Articulation is a term which refers to making sounds. The production of sounds involves the coordinated movements of the lips, tongue, teeth, palate (top of the mouth) and respiratory system (lungs). There are also many different nerves and muscles used for speech.
When young children are growing, they develop speech sounds in a predictable order. A child with an articulation disorder has problems making sounds and forming particular speech sounds properly. One example is lisping (when s sounds like th). A child may not be able to produce a particular sound, for example the 'r' sound, saying 'wabbit' instead of 'rabbit'. These disorders are generally very specific and need speech therapy to correct the concern
Phonology refers to the pattern in which sounds are put together to make words. This means that a child can produce a sound correctly, but may use it in the wrong position in a word, or in the wrong word. For example a child may use the 'd' sound instead of the 'g' sound, and so they say 'doe' instead of 'go'.
Another rule of speech is that some words start with two consonants, such as broken or spoon. When children don't follow this rule, and say only one of the sounds ("boken" for broken or "poon" for spoon).
