Checking inside the child: A case example of children’s perspectives on speech sound disorders
Background: In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, speech-language pathologists have a responsibility to incorporate children’s perspectives into the evaluation of communication difficulties, including speech sound disorders. Because children’s perspectives regarding their speech do not always align with their speech accuracy or parent report, their thoughts and feelings may go unrecognised without direct assessment.
Aim: This literature review examines current research on children’s perspectives on speech sound disorders with a case example to illustrate how clinicians can also efficiently and meaningfully incorporate their views into assessment practices.
Method/approach: A school-aged child with residual speech sound errors was invited to draw himself talking to someone, describe his feelings using an emoticon scale, and answer open-ended questions. We used the Sound Effects Study Drawing Protocol, a child-friendly interview method that requires only paper, coloured pens, and guiding questions. Parental consent and child assent were obtained for de-identified use in scholarly presentation.
Results/findings: This case example demonstrates how checking in with children on their communication experiences can surface meaningful insights with minimal time and resources. Responses reflect findings that children with speech sound disorders hold more negative communication attitudes than peers while reporting similar enjoyment of talking. Notably, the child’s comments suggested that peers’ remarks about his speech were a source of heightened self-awareness, consistent with recent evidence that negative social judgments of disordered speech emerge as early as preschool.
Conclusion: Speech-language pathologists can collect, analyse, and report children’s perspectives using practical child-friendly methods, such as drawing and talking. Incorporating children’s perspectives into evaluation is both a fundamental right and best practice to inform counselling and intervention.
Implications for children and families: You should be able to express your thoughts and feelings about your speech and the therapy you receive.
Implications for practitioners: You can uphold children’s rights by making their perspective an essential part of your evaluation.
Funding: Alexis Moser is financially supported by Grant H325D230049 to Florida State University by the Office of Special Education of the U.S. Department of Education. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Department of Education. Malachi Henry is financially supported by the James E. West Graduate Fellowship, furnished by the Acoustical Society of America.
Keywords: speech sound disorders, children’s perspectives, communication attitudes
This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: