Resonance is where the voice bounces around in the body to become spoken words. The typical place for speech resonance is in the mouth. Some children present with resonance disorders which can cause their speech to sound "off."  Usually this means their speech it too much in the nose or too far back in the throat. Sometimes, these children are pre- or post-operative cleft palate repair. A speech therapist can assess a child's resonance and is an expert at qualifying the disorder. Here are some examples. 

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• hypernasality: this speech comes through the nose. This can be a quality that is heard or some sounds like /s/ are pushed out the nose or speech sounds like /b, p/ turn to /m/. 

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• hyponasality: this speech sounds like the child has a stuffy nose. Some sounds, like /m, n/ sound like /b, d/.

 

• back resonance: this type of resonance sounds "throaty" or some would describe it as Kermit the Frog. Other times a child simply will not produce any sounds in the mouth but only "throat sounds" such as /h, k, g/ or grunts. 

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