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September 19, 2015

Avast Me Hearties! And Happy “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”! Yes, this really is an annual, bona fide event, and one that I have been waiting for all year. And I happen to have friends that are experts in “pirate lingo”, the key to which is a great /r/ sound. ARRRR!

The /r/ sound is one that is a common error sound for many children, and one that children may not outgrow, without help. Although 75% of children master /r/ by age 4 years, I see children and adults all the time wherever I go and also on television, who did not outgrow their /r/ problem. They tend to substitute a /w/ sound or produce a sound that is half-way between a /w/ and an /r/. I can't help but think, oh, I could help that person! /R/ happens to be one of the most difficult sounds in the English language to learn, if not THE most difficult.

It’s no wonder that /r/ is challenging. There are many reasons for this, the first being that for other sounds in the English there is a definitive contact point for the articulators. For the /l/ sound, the tongue needs to touch the alveolar ridge directly behind the upper central incisors. For the /p, b, m/ sounds, the lips are pressed together. For the /k, g/ sounds, the back of the tongue rises up to touch the roof of the mouth or the palate. And so on. Not so for /r/. The /r/ sound does require that the sides of the back of the tongue spread out and touch the upper back molars, but that is the only point of contact, and that is not enough! As well, the tongue needs to either bunch up towards the back of the mouth or curl up and back, in the center of the mouth with no other point of contact. And there needs to be strength or tension in the tongue. To complicate matters further, there are many different /r/ sounds depending on the word position and the preceding vowel. It’s enough to make a grown pirate cry!

My own daughters substituted a /w/ for an /r/ as preschoolers. Being the keener SLP that I am, I wanted them to master the /r/ sound before they entered kindergarten. We never ever sat down to work on /r/; rather I approached it indirectly, such as pointing out objects that had the /r/ sound during daily activities such as driving or reading. Every once in awhile, I asked them to imitate a word containing /r/. After about 6 months, they each mastered the /r/ sound when they were exactly 4 ½ years old! Genetics playing a role here? Probably!

Some children will be able to learn /r/ in an indirect approach like this, but most will need speech therapy. Even though /r/ typically develops at around age 4, a child may need to be a bit older to participate in /r/ therapy. This is because /r/ is complicated to learn and the child needs to be able to follow complex instructions on tongue placement. Therapy for /r/ can be challenging and take some time, but the end result is worth it! Speaking clearly with a good /r/ sound is important for many reasons. Children may be bullied due to speech differences, and academic performance could be affected. Older children and adults with articulation errors may be stereotyped as being less intelligent or less capable.

So…..shiver me timbers! Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! Don’t hornswaggle ye lads and lassies!

In other words, if you have a child who is 4 or older who cannot produce /r/ sounds, don’t cheat your child. Call your speech-language pathologist for an assessment. Your child may even qualify for services through school. You will be doing your child an immense life-long service!

As I say fair thee well, me maties, here is a little pirate humour: Why are pirates PIRATES? Because they ARRRR!! Have fun talking like a pirate today!

Thanks for reading and please share! You never know who you may help!

Cindy McCallum, M.Sc., R. SLP, SLP(C), CCC-SLP

Registered Speech-Language Pathologist

Founder, WiseOwlSpeech