Counseling the parents of a child with an articulation disorder, developmental norms show which of the following?

• A. The child's misarticulation will interfere with reading skills.
• B. A certain percentage of children of a certain age can correctly articulate the misarticulated sound.
• C. The misarticulation is caused by faulty learning.
• D. The misarticulation is not physically based.

Answer: (B)

Developmental norms are used to tell us what level of articulation is typical for a child at a given age. When counseling parents about an articulation disorder, the important takeaway is that a certain percentage of children of that age can produce the target sound correctly. This helps set expectations and determine if there is a delay that may warrant intervention. The focus of these norms is production accuracy by age, not necessarily reading outcomes, even though literacy can be affected in some cases. The idea that the misarticulation is caused by faulty learning or that it is not physically based aren’t what the norms convey; etiology and physical factors are separate considerations. In short, the normative data tell you how many children at that age should be able to articulate the sound correctly, guiding counseling and decisions about therapy.