Bunched R vs. Retroflex R: Which one should I teach?
The /r/ sound has a reputation among SLPs for being hard to teach. One reason for this is it can be produced with two different tongue positions: bunched or retroflex. Even within these two tongue ...
Tongue TENSION for the R Sound
I’m always telling my students to pull their tongue back, bunch it up, and make it tight. But what if they don’t quite understand that tension piece? Here are some ways to teach it that have worke...
Don't Say R! Reframing in Speech Therapy
The R sound can be challenging and cause frustration. One way to approach the sound is by calling it something else completely. Don’t say R! This approach reframes the activity. Instead of that dre...
SLPs often ask me to recommend materials for teaching the R sound. So here is a helpful list...
Gift Guide For Speech Therapists
If you’re shopping for a speech-language pathologist (SLP), you’ve come to the right place. I’m an SLP with over a decade of experience and I’ve got a list of 10 amazing gifts for the special speec...
8 Holiday & Winter Activities for Speech Therapy
The holiday season is here and SLPs everywhere are just trying to make it to Christmas break. Let me save you a little planning time with these festive downloadable activities.
10 Halloween Activities for Speech Therapy
October is here and I’ve got a list of festive activities for your speech therapy sessions! I hope you like these suggestions for a festive, spooky October in speech therapy!
Want to keep your speech students engaged and entertained this fall? They need repeated practice, but are getting bored with the same old props. Enter the skull...
Pirate Activities for Speech Therapy
Ahoy there, mateys! September 19th be the grand day to Talk Like a Pirate, and in me speech room, we be raisin' the Jolly Roger high! Aye, we used to make the whole month o' September a pirate's pa...
Home Practice for Students Who Aren’t Stimulable for a Speech Sound
Parents may be eager to participate, but this is not the time to send home “speech homework” in the form of word lists or drill-based activities. Let me explain...
Dwight is right. The R sound can be menacing! But trust me, you can learn to love the challenge of treating R errors as much as I do! In this blog post, I’m going to share my general outline for R ...
Mouth Models for Speech Therapy
If you do articulation therapy, you need a mouth model! I have been an SLP for over a decade and I’ve been collecting mouth models since day one. So which models are the best? How can you effectiv...
5 Silly Ways School-Based SLPs Can Celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month
When your coworkers ask you about these crazy things you’ve done, that is your opportunity to teach them about what you do!
A lateral S (also called a lateral lisp) is easily recognized due to the slushy, wet sound. Let’s start by looking at what happens in the mouth when you produce an accurate S sound and compare that...
If you haven’t tried speech motor chaining with your R students, I highly recommend you keep reading! Chaining is a treatment approach during which you build on pre-trained sounds, gradually increa...
Magnify Your Fun in Speech Therapy
Here’s a tip for making your speech therapy sessions extra fun: use a magnifying glass!