Accuracy of articulatory movements of speech in a group of first-graders.

Associations between different types of misarticulations and morphology as well as function of the speech articulators were assessed in 287 first-grade children. Sounds produced too far anteriorly evidently were due to immaturity of the articulatory speech movements, which showed a tendency to improve spontaneously with age. Sounds produced too far posteriorly correlated positively with problems in coordinating the movements of different muscles of the tongue, indicating a possible dyspractic origin. Children who had problems with lip tonus were prone to have laterally produced misarticulations.