ASSESSMENT OF COMMON PLACEMENT AND MANNER ERRORS IN PATIENTS WITH ARTICULATION DISORDER

Background: Articulation disorders are common in children and refer to difficulties in producing speech sounds. These disorders often involve placement and manner errors that can impact speech intelligibility. Previous studies have explored these errors in various populations, but the prevalence and types of errors in children aged 3-12 years remain under examined, particularly in non-Western languages. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the common placement and manner errors in children aged 3-12 years diagnosed with articulation disorders. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in government and private hospitals and rehabilitation centers. A total of 183 children were included through purposive sampling. Data was collected using an articulation screening tool, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. Results: The most common placement error was alveolar (38.8%), followed by palatal (24.6%). Fricatives were the most frequent manner error (41.5%), and most errors occurred in the initial position of words (56.8%). Statistical analysis revealed significant associations between placement errors and age, and between manner errors and gender. Conclusion: The study identifies key articulation errors in children, with placement errors primarily involving alveolar and palatal sounds, and manner errors predominantly involving fricatives. These findings highlight the need for early intervention and targeted therapy to address these speech challenges.