.png)
"Articulation" indicates the way a child says sounds. A child's articulation determines how clear her speech is, which directly impacts how much her other people can understand her.
Traditional articulation therapy or the Van Riper approach is extremely effective for correcting incorrectly produced sounds. Children learn how to produce sounds in isolation, then at the word level, then at the phrase level, then at the sentence level, and so on. A child must master one level to progress to the next.
It's a lot of drill and a lot of focused effort- which is why we need speech therapy.
But there are simple modifications that you can make in the way you speak to a child- especially if you are a parent- that can boost acquisition of speech sounds and help a child get through therapy more efficiently.
These are short, easy tips often used in the therapy room. But they can also be used outside the therapy room.
And the best part is you can use this tips while you are already talking to your kids. Here they are -
1. Emphasize the target sound in your speech
Your child's brain is like a sponge. So when she hears a sound stressed, she is taking in the sound- and registering that there is something different about it. She is also noting all the different places the sound occurs. And she is noting, subconsciously, the characteristics of the sound. Is it voiced, like /v/ or made by a burst of air like /f/? Is it made with the lips pushed forward, like /sh/, or with the lips joined like with /b/?
Try and add a "pop" or a burst of air to the sound whenever it comes up to make it stand out. For example, if your child isn't saying /l/ correctly, you can say "I really lllove you."
This way, any minute is a possible speech moment. The only caveat is : use sparingly. No more than 30 minutes at a time.
Maybe try it during that 1/2 hour car ride with just you and your daughter. That way, she doesn't feel self conscious, or start to hate her target sound.
2. Hold out the target sound.
To add variety to your emphasis routine, try holding out the target sound. For example, a child who is struggling to say his /r/s can benefit from really hearing the sound and how it is produced. "That's rrrrrrright."
In fact, when a child first learns to produce/r/s, he holds them out.
Overemphasizing sounds is a way to join in and encourage his attempts to say the sound in the correct way.
3. Have a set of words to repeat.
Look for words that you say throughout the day, just because they are a part of a routine. For example, "share" for /sh/ and /r/, or "thank you" for /th/. Make sure to use your emphasis and holding out sounds
4. "Bombard"
When a child hears a target over and over again within a short period of time, it is called bombardment. It's a strategy used by speech sound gurus. A child's receptive language and receptive speech must be strong if expressive language and speech are to be strong.
Bombarding is similar to emphasizing and prolonging sounds. But bombarding has to do with how many times a child hears a sound. The more a child hears a sound- in the initial, medial, and final positions of words- the likelier that they will be to pick up the sound.
You can bombard the same word within 2-3 consecutive sentences. For example, "do you see that snake? That's a scary snake. I hate snakes."
5. Practice on words while reading
Some days, if your routine is a little to frantic to practice on everyday conversation, try to practice on target sound words in book. Again, try overemphasize, prolong, repeat, and bombard. You can do it all- just within a bedtime story.
So there you have it! 5 simple ways to help your child - and your child's therapist -with speech! These tips are a little extra work. But they give great results. And they will help your child's speech catch up to age appropriate levels quicker. It's worth the effort.
PS - check out a printable version/ pdf version of these tips - and some more general speech and language information - under "free stuff"
Happy talking!
Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.
Comments