Teaching Speech Sounds: The Process of Articulation Therapy
Teaching kids how to say speech sounds they can’t produce is called
“Articulation Therapy.” As a speech-language pathologist I assess what
sounds need to be learned and then systematically train a child how to
produce them. It is one of the most rewarding things I do.
I love when it begins to click and I can see my clients producing their sounds correctly and confidently.
I have created several worksheets
for you to use with your child or your students, but I thought that it
would be helpful for me to explain the process of how to teach these
sounds. There are many reasons a child might not be able to say a
certain sound(s). Some of those may be related to apraxia of speech,
phonological disorders, cranio-facial anomalies (i.e. cleft lip/palate),
etc. Those special cases will not be discussed right now in this post.
I will be explaining a traditional articulation therapy hierarchy. It
is a brief and basic outline you can use when teaching your child or
student to produce certain sounds he/she is struggling to say.
It is always a good idea to check with your local speech-language
pathologist so they can fully assess your child’s speech and language
needs. A speech therapist will usually give an Articulation Test to see
which sounds are in error and in which part of the word (beginning,
middle, or end). Once this is determined, they will see if those errors
are typical for kids of that age or not. They will then recommend
therapy if necessary.
Just to let you know – there are a few different ways of teaching
speech sounds to kids. I’m going to walk you through what is known as
the “Traditional Articulation Therapy” approach. Depending on the age,
number of sounds in errors, and other underlying factors an SLP may
choose to use a different approach – again, just another good reason to
consult with your local SLP! They will be happy to help you and your
child!
Okay, let’s go through each step of the traditional process of articulation therapy!
1. ISOLATION
The first thing you want to do is see if your child can make the
sound by itself. We call this first level ‘isolation’. See if they can
copy you as you model how to say the individual sound. Have them
really listen and watch you say the sound first and then copy you. If
they can correctly imitate you – this is great! We would then say that
they are stimulable for that sound, meaning they can physically produce
it! (i.e. lift their tongue into the right spot in their mouth, etc.)
Now you would begin to help incorporate that good speech sound into all
levels of speech!
At the isolation level, you can begin to model the correct sound
production in your everyday speech with your child. Try to highlight and
emphasize it whenever you say it. Print out some of the worksheets
that have their sound in them and talk about the words and the pictures
with your child. Using the conversational re-cast is another great
tool! It is so simple and effective. If you hear your child use an
incorrect sound (gag for dad) you would say something like this:
Child: ”I want to play with gag” (dad)!
Parent: ”Yes, you can play with DaD after lunch!”
You just re-say or re-cast the sentence your child just said, BUT you
emphasize the correct sounds. This is much better than asking your
child to continually repeat their words or sentences – which can be so
frustrating for kids. By hearing you say the correct sound immediately
after they have made the error, they are getting the feedback they need!
If your child cannot imitate you at all, then you would want to begin
teaching them where to put their tongue in their mouth in order to say
the certain sound (i.e. behind upper teeth (for /t/ or /d/ sounds) or
(in the back of the throat for /k/ or /g/ sounds).
2. SYLLABLES
The second level in the process of articulation therapy is called the
‘syllable level’. This is when we pair the individual sound (which they
should be able to produce now) with a vowel. At this level, you would
use the long and short vowel sounds along with the target sound.
Let’s say you are working on the /t/ sound. Here is how you
introduce that sound in syllables in all positions (beginning, middle,
and end). Have your child practice saying the sound at the beginning
of the syllable: tay, tea, tie, toe, to. Then at the end of the
syllable: at, et, it, ot, ut. Then finally in the middle of the
syllable: atta, etta, itta, otto, uttu. Once your child can say the
sound at the syllable level, you can move on to words!
3. WORDS
Now it’s time to put that sound into real words! Start with the beginning of the word using the worksheet
pages to make cards. Then move to the end and then the middle of the
word. You can also go on a treasure hunt in your home and hunt for
things that have the target sound in them! For example, you and your
child (or client if you are an SLP) can search for things containing
their sound. See how many you can find! You could even hunt for things
with their target sound at the grocery store, at the park, in books,
etc!
4. PHRASES
Now that your child has their sound down in single words, you are
ready to increase the level of difficulty again by adding a few more
words to the mix! A phrase is simply using their target sound in
combination with a couple words. Let’s use the /t/ sound again as an
example. Here are some phrases with the /t/ sound: ”Too much fun”,
“Take the car” ”time to eat” “count to three” etc. Use words that have
the target sound in the beginning, middle, and end.
5. SENTENCES
The sentence level just adds more words to the phrase to make a
complete sentence. This level is more difficult because it requires the
child to maintain correct speech sound production while adding other
words to express a complete thought! Whew! That can be a lot for some
kids to remember! Just keep practicing! It may take lots of tries, but
they will get it. Use words that contain their sound in all positions
of the word (beginning, middle, and end). Have them practice saying
their the target sound in the beginning of words in sentences: “A big
_________” (insert the words: tree, toad, tiger, etc.). Then have your
child practice using their target sound at the end of words in
sentences: ”The funny ______ is under the table” (insert final /t/
words: cat, rat, boat, etc.). Do the same for medial /t/.
It is fun when the sentences are silly! You can talk about why the
sentences are silly. Ask your child why it’s silly for a boat to be
under the table or what a funny boat looks like? Have them use their
imaginations! They could draw a picture of a “funny boat” and tell you
about it using their good /t/ sound.
6. READING (Or Oral Story-Telling for non-readers)
If your child can read, you will then be able to introduce books and
have them read to you while continuing to produce their target sound
correctly. If your child is not yet a reader, have them tell you
stories they make up. They can also retell a story you have told them.
I love this level because my students are professionals at telling me
stories!
7. CONVERSATION
This is the last level! Once your child has progressed through
reading/story-telling, they should be ready to use their target sounds
during their everyday speech. You can continue to re-cast their
sentences if they forget to use their correct sound. You can also
remind them to use their “good __ sound!” if you hear an error. By this
time, there should only be occasional errors. Producing their target
sound should be almost effortless and very automatic.
Remember to have fun and to be patient! This can take a lot of time,
but your child will get it! Please let me know how you are doing with
this approach. I love hearing stories about how therapy is going!
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