10 Effective Strategies to Practice Articulation at Home
As a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), I understand the importance of consistent practice and reinforcement when working on speech sounds with clients. In fact, research shows that practicing articulation targets 5-10 minutes a day is more effective than 30-60 minute consecutive sessions. So it is critical for clients with articulation goals to practice a few minutes each day. Here are ten effective strategies to practice articulation at home with your child!
- Expand Vocabulary through Reading
Reading is an excellent way to expose your child to a wide range of words and sounds. Emphasize written words that correspond to the pictures on each page. By focusing on these words, you can draw attention to specific sounds and help your child develop phonological awareness and better articulation skills. - Provide Correct Models
Be a model of correct speech production by demonstrating the accurate pronunciation of sounds and syllables in words. Encourage your child to imitate your correct production. Avoid imitating your child’s incorrect articulation, as this may reinforce the wrong patterns. - Emphasize Syllables and Final Consonants
To help build phonological awareness, have your child become aware of syllables and final consonants in words. Encourage your child to clap out each syllable or final consonant. Alternatively, you can use visual and tactile cues such as stacking blocks to represent syllables or final consonants, making the learning process more interactive. - Rhyming Games
Playing rhyming games can be an enjoyable way to teach your child that different sounds in words can alter their meanings. Rhyming games also help create nonsense words, which aids in phonological awareness and speech sound practice. - Environmental Print
Encourage your child to look for environmental print in the community, such as signs and logos. Point out familiar symbols like the McDonald’s arches, Lego, or Fruit Loops. This activity helps your child connect sounds to written words in real-world contexts. - Daily Target Sound Practice
Set aside 5-10 minutes each day to focus on the target sound or sounds. Aim for 20-30 productions at the isolation level and 30 productions at the word, phrase, or sentence level. Two helpful websites for word lists are Home-Speech-Home.com (written words only) and MommySpeechTherapy.com (written words with pictures). - Incorporate Games
Make practice sessions more enjoyable by incorporating games. Play Match or Go Fish with picture cards, tape words to the fridge and practice whenever you open the door, review word lists at red lights, or create a scavenger hunt by hiding cut-up pictures around the room. - Encourage Teaching Role
Allow your child to become the teacher. Purposefully produce sounds or words incorrectly, and challenge your child to identify the errors and suggest ways to fix them. This activity promotes critical thinking and active engagement. - Story Time with Target Sounds
Read stories aloud to your child regularly, emphasizing words that contain the target sound or sounds. This helps your child hear the correct production within a meaningful context, reinforcing the correct articulation patterns. - Scavenger Hunt for Target Sounds
Send your child on a scavenger hunt around the house to find ten items with the target sound. Put these items in a box and use them to review sounds. This activity combines speech practice with a sense of adventure.
Remember, when practicing at the word level, breaking up words initially can be helpful to isolate the target sound before blending the word. For phrases, giving the child a carrier phrase like “I see ____” or “my ____” is beneficial, especially during the initial stages of practice.
By incorporating these ten strategies into your daily routine to practice articulation at home, you can support and enhance your child’s speech sound development. Remember to make practice sessions fun, engaging, and consistent.
For more strategies, check out my blog post Articulation Therapy Techniques for Tricky Words.