ANALYSIS OF ERRORS IN CHILDREN WITH SIGMATISMUS IN THE BOSNIAN/ CROATIAN/SERBIAN LANGUAGE

The aim of this study was to analyze the errors in the speech of pre-school children with sigmatismus in the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian language, in terms of frequency of occurrence of certain types of incorrectly pronounced sounds in the group with sigmatismus, as well as to analyze the occurrence of sigmatismus and sigmatismus in combination with lambdacismus and rhotacismus, in dependence of the gender, the age of the subjects and their place of residence. The testing was executed on a sample of 1600 subjects, with chronological age from three to seven years, from both genders. The subjects were divided in relation to their place of residence. The articulation status of the subjects was examined. The results showed that the sigmatismus alone was the most common articulation disorder, compared to the combinations of sigmatismus with other types of articulation disorders. Sigmatismus occurred most often in the form of distortion and in a combination as distortion-substitution. The most frequent incorrectly pronounced sounds from the group with sigmatismus were the sounds [ ], [ ], [s] and [z]. The female subjects showed better articulation of sounds from the group with sigmatismus. The frequency of sigmatismus slightly decreased with the increase of the chronological age of the subjects. The results showed that the subjects from urban areas in general have a higher incidence of this articulation disorder. There are no statistically significant differences between the groups of subjects (subjects who had solely sigmatismus, subjects with sigmatismus and rhotacismus and subjects with sigmatismus and lambdacismus) in relation to their place of origin and their gender. Having in mind the persistence of this speech disorders in pre-school age and the outcome of the results, it is important to ensure continuous monitoring process of the children even at this age, and at the same time provide careful and detailed assessment of the children who already have a sigmatismus, in order to offer timely treatment and work with these children.