants of words.
• Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): A motor planning disorder in which the brain struggles to coordinate the movements necessary for speech.

How Primary Speech Disorders Differ from Secondary Speech Disorders

In contrast, secondary speech disorders occur as a result of other conditions. These conditions can include developmental disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or hearing impairments. Speech difficulties in these cases are secondary to the primary diagnosis.

Children with secondary speech disorders may present a combination of challenges—speech issues alongside delays in cognitive, social, or physical development. As such, their treatment often requires a multidisciplinary approach involving other specialists like occupational therapists or special education teachers.

As our Akron speech therapists can explain, a key difference between primary and secondary speech disorders is that primary disorders are isolated, while secondary disorders are one aspect of a broader developmental profile.

Interventions for Primary Speech Disorders

For children with primary speech disorders, speech therapy is typically the most effective intervention. A pediatric speech therapist designs individualized treatment plans based on the child’s specific speech needs. Some common approaches include:

1. Articulation Therapy

Articulation therapy focuses on improving the child’s ability to physically produce speech sounds correctly. Children with articulation disorders may substitute one sound for another, omit sounds, or distort sounds. The therapist works with the child on specific sounds they struggle with, using visual cues (like looking in the mirror), verbal feedback, and physical manipulation of the mouth and tongue if necessary.

Intervention Techniques:

• Practicing isolated sounds, then moving to syllables, words, and sentences.
• Using fun activities, such as games, to keep the child engaged while practicing sounds.

Articulation therapy is highly structured, and children practice repeatedly in controlled settings to improve their speech clarity.

2. Phonological Therapy

Phonological therapy targets children who demonstrate patterns of sound errors (e.g., consistently dropping the final consonants from words or replacing certain consonants with others). Rather than focusing on individual sounds, phonological therapy addresses broader patterns in the child’s speech.

Intervention Techniques:

• Minimal pairs therapy, where two words that differ by only one sound are used (e.g., “cat” vs. “bat”) to help the child understand the meaning change associated with sound differences.
• Activities that focus on correcting the child’s pattern of errors by gradually reintroducing the correct sounds into their speech.

3. Motor Planning Therapy (for CAS)

For children with childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), the focus is on motor planning, or teaching the brain how to sequence the movements required to produce sounds and words. These children know what they want to say but cannot coordinate the muscle movements to do so.

Intervention Techniques:

• Intensive, frequent practice of sound sequences, starting with simple syllables and gradually increasing in complexity.
• Use of multisensory cues, including visual aids, touch cues (e.g., tapping the child’s lips), and sometimes sign language or AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) to help bridge the gap until the child can produce words verbally.

4. Parent and Caregiver Involvement

Another critical component of speech therapy for primary speech disorders is the involvement of parents and caregivers. Home practice is essential for reinforcing the techniques learned in therapy. Speech therapists often provide parents with exercises, materials, and strategies to help support their child’s progress at home.

How Treatment Differs for Secondary Speech Disorders

For children with secondary speech disorders, the treatment approach is often more holistic. Speech therapy for these children addresses speech issues in the context of other developmental challenges. This may involve collaboration with occupational therapists, ABA therapists, or physical therapists to ensure that the child’s speech therapy goals align with their broader developmental needs.

For instance, a child with autism might receive social communication therapy as part of their speech intervention to help them understand the pragmatics of conversation, such as taking turns in conversation or recognizing social cues. Additionally, children with secondary speech disorders may require assistive communication devices or more extensive support for cognitive and social development alongside their speech therapy.

Bottom Line:

Effective interventions for children with primary speech disorders focus on addressing the child’s specific speech challenges, whether through articulation therapy, phonological therapy, or motor planning techniques.

Our pediatric Akron speech therapists play a key role in tailoring these interventions to each child’s needs, ensuring that they can communicate effectively and confidently. While treatment for primary speech disorders is highly individualized and focused on the speech itself, interventions for secondary speech disorders take a more comprehensive approach, addressing speech alongside other developmental concerns. Through targeted therapy and parent involvement, children with primary speech disorders can make significant progress in their communication abilities.

Therapy & Wellness Connection – your connection to a life without limitations – provides speech therapy to children in Akron, Cleveland, Brecksville-Broadview Heights and surrounding communities. We also offer summer camp, day programs, education services, vocational counseling and more. Call us at (330) 748-4807 or send us an email.

Additional Resources:

Law J, Dennis JA, Charlton JJV. Speech and language therapy interventions for children with primary speech and/or language disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Jan 9;2017(1):CD012490. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012490. PMCID: PMC6464758.

More Blog Entries:

Speech Delay, Apraxia, Autism: Differences Explained by Brecksville Speech Therapists, Aug. 15, 2024, Akron Speech Therapists Blog