Which symptom typically indicates phonological impairment rather than articulation impairment?

The presence of persistent use of age-inappropriate speech patterns is a strong indicator of phonological impairment. Phonological impairment generally involves a broader understanding and organization of sounds within the language system, affecting an individual's ability to understand and implement the phonological rules of their language.

When a child consistently demonstrates speech patterns that do not align with what is expected at their age, such as continuing to use certain sound patterns or processes that are typically resolved by a certain developmental age, it highlights their difficulty with the underlying phonological rules rather than just the production of specific sounds.

In contrast, consistent sound substitutions and omission of sounds might indicate specific issues related to articulation, where an individual might still understand the phonological rules but struggles with the physical production of sounds. Difficulty producing fricatives is also more aligned with articulation challenges where the production of that particular sound is the issue, not the understanding of phonological processes.