Articulation

What is Articulation?

"Most children naturally learn to say sounds correctly by hearing other people say them. There are certain sounds that are typically acquired earlier and others that come a little later. For example, it’s perfectly normal for a small child to say “tat” for “cat” and “wing” for “ring”. But as the child grows up, they should learn to say those sounds correctly.

For some children, learning to say speech sounds correctly is not that easy. These children may have difficulty pronouncing just a few sounds or they may have trouble pronouncing many sounds. These children are considered to have a speech sound (or articulation) disorder". These children may require the services of a speech-language pathologist.

"Speech And Language Kids." 3 Dec. 2019, https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2020.

How can I help at home?

It is important to practice your child's speech sounds with them every day. A very straightforward way to practice speech sounds, especially for younger students, is to have them repeat the words from a word list. Start with the words that have the sound as the beginning sound in the word (initial position). You can get many practice words in faster than you think. When your student is doing well with initial position, move to final and medial positions. If your child can make the sound in all positions of words, move to short phrases, then sentences.

Other ideas:

-Read a story with your child and have them say words with their sounds. If they are old enough, let them read the story and try to find their sounds while they read.

-Play "I Spy" and find objects around the house that have their target sounds. Practice the word 10 times once you find it.

-Have your child act out the words while they say them (Ex. If they practice the word "rake", have them pretend like they are raking while they say "Rake!").

-Let them teach YOU how to make their sound.

Great calendar by Speech Rocks for daily at home practice

great resources