Practice recasting. Learn how by clicking here.
Read with your child. This allows them to hear many examples of good speech sounds. Try books on tape, too.
Model good speech sounds. If your child says "wed" respond "Yes, I see the red car. I like red. Red is a nice color."
Practice with your child in front of a mirror. This gives them more feedback.
Reinforce self-corrections. Congratulate your child when they remember to say their sounds correctly.
Be precise about what you are praising. "I like the way you said shoe with a good sh sound."
Talk about making sense when we talk. If your child says "tea" for "key" explain "You can't open a door with a "tea," you need a "key."
Don't over-correct or have your child continually repeat words back to you. Remember, the object is to keep having fun!
Many of the websites and games found under the other categories can still be used to target speech sounds. For example, if your child is working on r, visit the Wacky Webtales site under Language and only use words that begin with the letter r.
Would you like to use the same cues that we use to help your child in speech? This link will take you to the free resource "Speech Sound Cue Cards" created by Speechy Musings. Creating an account is also free. Please note two exceptions we sometimes use: 1. We refer to the /k/ sound as "angry kitty." 2. We refer to the /f/ sound as the "fan" sound.
Speech Sound Cue Cards Free Download
More Visual and Verbal Sound Cues
Curious about the steps of articulation therapy?
Letter Sounds Guide: Our K-2 literacy program, Letter Land, has an excellent page that lets you hear many of our sounds in isolation.
Practice Auditory Bombardment at Home
Auditory Bombardment is a wonderful way to help your child receive additional input and modeling of correct sound production. Please visit these links for audio files and to learn more. Send us an email to learn the best sounds for your child to listen to.
What is the difference between articulation and phonology?
An articulation disorder is a problem "making" sounds. Sounds may be substituted, omitted, added, or changed. Examples may include "tat" for "cat" or "fun" for "sun." Other similar sounds may not be affected.
A phonological disorder involves patterns of sound errors (phonological processes) that affect whole classes of sound and persist beyond what is considered developmentally appropriate. For example, substituting all sounds made in the back of the mouth like "k" and "g" for those in the front of the mouth like "t" and "d" (e.g., saying "tup" for "cup" or "das" for "gas").
Remember, all children may demonstrate articulation errors and phonological processes when they are first beginning to speak, but when they continue to demonstrate these errors and changes beyond what is considered typical, he or she may have a phonological disorder.