Final consonant deletion is a phonological process (type of speech and articulation error) where the child removes the final consonant from a word. This phonological process happens for several reasons, one being because consonants at the end of words require more complex muscle planning, thus being more difficult to say (Ohala, D. 1992).
Therefore, it is common for kids who struggle with speech sounds to drop off this final consonant simply because it is difficult for their mouth to get to the correct position after producing a vowel. Children may also struggle with producing specific consonants if they have conditions that affect their tongue, teeth, lips, cheeks, jaw, throat or palate.
What are examples of final consonant deletion?
- “cat” becomes “ca”
- “dog” becomes “do”
- “hat” becomes “ha”
- “book” becomes “boo”
- “fish” becomes “fi”
- “bed” becomes “be”
- “cup” becomes “cu”
- “bus” becomes “bu”
- “lamp” becomes “lam”
- “frog” becomes “fro”
What is the age of elimination for final consonant deletion?
Final consonant deletion is a developmental milestone in speech, as it helps very young children simplify words that are difficult for them to say. A developmentally appropriate use of FCD is when a 2 year old may say “ba” for “bath”, or “ca” for “car” since the “th” sound and “r” sound develop later on in childhood.
Final consonant deletion, however, should disappear by age 3, according to the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA.org, 2024). If a child is still omitting the final sounds of words after 3-3.5 years of age, it is recommended that they be tested by a speech therapist.
What is speech therapy for final consonant deletion?
If your child is in speech therapy for final consonant deletion, they are going to (hopefully) have lots of fun! Most therapy activities are play-based so that your child will be motivated to engage in the activities.
Research has shown that play-based therapy for young children leads to better learning outcomes (Boyar & Taylor, 2020), so your child still worked hard in speech, even if they tell you all they did was play!
Some speech and language pathologists will target multiple speech deficits or goals in one therapy session, while others may just work on one for a few weeks, then target another.
When working with final consonant deletion, their therapist will most likely start with “auditory discrimination” activities and “minimal pair” activities to increase your child’s phonological awareness (their awareness of speech sounds and word meaning).
What is auditory discrimination?
Auditory discrimination is a crucial step in therapy, in which the therapist makes sure the child can hear the difference between the word they want to say, and the word they are actually saying. For example, the therapist might show a picture of a ghost and have your child say “boo”, then a picture of a firework and have them say “boom”.
Once your child understands the difference between the two words and establishes which each one says, the therapist might hold up one of the pictures and ask them “what is this one?”. This will get the child to understand that when they say “boo”, they are saying a word that means “what a ghost says”, and NOT “boom”, the sound of a firework.
This is to help your child establish that words have meaning, and that they are saying words incorrectly when they remove the final consonant. Keep in mind, your therapist will not require your child to say sounds that they have not yet developed according to their age.
What are minimal pairs?
Minimal pairs are two words that differ by one phoneme, consonant, or sound, such as “dog” and “dot”, or “cup” and “cut”. Your child’s therapist will use minimal pair words to help their auditory discrimination.
Once your child is able to discriminate between minimal pair words, their therapist will begin by showing more pictures of things whose name has a consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC structure. Some examples are “cat”, “bat”, “bed”, “cup”, “log”, “dog”, “mom”, “dad”, “hug”, and “sun”. Your child will be asked to name the items and objects and will be prompted by their therapist when they require help.
Therapy continues until the child reaches 80-90% accuracy with little to no prompting from their therapist. When addressing speech sounds and phonological processes, therapists start with the smallest unit of language, and increase the complexity until the child reaches a comfortable, conversational level.
For final consonant deletion therapy, this starts with being able to distinguish between a correct production of a word and an incorrect production. Once the child has mastered this ability with the word by itself, they will eventually move onto mastering CVC words at the phrase level, sentence level, reading level then finally at the conversation level.
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What can I do at home to help their therapy?
Speak with your child’s speech therapist to have them send your child home with homework activities designed specifically for them based on their speech goals. Additionally, to help your child with final consonant deletion at home, you can engage in various activities and strategies to encourage correct pronunciation of final consonants.
- Play articulation games: Focus on words with final consonants, such as matching games, bingo, or flashcards.
- Rhyming Games: Engage in rhyming activities that highlight the final sounds of words (e.g., “cat” and “bat”).
- Practice with free printable worksheets
- Reading aloud: Choose beginner books with cvc words like Pete the Cat that have repetitive phrases and emphasize final consonants. Read aloud to your child and pause to let them repeat after you. Ask your child to identify and say the final sounds of words during reading sessions.
- Sound segmentation: Help your child break down words into individual sounds, emphasizing the final consonant. For example, for “cat,” say “/k/ – /a/ – /t/” and have your child repeat.
- Positive Reinforcement: Give praise and use a reward systems with small treats for when your child correctly pronounces spontaneously final consonants.
- Auditory Discrimination Activities: Have your child listen to pairs of words and determine if they end with the same sound.
Does hearing loss affect final consonant deletion?
Hearing loss can significantly impact speech and language development. Hearing loss can impede a child’s ability to hear and therefore produce certain sounds, especially softer or less emphasized sounds like final consonants. Without clear auditory feedback, children may struggle to replicate these sounds correctly.
Children with hearing loss might have difficulty distinguishing between different speech sounds, particularly those that occur at the end of words. This can lead to a higher incidence of final consonant deletion as they may not hear or perceive these sounds accurately.
Proper speech sound development relies on hearing a full range of speech sounds. Hearing loss can disrupt this process, leading to delayed or atypical speech patterns, including the omission of final consonants.
Additional Resources
The podcast episode below from Speech and Language Kids provides excellent information on final consonant deletion as well as activities and advice for parents whose kids have been diagnosed with a speech disorder.
