We all need new tricks from time to time to elicit target sounds in speech therapy
As speech-language pathologists, the beginning of our speech sound therapy looks roughly the same:
We first determine which speech sound(s) we need to work on, and do some differential diagnosis for articulation errors, phonological errors, apraxia, dysarthria, hearing issues, and structural issues. (Get my graphic that illustrates everything SLPs do in speech therapy, on the free downloads page)
After that, there are infinite directions speech sound therapy can go in, based on factors such as the personality and preferences of the student, their stimulability for target sounds, the approach we choose, and the student's response and rate of progress.
Over the years, I've found that techniques for successfully eliciting specific speech sounds vary widely; tricks that work for one student may not work at all for another. This makes sense, given that there are many potential reasons the child is having difficulty with the sound in the first place, including issues with their phonological system, or oral motor difficulties.
(Check out this post about giving students escape hatches when speech therapy feels too hard!)
I recently had quick success eliciting "sh" (ʃ) with the first strategy I'll describe below. In my research, I came across a few other cool ideas I'm going to describe here and tuck away for future use, because I know I'll need them eventually!
Some cool speech therapy elicitation tricks for the /sh/ sound
Elongate the /i/ (eeee) sound with lips retracted in a smile. Next, do this in a whisper. As you produce an elongated /i/ in a whisper, round your lips. Once the lips are in a circle, the sound being produced should approximate a 'sh'.
Make a /t/ sound "long" by drawing out the aspiration at the end. While you're aspirating the /t/, keep your tongue tip up and round your lips. The sound should approximate a 'sh'.
Produce a 'th' (θ) and prolong it. Keep the air flow going as you slide your tongue behind your teeth and bite your teeth together. The sound should transform into 'sh'.
Produce the /s/ and /d͡ʒ/ sounds in rapid succession. Next, whisper this sound sequence while rounding the lips. The sound should approximate a 'sh'.
Hopefully, one of these techniques will work for your student!
Interested in combining speech sound therapy with spelling? Check out this post. There are several resources that target spelling skills and the 'sh' sound together!
Have any speech sound errors you find tricky or any hacks that have helped you in your own speech therapy sessions? Please share your experiences and wisdom in the comments!
LEVEL UP YOUR SPEECH THERAPY ACTIVITIES WITH STORYWHYS
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Have you heard? StoryWhys now offers the Speech and Spell series of resources. I am always trying to tie articulation work and spelling together in my therapy and I've never found any good resources out there to help me do this. So I made my own! Many more speech sounds and spelling rules to come. They'll be 50% off for 48 hrs when new resources are added to the StoryWhys store. Find them here.
Did you know book companions can be among the best speech therapy materials for elementary students? Explore all of the StoryWhys book companions for speech therapy in my store. You'll find comprehensive book companions that target many different language skills or Spotlight Series book companions that focus on one type of skill, all using high-quality, beloved storybooks.
For quick videos to help you get the most from StoryWhys book companions, check out the YouTube channel here.
And get your FREE, 71-page book companion for speech therapy on the free downloads page.
Enjoy!
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