What Is Articulation Therapy? A Guide for Parents and Caregivers
If your child has trouble pronouncing certain sounds, you’re not alone! Many children struggle with articulation at some point, but speech therapy can help. Articulation therapy is one of the most common types of speech therapy, focusing on improving how sounds are formed and spoken.
What Is Articulation Therapy?
Articulation therapy helps individuals correctly produce speech sounds by teaching proper tongue, lip, and jaw movements. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) works with the child to target specific sounds they have difficulty with, such as "r," "s," "l," or "th."
How Does It Work?
Therapy follows a structured process, usually in these steps:
Sound Isolation – Practicing the sound by itself (e.g., just saying "s").
Syllables and Words – Adding the sound to syllables and then words (e.g., "sa," "see," "soap").
Phrases and Sentences – Practicing the sound in short phrases and full sentences.
Conversation – Using the sound naturally in everyday speech.
The SLP may use mirrors, visual cues, and games to make learning fun and engaging!
Who Can Benefit?
Articulation therapy is great for:
Children with speech delays or disorders
Adults with persistent articulation difficulties
Individuals recovering from speech-related injuries
When Should You Seek Help?
If your child is difficult to understand past a certain age or struggles with specific sounds that don’t improve over time, an SLP evaluation might be helpful. Early intervention leads to better results!
Final Thoughts
Articulation therapy is a proven way to help children and adults improve their speech clarity. With patience and practice, speech sounds can become much clearer, boosting confidence and communication skills!