Speech Language Pathologists are trained in assessing and treating speech sounds disorders this includes treating the underlying muscles required and also providing cues to toddlers and young children to help them learn the motore movements necessary to produce each sound. M, B, P are the earliest because they are easy to see and often involve muslces (lips) that are early developing versus later developing muscles such as (tongue). Before we learn how to help our children make these sounds we first need to understand how we make them ourselves.
How do we make these sounds:
Early Developing Sounds M, B, P all use our upper and lower lips, they are called bilabial sounds. They require our lips to come together long enough for air pressure to build up behind them. This requires the soft muscles in our mouth (the velum) to close properly stopping air form exiting our nose.
When should our children make these sounds?
By 2 years of age your child should be using M, B and P in a variety of words. When a child is past the age of 2 they will benefit from cues provided to them to help them say these sounds in easy to say words such as "up", "Bye" and "Mom". When toddlers after the age of two continue to use only vowels and dont use the sounds M, B, P a speech language patholgoist can help determine if there are any oral strucutres that are not working correctly for this intricate and complicated movement task. When the structure is normal it somtimes still requires remidation. It is important to not use these cues or put pressure to use correct sounds before the age of 2 as this is a time your child and yourself should focuss on langauge understanding.