Speech, although a truly complex process, can be explained in simple terms as the conversion of ideas into a stream of sounds. It results from the planning and executing of specific motor sequences. The process of speech production relies on a number of anatomical structures including the lungs, vocal folds, throat, tongue, lips, and jaw, whose primary functions are life sustaining, specifically for respiration and feeding, with speech production being secondary. These anatomical structures function together to coordinate respiration and vocalization followed by swift movements of the articulators (i.e. the lips, jaw, teeth, and tongue) to modify the airstream resulting in vowels and consonants. By rapidly combining a variety of sounds we form words that we use to convey meaning. However, speech in and of itself does not carry meaning.

To further illustrate the concept of speech, think for a moment about listening to a language that you do not understand. You would hear the speech, the sounds coming out of one's mouth, but you would not understand the meaning of what you hear if you did not understand the language. Speech independent of language does not carry meaning.

In speaking with other professionals about your child, you may hear the term articulation used to refer to your child's speech. Articulation relates to one's ability to produce individual speech sounds. Some children are diagnosed as having an articulation disorder, meaning they have difficulty producing one or more speech sounds, like /r/ or /th/.

Please check back for our next issue of Parent Matters when we will discuss the concept of language.

Colleen Chambers, MS, CCC-SLP