speech language pathologist in spanish translation

How to Describe Speech Disorders in Spanish

Multilingual Learners - Evaluation and Therapy , Articulation / Speech Sound Disorders

It’s one thing to speak Spanish, it’s another thing to have field-specific vocabulary to talk about speech disorders in Spanish. Whether you are a fluent Spanish speaker, a novice Spanish speaker, or a non-Spanish speaker, as a speech-language pathologist you will need to be able to describe speech disorders in Spanish at some point in your career.

Below you’ll find several lists of words used to talk about communication development and communication disorders in Spanish. We’ve included a list of phonological processes in English and Spanish. You will also find English terms and their Spanish translations to describe articulation skills and articulation goals. These will come in handy during IEP meetings and when reviewing evaluations and progress with families.

Talking about Phonological Processes in Spanish

Let’s start with Spanish phonological processes. When talking about phonological processes in English we might share with a parent that,

Phonological processes are normal patterns that occur in developing speech due to motor constraints. Children stop using some patterns around age three and other patterns are used longer. It’s when these patterns are used past the point at which most children stop using them that they are considered a problem.

And for our Spanish-speaking parents, we might share that,

Los procesos fonológicos son patrones normales que ocurren en el desarrollo del habla  mientras que el sistema de articulación madura. Los niños dejan de usar algunos patrones alrededor de los tres años y otros patrones se usan por más tiempo. Es cuando estos patrones se usan más de lo normal que se consideran un problema.

And here’s a great chart with English and Spanish developmental norms that you can include in your reports.

This chart provides examples of different processes in English and Spanish and some guidelines for when phonological processes are suppressed. Remember that with any charts of development, there is a lot of variation in children and studies. Use them as guidelines to inform your evaluation and to guide your dynamic assessment process and evaluation of stimulability.

Phonological Processes Chart

* Based on the work of Goldstein (Spanish) and Shriberg (English).

For more information about phonological processes in Spanish and speech disorders in Spanish, check out this ASHA article and this great resource .

Let’s talk about how we describe articulation disorders in Spanish.

With articulation, we are often describing where a sound is made and how a sound is made. In speech lingo, that’s place and manner of production. Below is a table of frequent terminology we use to talk about articulation disorders in English and Spanish.

When we talk to parents about articulation disorders we might say,

Articulation deals with the way we use our lips, tongue, and teeth to produce different sounds. When we evaluate articulation skills, we look to see if there is a particular sound or type of sound that is difficult to produce. We talk about these sounds by the place they are articulated and by the way we make them.

In Spanish, that would sound like this:

La articulación se trate de la forma en que usamos los labios, la lengua, y los dientes para producir diferentes sonidos. Cuando evaluamos las habilidades de articulación, investigamos si hay un sonido espicífico o un tipo de sonido que es difícil de producir. Hablamos de estos sonidos por el lugar en que se articulan y por la forma en que los hacen.

Chart of Articulation Terms in Spanish and English

Talking about speech goals in spanish.

After we talk to parents about our concerns about their child’s speech development, we talk about goals and how we are going to work on the areas of need. Here are some of the ways we talk about speech goals in Spanish.

In English, our conversation with parents might sound like this:

Your child is currently demonstrating articulation/phonology skills that are below average compared to other children his/her age. We have selected goals to address his/her areas of difficulty.

And in Spanish…

Su hijo actualmente está demostrando habilidades de articulación/fonología que están bajo del promedio en comparación con otros niños de su edad. Hemos seleccionado objetivos para ayudar con sus areas de necesidad.

Terms for Articulation Goals in Spanish and English

Spanish stuttering vocabulary.

Fluency terms in Spanish are hard to come by and are best used with examples if you are explaining goals or processes to parents or teachers. Simply translating vocabulary might not get the meaning across because even in English, someone might not understand what we mean by revisions, and vocal tension. So use these translations of stuttering terms into Spanish to facilitate not only the use of the word but also the description of the process.

Voice Disorder Spanish Terms

And if Spanish stuttering terms were hard to come by, what about Spanish voice disorder translations?! Just like with fluency translations, use this list to facilitate understanding in meetings when you are trying to explain why the client’s voice is different and what goals you are going to focus on to help.

Vocal Nasality

Voice quality, and to wrap this up, here are a few more great resources..

Talking to Spanish-speaking parents about speech disorders

The Goal Bank with Goals Written in English and Spanish

Spanish Wording for Parent Conferences

Articulation Self-Rating Charts

Communication Disorder

Thank you for providing these!

Glad they helped!

This is awesome. I appreciate the translations. The only one I feel needs to be corrected for incorrect spelling in the Spanish form is: Devoiced to Ensordecimiento (with a c, instead of an s as written here).

Thanks! I made the change. It takes a village… Scott

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Top 20 Websites to Use in Spanish Speech Therapy

***Before you read this useful post, I know you need bilingual speech therapy resources, you have two options:

• Join my money-saving membership: Bilingual Speech Therapy Resources
• Shop my store: TeachersPayTeachers Store – Sarah Wu

Bilingual Speech Therapy Resources

One of the hardest things to find is materials in Spanish for speech therapy. What’s out there is either of questionable quality or there’s just not enough of the good Spanish stuff to last over time. That’s why I created my very own Teachers Pay Teachers store where I sell speech therapy materials in Spanish .

20 Websites to Use in Spanish Speech Therapy

However, sometimes I just want a simple website to click on quickly that will facilitate my students’ language and communication skills in Spanish. Until recently, I didn’t know which websites were good because I didn’t have the time to search. If you’ve done any searching at all, there are so many websites in both English and Spanish that are total duds. I needed quality, interactive Spanish websites that were applicable to speech therapy, which means they help me teach basic language concepts and speech sounds in Spanish.

Now that I’m working in teletherapy, interactive bilingual websites are a requirement because I’m using the computer all day with students and I need to share things with them that are interactive over the computer. So I’ve done extensive research to find the best Spanish websites that you can use with your students with communication disorders. Bookmark this blog post or pin it now — you will use these websites over and over!

• Señor Wooly — Informative videos for students learning Spanish. They are extremely silly! The website is for older students learning Spanish. Some sample videos, but $45/year.
• Childtopia — I just love this website! I can log in with my paid code and find something new everyday. There is a lot to explore on just this one site, which makes me feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s available to use in speech therapy. From straight-up language games to memory and puzzles, the options are endless. (K-5) FREE and PAID $12/year
• Chillola.com — Great place for extremely basic Spanish vocabulary organized into categories. There are no games, but instead simple pictures with audio. I have used it to take baseline data about basic concepts in Spanish. (PK-1) FREE
• OnlineFreeSpanish — Another website that organizes lessons about basic Spanish vocabulary, but this website does more differentiation for ability level and there are many interactive games. I recommend exploring the site to find the best game for your students (and there are printables available as well). (PK-3) FREE
• Pocoyó  — How much do kids enjoy a fun mascot or little child to follow them as they learn? Pocoyó is an adorable tiny boy that helps kids learn the absolute basics by using games and fun characters to teach kids. (PK-K) FREE
• ChinPumJuegos — I like all the wordless games on this website to use as reinforcers during articulation therapy. For example, say 10 words, move something through a maze or click on all the raindrops to find the rainbow. The website is basic, but it is great as a reinforcer for little ones. (PK-2) FREE
• Cokitos — There is huge variety of Spanish language games from counting syllables to spelling to making your own story. You do have to go through the games to chose the right ones — and watch out for some of the ads that come out, which keep the site free, but can be odd. (PK-5) FREE
• Mundo Primaria — You have to do a little digging to find exactly what you need by topic and student ability, but I really like what I’ve used on this website. Lots of language games and some games with sounds as well. Watch out for YouTube ads here though. (1-6) FREE
• ElBuhoBoo.com — Super cute graphics are engaging for the little ones as they learn all about animals. The free version of the website is limited and has ads. I have not tried the paid version, but the demo is larger (full screen) and without the ads. (PK-K) FREE and PAID $12/year
• LearnaLanguage.com — Spanish vocabulary games organized by category with more advanced words to spark more conversations and language expansion with your students. (K-5) FREE
• Epic! — Interactive picture books in Spanish? Yes please. I bought a subscription to this ebook website and I love it. Their selection of ebooks in Spanish is growing and my students have enjoyed both fiction and nonfiction. The Spanish books are a little hard to find, but once you favorite them, you can find them again easily. (PK-5) PAID $5/month
• TumbleBooks — I don’t think I can say enough about this website. The interactive books just cannot be beat and their library in Spanish is great for all ages. Most school districts retain district-wide subscriptions with a district-wide login. Definitely see if your school district has access to this resource. (K-3) PAID by school district
• Mi Mundo en Palabras — I think this website could have been made by a speech path. It’s organized by functional language categories! That being said, the graphics are a little small. It does make it tough to see everything and it is a little clunky to navigate, but I definitely love how it touches on basic descriptive concepts and different settings from daily life. (PK-1) FREE
• Newsela –Thank goodness for Newsela! I love how each article can be modified for every reading level. I love using it with my 3rd through 5th graders. I’m using the free version because it really helps with my answering questions goals for older students and I think the free version is sufficient for speech paths. (2-12) FREE and PAID versions (cost varies)
• Aprendizaje de la lectoescritura  — Great website for articulation practice in Spanish with students. There are games for kids and great models using kids’ voices to sound out. Only annoying part of the website is that it does play music, which I haven’t figured out how to turn off! (PK-1) FREE
• Ciudad17 — Need another website to help kids learn basic shapes, color names, and common objects? This slight website has a few games that help kids learn in Spanish. (PK-K) FREE
• Rockalingua — Many foreign language teachers swear by this website because it uses music to teach Spanish, but to be honest the free content hasn’t impressed me enough to make me spring for the full, paid version. (K-3) PAID $49/year and $99/year versions.
• Story Place — Review basic concepts through a small database of Spanish activities and books. There isn’t much here, but it’s useful for one therapy session. (PK-1) FREE
• TuDiscoveryKids — This is a website for students obsessed with cartoon characters. It has a few memory and puzzles games that may help you reach some of those more challenging kids. The website is too branded for me. I see it more as a website that you can share with parents. (PK-1) FREE
• GoNoodle — My students just love GoNoodle videos, which I use in teletherapy after a session where the kids are desperate for movement breaks. They have a few Spanish videos! FREE and PAID versions ($10/month or $99/year for pro)

It’s exciting to have a blog post up all about my favorite sites. I bookmarked my own post so that I can easily click over to my favorite Spanish websites for children with communication disorders. Thanks so much for reading!

Read more about Bilingual Speech Therapy:

5 Myths about Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologists Top 25 Bilingual Speech Therapy Graduate Programs Bilingual Speech Therapy 101 The Golden Rule of Bilingualism Top 20 Websites for Speech Therapy in Spanish Speech Sound Differences between English and Spanish 10 Pros and Cons of Being a Bilingual SLP

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November 10, 2016 at 8:04 am