As with any learned skill, speech therapy is most effective if there is practice outside of the therapy room. Similar to learning how to play an instrument, learning a cartwheel, or learning how to play soccer, proper formation of speech sounds is a motor skill which requires practice, practice, practice in order to learn and master. For example, if you only practice shooting goals in soccer practice 30 minutes a week, you’ll undoubtedly become better at shooting goals, however if you were to practice this skill a little bit every day in addition to your weekly soccer practice, you’ll be much more likely to master your shot. The same principles of practice apply to learning speech sounds. However, to add to this challenge, your child must also un-learn the ‘old way’ they’ve been producing the speech sound(s) in question.
For some families, lack of time, child frustration and lack of knowledge can be barriers to implementing practice at home. In this post, we will provide you with some easy ways to practice at home!
Ways to practice:
- Model: Make your child’s target speech sound throughout the day and draw your child’s attention to the sound. Emphasize the sound with added stress and enunciation. This can be done almost anywhere: in the car, at the grocery store, while shopping, while eating dinner.
- Auditory Stimulation: Similar to modeling, however with more repetition. Read a list of words with your child’s target sound. Read the list to your child while they are passively playing, coloring, or eating a snack. A quick google search of “words beginning with *your child’s speech sound target* for speech therapy” will return more than enough child-friendly words.
- Discrimination: When your child produces target sound in error, repeat the word the way your child said it. For example, “you want a tootie (cookie)? I think you mean “KooKie!” (with emphasis on the /k/ sound). “That’s your /k/ sound in there!” Have your child correct their production if he/she is able.
- NOTE: This can be frustrating for some children. If you find your child becoming frustrated by your corrections, or if they haven’t yet successfully elicited target sound in therapy yet, hold off on this strategy until they’re able to readily correct themselves without frustration.
- Direct Practice: After your child has been able to successfully produce target sound in speech therapy, practice their sound at home at your child’s current ability level. Your therapist will likely start with the sound ‘in isolation’ (by itself), then in syllables (i.e. KA, KEY, KO), then in single words, then in phrases, then in sentences. Ask your therapist how you should practice at home, and ask your therapist for what “cues” appear to help the most. Cues might include having your child attend to your face, providing written cues, or segmenting the target sound from the rest of the word (i.e. K…eeee).
Stay tuned for Practicing Speech Sounds: Part 2 where we will discuss how to make practice a fun and stress-free time for both you and your child.