Articulation, in speech, is the production and use of speech sounds. It is considered "normal" for children at younger ages to misarticulate these sounds. SLP's refer to these sounds as phonemes. SLP's refer to studies of children to determine at which age the majority of the population are able to produce speech sounds.
When a child misarticulates many sounds, an SLP should look for phonological patterns. Again, at younger ages, it is "normal" for phonological patterns to be present in speech. For example, it us normal for a child to substitute a /w/ for an /r/ at young ages. This process is referred to as "gliding."
Another example: there are children at young ages who can produce the /r/ phoneme, but in a study widely used in the profession, it was not until the age of 8, where 90% of the studied population were able to use the /r/ correctly. In the school setting for a child to receive therapy, it must be determined that they have a disorder that is effecting their ability to function in the classroom as they will be missing time in the regular education classroom in order to receive speech therapy.
Private clinics may refer to a study indicating where 85% of the population were able to produce each phoneme.
SLP's can determine through standardized and non-standardized measures, whether a child would benefit from speech or phonological therapy in less than 30 minutes with a cooperative child. If you are concerned with being able to understand your child, please call or email us. I would be happy to answer any questions.
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