Developmental norms are used to demonstrate that a certain percentage of children of a given age can correctly articulate the target sound.

• A. They show that a certain percentage of children of a given age can correctly articulate the target sound.
• B. They indicate the therapeutic technique that will be most effective.
• C. They prove the misarticulation is always due to faulty learning.
• D. They confirm the child's misarticulation is unrelated to physical factors.

Answer: (A)

Developmental norms are age-specific benchmarks that show how many children at a given age can correctly articulate a target sound. They provide a percentage or range, so a clinician can compare a child’s performance to peers and decide whether it’s typical for that age or suggests a need for further assessment. If a child’s ability falls below the expected percentage for their age, it can indicate a delay or disorder and guide intervention decisions. These norms aren’t about which therapy technique will work, nor do they prove that misarticulation stems from faulty learning or is unrelated to physical factors; they simply describe typical development patterns to inform assessment.