TOP TEN LIST: How Parents & Caregivers Can Help With Articulation

How Parents & Caregivers Can Help With Articulation  
Shanda Gaunt M.S. CCC/SLP & Manda Riebel M.A. CCC/SLP

1.   Use gentle reminders of correction when speaking with your child. Attempt to only model the sound that is currently being practiced in speech.

2.   Try to revise what your child has mispronounced by repeating it using the correct production of the targeted sound. Emphasize the mispronounced sound. For example, the child said, “I like the tuck”.  Parent can say, “I like the Duck too”.

3.   Try to practice targeted sounds at home for 5-10 minutes a day. Suggestions of activities include: memory match, scavenger hunts, coloring pages, adding a sticker to word lists as they are imitated, “feeding” words into a tissue box, word searches, Apps on smart phones and devices targeting articulation, and eye spy.  Your speech therapist will have many more ideas as well.

4.   Model the sound during your daily routines as much as possible. For example, if your child is working on final /g/ sound, the parent could say, “Please let out the doG.  We have such a cute doG. Let’s take the doG for a walk”.

5.   Address health issues such as ear infections, voice difficulties, sleeping concerns, dentition, drooling and mouth breathing, which may be contributing to sound productions.

6.   Read to your child and when your child’s sound is brought up in the story be sure to emphasize it.  If your child is a reader, encourage them to seek out their target sound as well.

7.   When you are playing with your child take the opportunity to emphasize correct sound production. For example, when you are playing Candy Land and your child’s sound is initial /y/ in words you could say, “I am on Yellow”.

8.   Attempt to congratulate and emphasize when you hear correct production of your child’s articulation targets.  For example, “Wow! I just heard you make a great K sound- way to go!”

9.   Use positive and descriptive words when trying to correct such as, “Great try, but this time when we try to say the /th/ sound, let’s put our tongue through our teeth”.

10.Ask about how things are going at speech and sit in to watch and participate if it’s possible.

  

Please feel free to leave a comment or question about articulation therapy, and we would be happy to answer you back. 

Best wishes,

Manda & Shanda, SLP's