Check out this fantastic graphic created to help us understand the most recent data about when kids learn specific speech sounds!

Take it from me, these ages are a lot younger than most SLPs (myself included) are used to.  I LOVE that research is showing kids are ready to tackle sounds earlier than we thought.  If your kid is struggling with a sound and you are concerned, talk with your local SLP (you can get info from your pediatrician or school district).

It may take the SLP world a while to catch up to this most recent study compiling data regarding speech acquisition.  BUT at least now we have a starting point.

I was reading "Oh Say Can You Say" by Dr. Seuss to my 6 year old tonight and came across the poem above.  I thought, "Hey, that is a perfect example of how using visual cues can help with sound placement!".  So here I am blogging about Dr. Seuss's great idea.

One of the very best ways to get kids saying new sound or new sound combinations is to have them watch you as you say those sounds.  Pulling out a mirror so they can see their own oral motor movements is also an excellent idea, especially for these kinds of sounds:  b, m, p, th, f, v, l, and s.  This kind of activity works best when your child already knows how to make their new sound and needs a reminder to use it in their target words.  

Here is an example:  child can say the "s" sound but he often replaces it with a "th" if he is not paying attention.

Get in the bathroom in front of a mirror big enough to see you both.

Mom:  Sssam, see how my tongue stayed behind my teeth!  Now watch it will slip out this time:  "tham", oops, how do I fix it?

Child:  Pull it back behind your teeth!

Mom:  Okay, Sam.  How was that?  Awesome!  Your turn:

Child:  Sam

Mom:  I noticed that your tongue was behind your teeth!

If your child is having a hard time getting the right sound out at all, this activity might not be as successful.  That is when a knowledgeable expert (aka Speech-Language Pathologist) is super useful!

In my practice I see a lot of kids with low speech intelligibility.  What is my go to technique to help these kids form a sound?  A quick hand sign or tactile cue.  I have found in my practice that when kids are having a very difficult time producing a sound these kinds of cues really help...so I thought I would share!  

​A visual hand sign is a little reminder that you can give your child to help them remember what to do with their mouth.  Something like this:

Tactile cues are a little different from visual cues because they involve lightly touching your child's jaw/lips/nose etc. to remind them where and how to shape a sound. 

Some examples of tactile cues can be found in this awesome link created by Wendy Ryback, MA, CCC-SLP.

​Research has found that tactile cueing is particularly effective for kids with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (see ASHA's Apraxia of Speech Portal).

I don't strictly use these approaches.  My cues change based on things like the age of the child or the severity of their speech delay, or the types of errors a specific child is making.  BUT the above resources are a great way to try giving your kid some more specific help with sounds you are concerned with.  As always if you have additional questions or concerns talk with your pediatrician or local school district SLP!

Generally my clients are children BUT every so often I get an adult interested in speech therapy to correct a sound error that they still are struggling with.  I have had adult clients who have a hard time shaping the /r/ sound, adult clients with a distorted /s/ sound, or adult clients who have a tongue thrust that has interfered with orthodontia work.

SO...is it ever too late to correct a sound error?  Is speech therapy just for kids?  Can you teach an old(er) dog new tricks?  Of course you can!  

I LOVE LOVE working with adult clients because they have a lot going for them right out the door.  Adults are motivated to make a change, they want to fix the sound, they are paying for the help!  Because adults are motivated they generally practice more consistently and with a greater focused effort.  Adults have a longer attention span and don't mind drilling, they don't need games because they are not here to play...they are here to work!  Adults are good listeners, they watch and remember instructions because adults are paying attention.  Adults are able to think abstractly and figuratively so it is easier to work on sounds and shapes that they can't see you making in your mouth.  And my very favorite part about working with adults:  Adults are willing to take responsibility for their sounds!  They work hard to be able to hear differences and correct errors on their own.  

If you are an adult who would like help, but tried speech therapy and had a bad experience, or an adult who has never even tried speech therapy, don't give up!  It is never too late, adults can ROCK speech therapy!  Some of my most rewarding sessions have been with adults as they conquer sounds that have eluded them for years.  

I found this fantastic handout for FREE from A Perfect Blend on teacherspayteachers.com  you can pick it up HERE.  What a fantastic resource for getting more out of car time.  I had a couple of additional ideas that came to mind as I read through Amanda Newsome's handout.  I thought I would share my ideas as well.  These are strategies that I have learned from my clients and suggested to my clients.  Pick one and give it a try!

Articulation Practice - 

• STOP LIGHT:  whenever you come to a stop light practice your target sound, I love to think of rhyming words that all end in your target sound.  Practice sounds and preliteracy skills all at once! (syllable/word level practice)
• TARGET SOUND "I Spy": this is a huge favorite of my clients, I think all kids love a good round of "I Spy", look for your target letter on signs, license plates, etc. or look for items that start with your target letter. (word/phrase/conversation level practice)
• 3 FUN THINGS:  as a kid I always had to report on three fun things I had done at school that day.  Now I use that activity as a great opportunity for focused sound practice at the conversation level.  You cue your child - I want to hear 3 fun things you did at school today, and I want you to think about using a really clear /r/ sound when you tell me each thing! (conversation level practice)

Language Practice - 

• 3 FUN THINGS:  (see activity above) instead of focusing on sounds, focus on past-tense verbs.  Listen for words like "painted", "played", "kicked".  If your child is missing that -ed ending you can restate to show active listening and provide a nice model.  ie. "we play on the slide", "oh, you played on the slide! that sounds fun!"
• I HEAR/SEE A...: great activity for young kids beginning to put sentences together, just watch for awesome things out the window and them model sentences with "I see" or "I hear", for example, "I see a police car!"  "I hear a big loud truck!".  You can also add 5 senses work by turning the sentence into "My ears hear a big loud truck!"
• SIMILE "I SPY": this is a fun twist on traditional I Spy, you take turns giving color or texture cues using similies (ie. I spy something as blue as the sky, I spy something as shiny as a diamond).

Social Skills Work - 

• DAILY REPORT:  I throw this onto the end of 3 fun things everyday when I pick my kids up from school.  After we talk about the fun things that happened I ask, "Is there anything about today that you would change?".  Your child can let you know what they might change about the day and how they would change it.  For example:  "At recess we played tag but I had to be "it" the whole time and I didn't like that"...then you respond, "You didn't like being "it" all recess?  So what would you change? Is there anything you can try next time to make that change?" This is a good chance to review problem-solving skills with daily interactions in a low-key loving atmosphere.  Of course, some things you can't change but then you can talk about the feelings your child experienced, help them name the feeling, and recognize it.

Many of my clients are working on generalizing speech sounds.  That means they have now figured out how to say the sounds they were struggling with, AND they can use them in their words, AND they can use the sound in phrases and sentences...BUT they are not using the sounds in conversations yet.

When we talk we have so much to think about (what we are going to say, waiting for our turn, checking to see if our partner is listening, being louder than the other noises around, using the right inflections and pacing...) it is hard to remember to correctly use sounds that we habitually have been skipping or saying the wrong way.  Getting new sounds into conversations will take time and is very difficult.  Give your child time!  

Lots of my favorite strategies to helping generalize sounds come from this activity book:
www.soundsforliteracy.com.au/documents/FBGeneralizeSounds.pdf

One technique in particular is called Talking Time.  Basically you set aside 3-5 minutes at least twice a day where you focus on speech sounds in conversations.  Your child speaks and you track his specific sound.  Only focus on one sound at a time, and remind your child before you begin which sound you will be listening for.



​​Today I hit the JACKPOT! Every speech therapist loves ready made games; and I just found  on GetAwayToday.com a bunch of activities that are PERFECT to use for Talking Time.   These games feature subjects kids are happy to talk about.  





You can find all of these activities here:

Would You Rather Games
Disney Would You Rather
Harry Potter Would You Rather
Star Wars Would You Rather
These games are awesome for getting some creative thinking and language practice in with your speech therapy time.  Your child needs to pick his answer and then explain his choice...why would you rather have a fairy godmother than a magic genie?

Mad Libs
Disney Princess Mad Libs
Star Wars Mad Libs
Also fantastic for literacy and grammar (parts of speech).  I like to encourage kids to try to think of nouns or adjectives or _________ that have their speech sound in the word.   Then when they read through their finished story you know there will be lots of opportunities for speech practice!  You can access nice lists to reference on homespeechhome.com.

Conversation Starters
Disney Conversation Starters
Fun for car rides and speech therapy!  Basically you ask a question and encourage your child to talk for 3-5 minutes about their answer.  Listen for their use of their target sound.

I like to track speech sound productions using a simple spreadsheet, + for if they got the sound right, - for if they missed it. 

I love using boardgames to add a little variety to my therapy sessions.  Games are motivating, promote good social language skills (turn taking, following directions, being a good sport), and can be tweaked to fit speech and language goals if needed.   This year I bought a few more additions for my boardgame closet and I thought I would share my new favorites with you.  A list of some basic boardgames that I like for speech and langauge can be found HERE.  I linked each of these games to Amazon but you can get them at other places. 

I Can Do That
Ages:  4-8 ish
Why I love it:
-Great for following multi-step directions
-Teaches prepositions
-Teaches verbs (can be modified for present progressive and past tense)
-Gets the kids moving while they are talking!
-Great extender for the book "The Cat in the Hat"
-Kids love it!

*tips to make it better:  take out the STOP cards, they are pointless if you are working multi-step drections, also this game is not great for kids with gross motor delays unless you modify it, plus it does have a lot of manipulatives that can be tricky for kids under 3.

Suspend
Ages:  6+
Why I love it:
-Great way to help target easy onsets (fluency)
-Good for generic drill (say __ 10x and take a turn)
-Slows kids down, makes them think
-Problems solving and critical thinking
-Interactive play, work together, talk cause and effect
-Targets fine motor skills
​

Busy, Busy Airport
Ages: 3-7 ish
Why I love it:
-Fantastic for pretend play
-Great for categories (weather, clothes, ect.)
-Makeing basic inferences
-Gets kids moving
-Uses reasoning and problem solving
-Good for basic math
-Fun pieces and game board

*tips to make it better:  I took out the little slots at the bottom of the gameboard that are supposed to hold the passengers...it takes FOREVER to put each passenger in a slot at the airport, now we just dump them all in and pick 1 or 2.  Also be gentle with the planes, they are just thick cardboard, not plastic...I wish they were a little more sturdy.

Busytown, Eye Found It
Ages: 3-7 ish
Why I love it:
-The gameboard is super big!
-Builds cooperative play skills
-Great to extend into language goals
-Find categories, functions, ect.
-Good for basic vocabulary and counting
-Describing and adding detail

*tips to make it better:  you can use the timer or not depending on your child's needs

Snap Circuits Jr.
Ages: 7+
Why I love it:
-Cause and Effect
-Integrages science with language
-Problem Solving
-Good for /r/ and /s/ target practice
-Following directions
-Predicting

*this comes in bigger sets but for the sake of a therapy session the Jr. version is perfect.
Con: the motor for the fan eats up batteries faster than I like

Have I mentioned how awesome holidays are to encourage speech and language?  Here are some ideas to get the most mileage out of Halloween in the next few weeks.

A bunch of these ideas capitalize on activities you will be doing anyway...why not add a concentrated effort to boost speech and language along the way?

Toddlers:  
Point out decorations and label them - "I see a bat!"  "I see a black cat!"  "Look, that witch is flying!".  Easy first words to practice at this time:  Boo! hay, bat, cat, light, whoo (as in owl sound), eyes, nose, mouth, apple, etc.  Narrate what you see on walks, while shopping, reading books, or at parties.  It never gets old when you're two :)

Also most of the following ideas apply to toddlers as well, but keep in mind that toddlers are very young, they learn through play...keep things fun!

Pre-School/School Age:
Practice the trick-or-treat routine, have the child review with you (great for sequencing).  Talk about Halloween night safety and practice making predictions/asking wh questions (ie.  What would you do if a house doesn't have it's lights on?  Why do we wait until Mom checks our candy before we eat it?)  Also practice having your child say thank-you after getting a piece of candy!  That is an important social piece of the routine.

If speech is a concerns really hammer the sounds in "trick - or - treat" because they can be quite tricky.  Other good phrases for speech (particularly k/g sounds): piece of candy corn, decorate the cookie, put a candle in the pumpkin, look at the black cat,  Practice saying the name of whatever costume your child will dress-up as, because you know they are going to be asked!

Do some Halloween baking!  Follow a recipe to work on sequencing, quantities, and problem solving.  Discuss what works and what you might change next time.  Talk about textures, tastes, smells, and how something looks.  Baking is SO GOOD for language development.  You could even take pictures of the various steps and then have the child use them to tell a friend about their fun activity (phones make this super easy).

Compare/Contrast different Halloween icons, how are a pumpkin and an apple alike, how are they different?  How are a bat and a witch alike?  How are they different?

Explore at the pumpkin patch, on a hike, at the park, on a walk in your neighborhood.  There is so much to see, hear, smell, touch, etc. at this time of year.  Bombard your child with descriptive language!  "Look, that pumpkin is so smooth, but it's stem is super prickly!"  "Let's see how many different colors of leaves we can pick up before we get home."  "I don't know why leaves get crunchy when the fall off the tree, let's go home and look it up."  
Think of some "Would you rather?" questions to play with:  "Would you rather eat a caramel apple or bob for apples?  Would you rather carve a pumpkin or paint a pumpkin?"