What is the Difference Between a Speech Evaluation and an Articulation Evaluation?

The word speech, in the context of speech therapy, encompasses all the processes of making the sounds of speech. Potential speech disorders include articulation, apraxia, stuttering, phonological and more. Articulation refers specifically to how a sound is formulated with the mouth. Errors in the sounds attempted would denote an articulation disorder. This is commonly heard when a child says wabbit instead of rabbit, replacing the r sound with a w. This mispronunciation is only considered an articulation disorder if a child is past a certain age of expected development.

Speech Evaluation

When it comes to evaluating the need for speech therapy and the specific speech disorder that needs addressing, there really is no difference between an articulation evaluation and a speech evaluation. Our speech therapists will evaluate a person’s speech in totality. We will take note of the sounds they make versus the sounds intended. We will watch for mouth movements and motor functions that could be the cause of any speech difficulty. The evaluation is designed to determine if the issue is articulation, phonological, apraxia, developmental, language, or otherwise.

Our expert staff evaluates each new speech therapy client to assess their need and create a custom strategy for their speech therapy program. To do this, we evaluate for every speech or language disorder and can even identify other underlying conditions that could require assistance from another professional.

Articulation falls under the umbrella of speech, and a speech therapy evaluation assesses the full spectrum of speech and language disorders. If someone in your life might be in need of speech therapy, call or contact us today. 704-845-0561 A speech evaluation is the first step in figuring out if speech therapy might be right for them.