• Use I Spy books or puzzles or put pictures of s cluster objects on the wall and play “I Spy” games.

• Use a puppet spider and have the child say “Ms. Spider” instead of “Mother May I” when asking to do something. For example, “Ms. Spider, may I take 2 steps forward?”.

• Use pictures of a stop sign, go sign, school, and a school bus attached to popsicle sticks and play a game. Stand far away from the child and have the child tell you when to go and stop. If the child says “top” instead of “stop”, keep going. Keep moving forward until you reach the school (child).

 
I have more ideas and printable materials available in my S Clusters Basic Set and S Clusters Expansion Set at: http://www.speechtherapyideas.com/products/
 

Becky Wanca
 

Materials:
- a cardboard tube from a paper towel or toilet paper roll for you and each child (decorating is optional)
- stimulus cards or pictures

Use:
Word level – Have the child look through a tube at stimulus cards (or around the room to find objects with the target sound) and then say the word.

Sentence level – Depending on what level you are working on, the child could simply say, “I see a __.” or a more complex sentence such as “The __ is next to the window.”

Groups – Play the game “I Spy” with the tubes and have the children guess what the person has spotted. Be sure to let them know what sound is being targeted.

Extra ideas:
Use this activity in pirate, explorer, and astronomy themes.

To make your own, go to http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/

I’ve made some pages of “r” and “l” Valentine’s Day words on hearts for you to print.

L Valentine’s Day words on hearts

R Valentine’s Day words on hearts

Enjoy your week!
Becky

Could it be?  Could hanging laundry actually be fun?  With this speech therapy activity it can be!

What you’ll need

- Picture or word cards cut out in the shape of clothing (e.g., shirts, shorts, mittens)
- Yarn or string (and a simple way to hang it)
- Clothespins or large paper clips
- Small basket or container for the cards

How to set up

- Hang the yarn or string horizontally at a height that the child can reach.
- Attach clothes pins (or large paper clips) to the string.
- Put the cards in the basket.

How to “play”

Have the child pick a card and say the word or a sentence for the word.  Then let the child hang it on the line.  You can also have the child repeat the words or sentences when taking down the cards.

Variations

Use this for language activities as well.  Hang one part of a pair on the line and have the child match the other part to it.  For example:

- Write a word on a shirt cut-out and the word’s antonym on a shorts cut-out.  Hang the shirts on the line and put the shorts in the basket.  Have the child match the shorts to the corresponding shirt by identifying its opposite.

- Write a contraction on a mitten and its corresponding word set on another mitten.  Hang the contractions on the line and have the child match the word sets to the contractions.

The possibilities are endless!

Free Printables

If you’d like more ideas and free printables, make sure you are signed up on the email list.  You’ll get a monthly email including free materials and ideas that are not posted on the website.  New blog posts are emailed to you automatically so you won’t miss a single idea.

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Interdental lisping is when the tongue protrudes between the front teeth when producing /s/ or /z/, resulting in a “th” sound.  The /s/ becomes a voiceless “th”, as in “think”, and the /z/ becomes a voiced “th”, as in “those”.  Interdental lisping, also be known as “frontal lisping”, is a normal developmental phase that some children go through.  Because of this, if a person continues this pattern of speech past the age when most have outgrown it (around 4 ½ years old), his speech may be perceived as juvenile. 

 
What about other interdental sounds?

Other sounds may be produced with a protruding tongue as well.  Most commonly, lingual protrusion during the “sh”, “zh” (as in “equation”), “ch” and “j” sounds may accompany the interdental lisping of /s/ and /z/. 

In addition, lingual alveolar sounds (i.e., /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/) that should be produced with the tongue on the alveolar ridge may be produced with the tongue protruding between the front teeth.

What can I do to work on interdentalized /s/ and /z/? 

1.   Establish auditory discrimination

2.   Provide focused auditory input.

3.   Get correct production of /s/ in isolation.

4.   Move through the hierarchy of production levels (syllables, words, phrases/sentences, reading activities, and conversational speech) with the sound in each position.  Note:  For lisping, I prefer to start with /s/ in the initial position.

Want to know more?

Detailed instructions for working on interdentalized /s/ and /z/, printable materials, and activity ideas are coming soon in the June email.  Make sure you get yours!  Enter and activate your email address here before the end of the month and receive: 

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• Use a tongue depressor to gently hold the tongue tip down while the child produces the /k/ sound.
• Use a lollipop to gently hold the tongue tip down.
• Have the child hold his tongue tip down with a clean finger.

We’ve got /k/, now what?

Once you’ve got /k/ in isolation, I find it easiest to work on /k/ in the final position, starting with the next smallest unit of production – syllables.  I work through each vowel sound with visual cueing for the /k/ sound.  Allow the child to put a pause in between the vowel and /k/ at first if necessary.  Print out this page of k final syllables and trace the dashes with your finger or a marker while the child produces the sounds.  If you laminate the page, you can use a dry erase marker to draw a line between the vowel and /k/ and then erase it and use it again.

Ready for words

Once the child is successful at the syllable level, move to short words like those in my k final picture cards.  Go through them so the child knows what each picture represents and practice them one at a time, cueing as necessary. 

Games

For practice and repetition, print out a second set of cards and play games such as “Go Fish” or “Memory” with them.  Or, clip a paper clip to the pictures and give the child a magnetic fishing pole and have him “catch” each word and say it.

Moving on

Once the child is producing /k/ words successfully, move to short phrases and sentences.  Play with nursery rhymes that are /k/ loaded, such as “Hickory Dickory Dock”.  Have the child help make up stories with /k/ words, write them down and send them home for practice.

Printables

Once again, here are the links to the free printables included in this post.  Print them out and enjoy them!  Let your friends know about them too!

k final syllables

k final picture cards

Who is Sam?

“Ssssam” is my new best friend for working on the “s” sound with children.  He is simply a sock puppet that I made with my sons and recently took to work.  And he was a hit!

What do you do with Sam?

I use Sam is different ways depending on the child I am working with. 

• For the child who is stopping “s” as “t”, I use him to get production of the “s” sound in isolation.
• For the child who is “lisping”, I use him to demonstrate keeping the tongue “put away” by tucking Sam’s tongue underneath him.  The child helps “teach” Sam and can “catch” Sam with his tongue out, which works on awareness.

The beauty of Sam is that the children put him on and demonstrate the therapy goal.  And they have fun doing it!

How do I make one?

This is the easy and fun part, and can even become a therapy activity.

Materials:
Sock (ladies’ socks are a good size)
Eyes (googly eyes or paint)
Red felt (very little is needed)
Scissors
Glue (fabric glue is best)
Decorations, optional

Steps:
1. Cut the red felt into a forked tongue shape, leaving a long base for gluing to the sock.
2. Glue the eyes (or paint them) on the “top” of the sock near the toe end.
3. Glue the tongue underneath the toe end of the sock.
4. Decorate with paint, thin ribbons, or other decorations, keeping in mind that the sock will stretch when put on the hand.

There you have it!  A fun, inexpensive therapy tool!

For a printable download of step-by-step directions with pictures, click on the link below.

sam_the_snake_directions_with_pictures

Yeah!  Your client can successfully use his target sound in words and sentences!  Now what?  It’s time to take it to the next level.  If the child can read, I recommend having him read sound-loaded stories before jumping straight into conversational speech practice. 

Why reading?

The printed words help the child see the sound coming, especially if you highlight or underline the targeted sounds.  Another advantage to the written text is that it can be practiced (at a reduced rate, if necessary).  And, of course, when it’s written down, it’s easier to keep data! 

Where do I get these stories?

There are many published books that you can purchase with sound loaded stories, especially for the “r” and “s” sounds, but I prefer to have the child be the author of his own adventure.  And here’s why…

• You can create a story for any sound.
• You can use the words he’s already been practicing.
• The story will be more interesting to the child.
• You will be reinforcing story writing skills.
• It’s FREE!

How do we get started?

1. Make a list of nouns, a list of verbs, and some adjectives that contain the target sound.  This can include the words that he has been practicing, as well as new ones that you come up with together.  (I write the list, as well as the story, as the student says it, so he can focus on the content).
2. Name the main characters.
3. Help the student come up with the story by asking questions, such as, “Where did they go?”, “What did they do?”, “What happened next?”, “What problem did they have?”, “How did they solve their problem?”, and “How did it end?”. 

“Publish” your client’s story (optional)

I usually type the story later and bring it back to the next session for the student to practice.  I make the words with the target sound bold and underlined and leave room for the child to draw pictures.  Although typing the story takes a few minutes outside of therapy time, it’s well worth the effort.  Most of my students enjoy seeing their story typed up, and it allows you to print off a second copy to send home for practice!

Why is /s/ such a super sound?

It is powerful!  The “s” sound can completely change the meaning of a word or message.  For example…

• if a child is “stopping” the “s” sound (usually substituting /t/ for /s/), the word “sold” becomes “told”.  The sentence, “He sold it to her” would become “He told it to her,” which is completely different.
• if a child is leaving off the “s” at the ends of words, many important grammatical markers are lost, such as plural “s”, possessive “s”, as well as the “s” that indicates present tense verbs (e.g., The boy walks.).  You can help his expressive language skills while working on articulation.

It occurs often!  The “s” sound is one of the most frequently used sounds, which means correcting it can dramatically increase the intelligibility of a child’s speech.

What can I do to work on the “s” sound?

• Determine the problem.  Although the basic steps are the same, your course of action will vary depending on if the client is stopping, deleting, lisping, or otherwise distorting /s/.

• Consider the client’s age.  This may be obvious, but your course of therapy and activities will not be the same for a five year old as it is for a high school senior.

• Follow the basic steps.  Figure out which step your client is currently having trouble with and start there.  When he is successful, move to the next step. 

1. Obtain airflow.
2. Establish auditory discrimination.
3. Get correct production of /s/ in isolation.
4. Move through the hierarchy of production levels (syllables, words, phrases/sentences, reading activities, and conversational speech) with the sound in each position.  Note:  I prefer to start with /s/ in the final position, move to the initial position, and then tackle medial /s/.

As many of you know, it takes time and practice for a child to move through these levels.  Make it fun, stick with it, and track your progress. 

You’ll be amazed at the difference one sound can make!