Hello Hello! In part seven of our articulation series, you have to be wondering if I am ever going to wrap this series up! Don’t worry, I think we are coming to the end here in the next two or three posts. Today’s blog is about the things that therapists need to consider when picking speech sounds to work on with a child.
- Motivation– this is the number one thing I think about when I am picking targets for my kiddos to work on in therapy. Within the first hour or so, I am usually able to tell how this child is going to respond to working on sounds in therapy, and how much feedback they are able to take an benefit from during a therapy session. I carefully decide how much success they will need to experience in the first few Sounds/sessions to be willing to continue to participate in therapy. Is this child confident, or do they need a bit more coaxing to try new things? Are they able to handle feedback or are they easily discouraged? These are all things to consider when you pick a sound to work on in therapy with a child, and are essential to their success in therapy!
- High frequency words– This is a fancy way to say “words/sounds that the child says often”. If a child’s name is “Shawn” and he cannot say his “sh” sounds, this could be a great sound to start targeting in therapy! If it is a younger child who is very interested in “paw patrol”, working on the “p” sound in therapy might help him be more successful in communicating his message.
- Sound structures– as discussed in more detail in the previous two blog posts, it is essential to think about the age of the child, the sounds that would be developmentally appropriate for him/her, and then the sound structure combinations that you feel the child would be most successful in! A child who is three, would not be working on how to say “R” or “L” in words that have many syllables! That’s just not realistic.
- Multiple Targets– Therapists need to remember that as they choose words for children to practice in therapy, the location of the sound, and the number of challenging sounds that the word contains, will make the target significantly more difficult for the child. For example, if a child has difficulty producing “S”, “Z”, and “G”, a target like “glasses” to work on the “g” sound would be very difficult. A better target to pick would be “goat” or “game” which has a more basic sound combination, and no other troublesome sounds for the child.
- Blends– consonant blends can be very challenging for children, and often fall on the sound hierarchy as more challenging than in initial, medial, or final word position. Blends include:
- L blends: Glasses, black, play, clock, flick, and slide
- S Blends: Spit, Swing, Smile, Start, Slipper, School, and Snack
- MP Blends: Camp, Damp, and Chipmunk
- R Blends: grass, crown, and prince
- TW Blends: Twig
Check back in the next couple of days for some ideas, tricks, and tips that therapists might use to help children in articulation therapy!
-Kasey-
