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A child with a speech sound disorder has difficulty producing speech sounds beyond the age that is typically expected. For example, /m, p, and b/ are expected to emerge early in speech development, /l, r/ and "th" often develop much later. Children with articulation or phonological disorders don't pick up on how to produce one or more age-expected speech sounds without explicit instructions. These ideas will help your child continue to improve his or her articulation at home.
ACTIVITIES THAT SUPPORT SPEECH SOUND PRACTICE
HIDE AND SEEK - Place articulation cards around the house and as the child finds them, they names them using their best speech.
MYSTERY PICK - Parent chooses a target word and child takes turns selecting cards and saying the word on the card until they pick the "winner".
PICK 2 (or 3) - The child has to pick two targets and use both words in one sentence that makes sense and with correct articulation.
MEMORY LINE-UP - Place 3, 4, or 5 cards in a row, have the child say the words, then close their eyes while you switch the order. They then has to restore them to the original order say them again.
WHAT'S MISSING? - Place 3-7 (depending on the level of difficulty) cards on a table. Give the child a minute or two to name all of the pictures and commit them to memory. Have the child close his/her eyes while you take one away. When the child opens their eyes, they have to guess which card is missing and name it using good articulation.
BOARD GAMES - Any board game can be used. Before the child's turn, they must say words from their practice list. For games that contain dice, the number they roll can be both the number of spaces they move and the number of words they have to say before moving.
SOUND COLLAGE - Search magazines for pictures that contain their speech sound. Talk about whether the sound is at the beginning, middle or end of the word. As the child says the word, they glue the picture to a large piece of construction paper to make a collage.
SCAVENGER HUNT - Go on a treasure hunt around your house or neighborhood to look for things that have your child's target sound. Practice saying each word as you find things (this is also fun in the car!).
I SPY - Take turns choosing an object with the child's target sound (i.e. a "clock" if the target sound is /k/). That person gives the clue, "I spy with my little eye something that's ___" (gives a word to describe the clock) while the other player guesses.
READING - For younger children, read to your child and point out words that contain their target sound and have them repeat them after you. Point out the spelling of the word. Seeing the connection between the letters and correct speech sounds will support both their speech sound development and reading skills. If your child can read, go through the book first to find any words that contain the target sound. Have your child say them, then go back and read the book aloud to you. For older students, ave your child read aloud for for 2-5 minutes while focusing on on producing their target sound correctly.
WACKY WEB TALES - These are free online Mad Libs. Choose a story, then work with your child to think of words that contain their target sound. Select "See Your Wacky Web Tale." Then have your child read the story, focusing on their speech sounds.
PICTIONARY OR CHARADES - Put paper strips of things that contain speech sounds in a bowl and take turns drawing/acting and guessing. See how many words you can guess in a set amount of time.
WEBSITES FOR SPEECH SOUND LISTS
Home Speech Home FREE word, phrase, and sentence lists for all speech sounds
Mommy Speech Therapy FREE picture, word, phrase, and sentence lists for all speech sounds
Speech Teammate FREE handouts for specific sounds
APPS FOR SPEECH SOUND PRACTICE
Word Vault Essential (free) - As far as free articulation apps go, this is about the most comprehensive out there. The free version does not include pictures though, so if you are using it with non-readers you'll need to model each word for them.
Articulation Station (free for the /p/ sound) - We use this app often in our speech sessions. It includes photos of each word at the word, phrase, sentence, and story level. For pricing visit the developer website: Little Bee Speech.
ONLINE FUN FOR ARTICULATION:
Custom Bingo Cards: (choose words/pictures with your child's target sound)
Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry4Kids (read the silly poems using best speech sounds)
Tongue Twisters (practice the ones that contain your child's speech sound)
Wacky Web Tales (have your child use words with their target sound to complete the stories)
Word Dice game (scroll past the first few games to get to "Word Dice"; use words with your child's sound and have them say the words that are rolled)
SPECIFIC SPEECH SOUND RESOURCES
More Resources
More Resources
I have many resources that can't legally be shared on this public site. Contact me if you would like more materials for your child's specific goals, and I will email them directly to you.
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