3 Simple Speech Sound Activities to do at Home!
How can you fit speech practice into an already busy schedule? Fortunately, you can do some simple speech sound activities at home to continue your child’s progress with articulation therapy.
1. Post-It Note Speech Sound Practice
Who it's best for:
Children with speech practice experience who can correct speech sound errors independently or are at the generalization stage for articulation therapy.
How:
Write 2-3 words containing your child’s speech sound on a post-it note for speech practice and place it on the bathroom mirror. Every time your child brushes their teeth, practice each word five to ten times.
If your child is more advanced in their practice, have them come up with a sentence using each word! Choose words that your child is likely to use throughout the day. For example, if your child is working on the “L” sound and your dog’s name is “Bella,” write it down! For more word ideas, check out these high-frequency word lists:
High-Frequency Word List
Why it works:
Research shows that speech therapy for kids, including articulation therapy, may be most effective when delivered in high-frequency sessions – at least two to three sessions per week. [1] This method allows for frequent practice and is built into their routine (i.e., teeth brushing), supporting consistent speech practice. Use of the mirror encourages correct placement of articulators as your child can see their mouth as they practice. By choosing words your child frequently uses, your child gets additional speech practice throughout the day whenever they use those words! This promotes generalization to using these sounds correctly in everyday life instead of only practicing sounds during structured speech sound activities. Focusing on a few specific words can be less overwhelming for your child than being provided with constant feedback about incorrect articulation.
2. Movement Games
Who it's best for: Younger children who need more direct support and like to MOVE and PLAY!
How: Incorporate your child’s speech sounds into fun, movement-based activities.
Musical “Pictures” -Play musical chairs using pictures containing your child’s speech sounds. Whenever the music stops, they sit on a picture and practice the word containing their speech sound at least 3 to 5 times. I like using the app Musical Chairs Party Games app for iPhone.
Scavenger Hunt - Hide pictures of words containing your child’s speech sound around the room. You can also hide them in a toy like plastic eggs.
Ball popper or toss game- Stick pictures of words containing your child’s speech sound on the wall and hit them with a ball popper. You can write numbers on the balls to indicate the number of times they practice the word! Similarly, you can put pictures on a corn hole board or similar target game.
Why it works: Children are motivated by play! [2]. These activities also allow the parent to provide many models of the speech sounds. Even if your child is not yet independent with self-monitoring or producing the sound, they will still benefit from observing the speech.
3. Auditory & Phonological Therapy Activities
Who it's best for:
Children who cannot easily produce target sounds correctly or resist practicing speech sounds. Auditory discrimination tasks are speech-sound activities that don’t require your child to say the sounds! These activities are also beneficial to children working on early literacy skills.
How: In a previous blog post, we discussed minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are words that differ by only one speech sound or phoneme. In a lot of cases, these are rhyming words (e.g., “cat” and “bat”). However, if the differing sounds are in a different word position, they may not be (e.g., “bag” and “bat”). Auditory discrimination tasks involve identifying the sounds they hear. For example, “Does ‘cat ‘start with the ‘k’ sound or the ‘b’ sound?”
Matching - Match pictures of words containing your child’s speech sound to rhyming words. A fun way to do this is by creating a matching puzzle! AdaptEd makes a variety of puzzle pictures that are easily adaptable by putting pictures over the numbers. You can also make your own puzzle by finding an image including your child’s favorite characters and dividing it into pieces. Add pictures of the words to the bottom. Add the rhyming words or minimal pairs on another page for your child to match. Make the activity reusable by laminating and using velcro to stick the strips to the page.
Download my free R and S matching activity!
Sorting - Sort pictures of words containing your child’s speech sound by sound. Note that we are focused on sounds, not letters. For example, “cat” starts with “c” but makes the “k” sound like in “kite.” Your child can glue pictures or you can use stickers/labels to stick the pictures on!
Download my free R and S sorting activity!
Play speech therapist - Tell your child that they get to play the part of “speech therapist.” Produce the target sound correctly and incorrectly, and ask them to be the judge!
Why it works:
Research indicates that auditory discrimination promotes self-monitoring and is useful before engaging in speech sound practice. [3] These activities also allow children to hear their parents model the correct production of their target speech sounds. This can provide an excellent way to continue practice at home in a low-pressure way that doesn’t require the child to be able to produce the sound correctly. Additionally, it promotes early literacy development by increasing awareness of sounds in words!
Additional tips for practicing speech at home:
Always check with your child’s speech pathologist to determine which sounds your child is practicing in articulation therapy. If your child receives speech therapy in school, it may be helpful to look at your child’s most recent progress report to see which sounds they are working on.
Need more help with cueing your child during speech sound practice? Ask your child’s speech pathologist which cues have been most helpful for your child during articulation therapy sessions. You may even ask your child’s speech pathologist to provide a video with examples of how to produce the sound. You can also check out the Peachie Speechie Youtube channel for helpful tips on producing speech sounds!
Do you need pictures to use for your activities? I love using Canva to make my own speech cards, but you can also find various pictures for speech sound practice at Mommy Speech Therapy for free!
Remember that speech therapy for kids is most effective when the child produces the sound correctly for many repetitions. For example, saying “wabbit” 20 times daily will not be beneficial if the child is working on the “r” sound. If your child cannot produce the sound correctly or is resistant to feedback, focusing on auditory discrimination activities may be better.
When providing models of the speech sound, be sure your child is looking at your mouth as much as possible as you produce the sound. Similarly, encourage your child to use a mirror to practice appropriate articulator placement (i.e., lips, tongue).
Keep it fun! Practice sessions are best if they are frequent and brief to reduce frustration. Stay positive and upbeat! The more your child has fun, the more willing they will be to engage in speech sound practice activities.
Incorporate activities into your routine as much as possible. It will be easier to remember to practice if it always occurs in conjunction with another part of your child’s routine. Maybe they practice their words after brushing their teeth or complete a sorting activity at mealtime.
For more information on speech therapy and speech sound disorders, see the blog post "Speech—What's typical and what isn’t.”
Branch Out Therapy LLC is now accepting clients at its office in the Be Well Collective on Henderson Rd. in Columbus, Ohio.
Are you concerned about your child’s speech or have questions about speech therapy? Connect with Branch Out Therapy today! Complete the contact form, and I will contact you soon!
Sources
[1] McAllister Byun, T. (2012). Treatment Intensity in Speech Sound Disorders: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21(2), 137–149. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0024)
[2] Lillard, A. S. (2013). Playful learning and Montessori education. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 11(2), 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X12450946
[3] Furlong, L. M., Morris, M. E., Serry, T. A., & Erickson, S. (2021). Treating Childhood Speech Sound Disorders: Current Approaches to Management by Australian Speech-Language Pathologists. https://doi.org/23814764000300140072
