A child who produces the sound 'SH' like 'S' is exhibiting signs of what condition?

The production of the sound 'SH' as 'S' indicates palatal fronting. This condition occurs when a child substitutes a palatal sound (like 'SH') with an alveolar sound (like 'S'). This type of sound substitution is a common phonological process in young children as they are developing their speech abilities.

Palatal sounds are produced with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate, while alveolar sounds are produced with the tongue against the alveolar ridge. In this case, the child is not able to articulate the more complex palatal sound and replaces it with an easier-to-produce sound. This phenomenon is typically noted during early speech development, but if it persists beyond the typical age range, it may warrant further assessment and intervention by a speech-language pathologist.

The other options do not accurately describe this specific speech pattern. Vowel distortion relates to difficulties with vowel sounds, Pig Latin is a playful manipulation of language rather than a speech issue, and a language delay would refer to broader difficulties in language development rather than specific phoneme production issues.