Speech Therapy Consulting
Speech Therapy Consulting
Pediatric Speech Therapy · Dixon, CA
Articulation and phonological therapy for clearer speech. Free consultation. Insurance accepted.
No obligation. We respond within one business day.
If others frequently have difficulty understanding your child, these signs may indicate an articulation or phonological disorder.
Replacing one sound with another -- "wabbit" for "rabbit" or "tat" for "cat" -- beyond the typical age of mastery.
Leaving out sounds in words -- "bu" for "bus" or "nana" for "banana" -- making speech hard to follow.
By age 3, strangers should understand about 75% of your child's speech. By age 4, speech should be almost fully intelligible.
Your child gets upset when not understood, avoids talking, or relies on gestures instead of words.
Air escaping from the sides of the tongue (lateral lisp) or tongue protruding between the teeth on /s/ and /z/ sounds.
Reducing consonant clusters ("top" for "stop"), or repeating syllables ("baba" for "bottle") past the expected age.
Reference: Crowe & McLeod (2020); ASHA Practice Portal, Speech Sound Disorders.
Children acquire speech sounds on a predictable timeline. This table shows when most children master each group of sounds.
| Age | Sounds Typically Mastered | Intelligibility |
|---|---|---|
| 2 years | /p/, /b/, /m/, /d/, /n/, /h/, /w/ | ~50% understood by strangers |
| 3 years | /t/, /k/, /g/, /f/, /ng/ | ~75% understood by strangers |
| 4 years | /ch/, /sh/, /j/, /s/, /z/ | ~90% understood by strangers |
| 5-6 years | /l/, /r/, /v/, "th" | ~95-100% understood |
| 7-8 years | All sounds mastered including blends | Fully intelligible |
Source: Crowe & McLeod (2020), Normative data on speech sound acquisition.
Structured, evidence-based sessions that make learning new sounds engaging for your child.
Articulation therapy teaches your child how to produce sounds correctly through systematic practice -- starting with individual sounds, then words, sentences, and finally conversation.
"Our son was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4. The first services we received was speech therapy as he was unable to express himself. We were lucky enough to have been paired with Stacey. Our son has been in speech therapy for almost a year now and has improved so much."
— Lopez Family, Dixon, CA
"STC helped me ease my daughter into attending sessions independently instead of needing me to accompany her to every session, which has given her more confidence. We've experienced other speech therapy service providers and STC is by far our favorite. It feels like a second home."— Ann & Rose, Vacaville, CA
Most children master all speech sounds by age 7-8. However, certain sounds like /r/, /s/, /l/, and /th/ are expected later (ages 5-7), while sounds like /p/, /b/, /m/ should be mastered by age 3. If your child is difficult to understand for their age, an evaluation can determine if therapy would help.
Duration depends on the number and type of sound errors. Children with a few sound substitutions may need 3-6 months, while those with phonological patterns may require 6-12 months. We provide regular progress updates so you can track improvement.
Articulation disorders involve difficulty producing specific sounds (e.g., a lisp on /s/). Phonological disorders involve patterns of sound errors (e.g., replacing all sounds made in the back of the mouth with front sounds). Treatment approaches differ, which is why a proper evaluation matters.
We accept Sutter HMO, Kaiser, Cigna, Blue Shield PPO, Western Health Advantage, and North Bay Regional Center for children ages 0-3.
Absolutely. Home practice is a key component of progress. We provide specific activities and word lists tailored to your child's target sounds. Even 5-10 minutes of daily practice significantly accelerates improvement.
Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your child's speech clarity.
Or call (707) 366-5246