Many parents and caregivers of school age children refer children to speech therapy for articulation-related difficulties. They are aware that their 9 year old, for example, is still saying “wabbit” instead of “rabbit” or “baftub” instead of “bathtub”. But they also know it’s no longer appropriate. Or other individuals comment their child sounds as though he or she has an accent (commonly mistaken for a British accent when the “r” sound is a problem).
So what is articulation therapy? What is the speech therapist going to do about these problems?
A speech therapist will often begin first by screening or assessing the child for all sounds (both consonants and vowels) in words and in connected speech. From there, the therapist will choose the most appropriate targets, or goals, based on how well they are able elicit the sounds from the child, or what is most developmentally appropriate. And from there, the therapist works through a traditional articulation hierarchy until the sound can be carried over into everyday speech. This is the last place where a sound will emerge after therapy. The traditional articulation hierarchy is depicted below, where the therapist will start at the bottom and work their way up:
Generalization
↑
Sounds in conversation
↑
Sounds in reading
↑
Sounds in sentences
↑
Sound in words (initial, medial and/or final word position)
↑
Sound in syllables
↑
Sound in isolation
A common question parents and caregivers will ask: how long will it take? This is a great question and it depends on a variety of factors. For example, if the child is normally developing and has only one or two articulation errors, therapy can potentially take only a few sessions if parents work with the child between sessions and complete the home programming. However, if the child is having difficulty with speech production due to a neurological condition (e.g., cerebral palsy) or genetic condition (e.g., Down’s Syndrome), therapy is much more long-term and can even take years.
What can parents do at home? Articulation therapy comes down to practice, practice, practice! Drilling the sound over and over is required in order to retrain the muscles involved in producing that sound and creating new muscle memory!
Parents can play games at home or on-the-go to help frame this into a fun activity. For example, while driving in the car, if you see a license plate with your child’s target sound, have them think of a word that contains it, and bounce it back and forth between the two of you until you can’t think of any more. Move on to the next sound! Playing in the driveway at home? Pull out some sidewalk chalk and draw pictures of words containing the target sound (e.g., for “k” you can draw a kittycat). You can also have them make their sound or words containing it from playdough. The possibilities are endless!
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s speech production, feel free to give our therapists a call. They would be happy to guide you through age-appropriate expectations regarding your child’s speech production.
Irini Atkinson, M.H.Sc., SLP (C) is a registered Speech-Language Pathologist in the province of Ontario (CASLPO #4428). Irini graduated in 2004 from the University of Toronto and has practised in a variety of settings including acute care, in the community and in schools. She is PROMPT-trained, certified by Speech-Language Audiology Canada (SAC) and a member of the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (OSLA).
