Lambdacism, Rhotacism and Sigmatism in Preschool Children: Frequency and Distribution

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Speech sound appears first in the child’s speech development and is the primary means of expression. Articulation disorders can hinder the comprehensibility of children’s speech. The speech, in turn, can limit the child’s inclusion in the social and educational environment.
 AIM: To establish frequency and distribution of lambdacism, rhotacism and sigmatism or their combination in preschool children and the frequency and distribution of these articulation disorders among boys and girls.
 MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of data from preventive examination for early diagnosis of impairments of hearing, speech and sounds in preschool children has been carried out. In the selected sample, only the data for children diagnosed with lambdacism, rhotacism, sigmatism or their combination are analysed. The data is statistically examined, represented in tables and figures and analysed descriptively.
 RESULTS: In the analysed sample, the greater presence of lambdacism was observed before rhotacism and sigmatism. Most commonly, these three types of articulation disorder appear alone, as isolated cases, instead of a combination of two out of the three impairments. They are more common in boys than in girls.
 CONCLUSION: Timely diagnosis and rehabilitation of lambdacism, rhotacism and sigmatism or their combination in preschool children will enable easier and faster integration of the children in the social and educational environment without leaving lasting consequences

Correlation of neuropsychological indicators of child development with speech: Empirical research underpinning the National Children’s Health Prevention Programme

“…In this way a larger number of participants within the experimental group are boys (76.7%), while a larger number of girls are within the control group (56.7%) (Figure1.) The result shows that articulation speech disorders are more common in boys than in girls, as shown by other studies (10,11,12). The average age of sample participants in the E group was M=6.07+-0.5 years, and in the C group M=6.34+-0.46.…”

“…In a hierarchical development, a child first acquires simpler manipulative hand movements, such as palmar grip, that eventually evolve into the pincer grip. In the C group, we had considerably more of those using the pincer grip, which involves the ability of proper grip (appropriate to the examined age group), characterised by thumb opposition and meaningful coordination of movements of hand segments in performing manipulative activities (12,13). Statistical difference was also found on the item "presence of involuntary movements".…”