Functional Articulation Disorder

Japanese: 機能的構音障害 - きのうてきこうおんしょうがい（英語表記）Functional Articulation Disorder

[What kind of disability is it?]
Children gradually learn correct pronunciation as their language develops, and by the age of 6, they are able to distinguish almost all of the Japanese sound patterns. For example, a 3- or 4-year-old child calling his mother "okaa-shan" is considered an immature pronunciation seen in the normal course of development, and is not considered an articulation disorder.
In contrast, a fixed pronunciation error that exceeds the child's developmental stage and sometimes persists into adulthood, even though there are no morphological or motor abnormalities in the speech organs, is called a functional speech disorder.
[Testing and diagnosis]
In order to avoid overlooking articulation disorders due to other causes, diagnosis is made by testing the morphology and movement of the speech organs, hearing, language development, etc. To get a detailed understanding of the symptoms, an articulation test by a speech-language-hearing therapist is required.
[Treatment]
If the child's pronunciation deviates from the normal developmental process and it is determined that if left untreated it will carry over and become fixed into older ages, the child will undergo training by a speech-language-hearing therapist.

Source: Shogakukan Home Medical Library Information

Japanese:

[どんな障害か]
　子どもは、ことばの発達にともなって少しずつ正しい発音を覚えていき、6歳前後でほぼすべての日本語の音のパターンを出し分けられるようになります。たとえば3～4歳の子どもが母親のことを「おかあしゃん」と呼ぶのは、正常な発達経過にみられる未熟な発音と考えられ、構音障害とはいいません。
　これに対し、発語器官に形の異常や運動障害がないにもかかわらず、その子どもの発達段階を逸脱し、ときには成人までもち越して固定した発音の誤りを、機能的構音障害といいます。
[検査と診断]
　ほかの原因による構音障害を見落とさないために、発語器官の形態と運動、聴力、言語発達などの検査を行なって診断します。症状の詳しい把握には、言語聴覚士（げんごちょうかくし）による構音検査が必要です。
[治療]
　正常の発達過程を逸脱した発音で、放置すると年長までもち越して固定すると判断されると、言語聴覚士による訓練が行なわれます。

出典　小学館家庭医学館について　情報

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