Articulation At Home
Important Considerations For Home Practice
Considerations Before Home Practice - Parent Handout.pdfFor Parents and Caregivers
You are an important member of your child's team. Speech sound development is complex and we are here to support you in understanding a few basic concepts before you begin home practice with your child. Please read the "Considerations before you start home practice" document before practicing with your child. Reach out if you have questions, we are here to help. If home practice becomes a negative experience for you and/or your child, stop and reach out; we will help guide you. Remember that home practice should be fun, so be creative and have fun with it.
Talking Helpers.pdfActivities to support Awareness of Talking Helpers:
Talking about each talking helper.
Looking in the mirror and making "silly faces" to see how some of our talking helpers move.
Playing "Simon Says" with your talking helpers ("Simon says, open your lips." "Simon says, turn your voice on (noisey)/off (quiet).")
Let your child be the teacher and tell you (or another family member) all about talking helpers and what they do.
Be creative and have fun exploring your own talking helpers and how they all work together to make different sounds.
Feel the wiggles and giggles on your throat with your hand when you make a 'noisey' sound. Do you feel the wiggles and giggles when your sound is 'quiet'?
Make a Potato Head with your talking helpers. If you have a real Potato Head set, use that. If you do not have a Potato Head set, use this free online set.
Talking Helpers
Articulation development is a complex process that occurs over time. As Speech-Language Pathologists we do not expect a two year old to sound like an eight year old. It's important that your child be aware of their talking helpers. When we refer to a specific talking helper such as lips or tongue, your child's awareness of such structures, how they move, and what sounds them make, will add to their success in producing correct sounds.
Our talking helpers are involved in creating sounds, putting sounds together to form words, and putting those words together to form sentences.
By definition, dictionary.com defines articulation for phonation as:
"Phonetics.
the act or process of articulating speech.
the adjustments and movements of speech organs involved in pronouncing a particular sound, taken as a whole.
any one of these adjustments and movements.
any speech sound, especially a consonant."
So as you can see, there's a lot that goes into making just one sound, let alone combining sounds and forming sentences. Awareness of talking helpers is key.
Articulation Norms.pdfSpeech Sound Development Chart for Reference
Please use this speech sound development chart for your reference. Always refer back to your child's recommended goal as stated in your child's IEP. Reach out and contact your SLP with questions.
At Home Speech Practice Resources
For simple printable practice worksheets and other useful information visit www.mommyspeechtherapy.com
The link provided will lead you to the "Free Downloads" section of the website. Scroll to the section that says "Articulation & Phonology Forms" and pick the sound your child is working on. Please keep in mind some sounds will not be developmentally appropriate to practice at this time.
For practical on the go speech practice at home, and other useful information visit www.mommyspeechtherapy.com
The link provided will lead you to the "Summertime Speech Practice Tips" page. Here you will find a wonderful compilation of on the go ways to practice your child's speech sound development.
Visual Phonics
"Visual Phonics is a system of 46 hand-shapes with corresponding movements -which when used together are called "cues". These cues represent the 46 phoneme sounds of spoken English. This system was originally developed by a mother for her deaf son, to aid in teaching speech and reading."
For children who have speech sound delays it is a way for them to "see the sound". By seeing the sound and having the opportunity to produce the visual phonic symbol themselves, they are able to tap into a kinesthetic learning style which may benefit many of our students.
"A kinesthetic-tactile learning style requires that you manipulate or touch material to learn. Kinesthetic-tactile techniques are used in combination with visual and/or auditory study techniques, producing multi-sensory learning." - www.houghton.edu
S.L.O.P
A Speech Strategy
S = slow
L = loud
O = over articulation
P = pausing
Using Literacy to Support Articulation
Press the link above to find a list of books that include repetitive text.
BooksThatWorkonArticulationSkills (1).pdfUsing Books to Facilitate Speech Sound Development
Reading with your child is one of the most powerful ways to engage with your child. Targeting articulation through literacy-based activities is one way to support speech sound development. Take a look at "Books to Work on Articulation Skills" to find suggestions on books that target sounds your child may be struggling with. Look in your home library (aka, your child's bookshelf for others that may not be listed in this resource. Suggestions on how to engage with literacy-based articulation support:
Use dialogic reading techniques (see above resource). Read with your child instead of to your child.
Have your child fill in the "target" word by pausing and waiting for them to fill in the blank, then repeat the correct production of the word back to your child.
Ask questions that will elicit answers with target word/sounds.
Choose books with
repetitive text,
predictable text, and
rhyming
(e.g. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" by, Eric Carl)
Choose books that your child is familiar with so they can focus on engaging with you rather than learning the book.
Sing the original Alphabet Song with Barbara Milne from her Sounds Like Fun CD from Discovery Toys. This song is one way to help children learn some of the phonemic sounds of the English language. Notice her slow tempo and the repetition in the song, both will help children engage and learn. Use this handy pointing sheets below to help your child follow along.
TIP: You can slow the song even further by pressing the settings button on the video, then pick desired speed.
Egg Articulation
a fun way to practice our target sounds
A tutorial for parents
Hide and find articulation exercise that kids love.
Materials:
Plastic Eggs, egg carton/basket/other container, items to place inside the egg, bin, or other container.
Alternative if you don't have eggs:
Sensory Bin- Fill a container with: rice, beans, sand, dirt, water, shaving cream, plastic grass, cotton balls, etc. Throw the items inside the sensory bin and have your child pull out items to label, discuss, use in phrases/sentences if they are able.
Alternative if you don't have small toys that fit in eggs:
Fill the eggs with stickers, pictures, items you've cut out of magazines, or anything else that targets the sound they are working on.
Remember:
Be creative - if you don't have items that obviously target the sound(s) your child is working on, look for details within items that may target the sound. For example, if your child is targeting the sound /k/ and you have a giraffe, you can talk about the giraffe's long neck (the target sound is at the end of the word neck)!
Focus on the target sound - if your childs target sound is /t/ and you have a cat but your child says, "dat" you praise the correct production of the /t/ and address the /k/ at another time.
Recast - Use your recasting skills. If your child does not produce the target sound /t/ correctly, you can recast it back to them, "You found a cat!" You can also use the recast expansion skill, "You found a cat! I like cats! That cat is yellow." By expanding your recast, you have just modeled the correct production of the target sound /t/ four times in a structured way using short phrases which will help your child process the sound. Similarly, to the example given if your child produces another sound in the word incorrectly, you ignore it (for now), praise the correct production of the target word, and then recast the phrase back to your child, "You found a cat!"
Have fun! The goal is to target sounds your child needs to practice while having fun. If your child becomes resistant or doesn't want to participate don't force it.
Articulation Practice Sheets
All worksheets from "Say & Do" workbook 2014 SuperDuper Publication The following worksheets are listed in order of complexity, or less challenging to more challenging.
Directions Cut out the word cards and follow the directions on page 3. You can also make two.pdfVowel Consonant Pages
CV Word Cards I.pdfConsonant Vowel Pages
Directions Cut out the word cards and follow the directions on page 99. You can also make.pdfConsonant Vowel Consonant Vowel Pages
Cut out the word cards and follow the directions on page.pdfConsonant Vowel Consonant Pages
Final Consonant Deletion Practice Pages
Final consonant deletion is a phonological process (speech sound error pattern) where the final or last consonant of a word is deleted or left off. Some examples of final consonant deletion include a child saying:
"moo" for moon
"A" for eight
"bow" for boat
Use the Visual support download to help you remember to say your final sound, or you can make your own by drawing a line with a square at the end. If you need to use the visual support see if you can say your word three times with the visual support and then one time without. If you are successful, keep trying to say your words without the visual support and see how many times you can say the word without using the visual support.
The Missing T.pdfHere is a simple downloadable sheet for final consonant deletion home practice.
Watch Ms. Marlisa walk you through Final Consonant Deletion practice. Give it a try at home with your child.
Articulation Minimal Pairs Final Consonant Deletion.pdfMultisyllabic Word Practice
Use the resources provided (or come up with your own) to practice saying each syllable of the word.
Below each picture you will find "pacing" spots which are visual cues for children to touch while saying each syllable of the word (e.g., BUM-BLE-BEE).
If you practice saying other multisyllabic words that don't have the pacing spots (like the last page attached to the resources provided), make your own! You can use paper, markers, post it notes, stickers, etc.; be creative! Or print out a copy of our three ticket pacing board.
View the how to video to learn how to practice multisyllabic words with your child at home.
Multisyllabic Word Pacing Cards.pdfUse this downloadable multisyllabic worksheet to practice at home.
piggy bank.pdfHere are more practice worksheets.
Enjoy this fun song about clapping out syllables of words! To slow the rate of this song press the settings button on the video to slow the speed to .75.
3 space pacing board.pdfArticulation Visual Support
Downloads
Final Sound visual.pdfOther Links to practice worksheets
Check back often as I will continue to add to this section of the page.
Click the link and look for your sound to practice.
Click the link and look for your sound. This website offers access to many different levels of practice for your sounds, working up that ladder of complexity. These resources are free however you'll need to provide your email in order to receive them. If you have questions please contact me.