Hey SLPs! Here’s a little trick for eliciting the R sound. All you need is a tongue depressor!
How to do the Stick Trick for R
- Ask your student to smile and open their mouth a little.
- Place the tongue depressor horizontally in their mouth, as pictured.
- They will place the tip of their tongue on the edge of the stick in their mouth.
- Prompt them to lift the back sides of their tongue up to touch the insides of their back teeth ( “taco tongue” position !)
Why this works
- It stabilizes the jaw.
- It prevents excessive lip rounding.
- It encourages tongue placement for bunched R.
Does it work for every single kid? Nope. Have I found some success with it? Yep. :) If you’re struggling with the R sound, the stick trick might be worth a try! Let me know how it goes!
Oh, and if you want to see a video of me doing the Stick Trick with a child, click here.
Need more materials and ideas for R? Check out this blog post and my free speech sound video library.
Xoxox,
Meredith
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