You may have noticed that your own child, grandchild or student in your class is finding it hard to make certain speech sound. Here are a few tips to assist speech sound practise. The suggestions offered here provide a quick overview. If the child continues to have difficulties, please contact a speech and language therapist directly.
Please note that when you are saying speech sounds it is the sound not the letter name. Try not to add an ‘er’ sound afterwards. For example, it is /t/ not “ter”.
The sounds listed below are in no order. Please look through to locate the sound(s) relevant to your need.
/p/ Achieved by pushing lips together and puffing a quick burst of air out.
Activities to help production: 1. Puffing out a candle. 2. Puffing a paper fish across a table. 3. Blowing bubbles.
Pictures/prompts to represent /p/ are: popcorn, a jacket popper or bubble wrap.
/b/ Achieved by pushing lips together and puffing a quick burst of air out whilst also turning voice* on.
Activities to help production: 1. Puffing a paper fish across a table with voice* on. 3. Blowing bubbles.
Picture/prompt to represent /b/ is: ball
/m/ Achieved by placing lips together and humming the sound through with voice* on.
Activities to help production: 1. Placing lips on an inflated balloon and humming. 2. Humming a tune.
Pictures/prompts to represent /m/ are: Tasty food, a tune note or someone humming.
/n/ Achieved by placing tongue tip up behind top teeth (ridge) and holding the sound in mouth with voice* on.
Picture/prompt to represent /n/ is: nose
/h/ Achieved by opening mouth and gently ‘huffing’ air out.
Activity to help production: Holding a mirror by mouth and trying to mist it up as air is ‘huffed’ out.
Picture/prompt to represent /h/ is: people jogging
/t/ Achieved by placing tongue tip up behind top teeth (ridge) and tapping it quickly whilst creating an airflow.
Activities to help production: 1. Placing a favourite food up behind top teeth and try to get it with tongue tip. 2. Gently rubbing the ridge behind top teeth and then placing tongue tip in the same place(encourage the child to do this themselves so that you are not placing your own fingers into a child’s mouth).
Picture/prompt to represent /t/ is: dripping tap.
/d/ Achieved by placing tongue tip up behind top teeth (ridge) and tapping it quickly whilst creating an airflow with voice* on.
Activities to help production: 1. Placing a favourite food up behind top teeth and trying to get it with tongue tip. 2. Gently rubbing the ridge behind top teeth and then placing tongue tip in the same place (Encourage the child to do this themselves so that you are not placing your own fingers into a child’s mouth).
Picture/prompt to represent /d/ is: drum
/f/ Achieved by placing top teeth over bottom lip and gently blowing air out.
Activities to help production: 1. Placing favourite food onto child’s lower lip and encouraging them to get it off using top teeth. 2. Pretending to be like bunny rabbits.
Pictures/prompts to represent /f/ are: firework and bunny rabbit.
/v/ Achieved by placing top teeth over bottom lip and gently blowing air out whilst voicing*
Activities to help production: 1. Placing favourite food onto child’s lower lip and encouraging them to get it off using their top teeth. 2. Pretending to be like bunny rabbits.
Picture/prompt to represent /v/ is: van
/k/ Achieved by opening mouth and pushing the sound from the back of the throat through the mouth.
Activities to help production: 1. Doing a gentle cough with the mouth open. 2. Laying on their back, opening mouth and trying to gently push the air out from the back.
Pictures/prompts to represent /k/ are: camera and castanets
/g/ Achieved by opening mouth and pushing the sound from the back of the throat through the mouth whist also voicing*.
Activities to help production: 1. Doing a gentle cough, with voice turned on, with the mouth open. 2. Laying on their back, opening mouth and trying to gently push the air out from the back with the voice* on.
Picture/prompt to represent /g/ is: plug hole (i.e. water going down it g-g-g)
/s/ Achieved by placing teeth together and hissing the sound through.
Activities to help production: 1. Whilst cleaning teeth practise putting teeth together, smiling and hissing out a sound. 2. Pretend being a snake. 3. Place a straw tightly between teeth and try and hiss down the straw. 4. Make the sound /t/ as many times as you can and as quickly as you can.
Picture/prompt to represent /s/ is: snake
/z/ Achieved by placing teeth together and hissing the sound through whilst turning voice* on.
Activities to help production: 1. Whilst cleaning teeth practise putting teeth together, smiling and hissing out a sound with voice* on. 2. Pretend to do up a zip. 3. Place a straw tightly between teeth and try and hiss down the straw with voice* on. 4. Make the sound /d/ as many times as you can and as quickly as you can.
Picture/prompt to represent /z/ is: zip
/l/ Achieved by placing tongue tip up behind top teeth (ridge) and holding the sound with voice* on.
Activities to help production: 1. Licking a lolly from top to bottom. 2. Placing a favourite food up behind top teeth and locating this with tongue tip. 3. Squeezing a breakfast cereal pod up behind top teeth with tongue.
Picture/prompt to represent /l/ is: lollypop
‘sh’ Achieved by placing teeth together, pushing lips forward and hissing the sound out.
Activities to help production: 1. Blowing bubbles. 2. Making the ‘oo’ sound but without noise. 3. Saying the sound and adding in a ‘y’ (e.g. sh-y)
Picture/prompt to represent ‘sh’ is: someone saying sshhh
‘ch’ Achieved by placing teeth together, pushing lips forward and crisply pushing the sound out.
Activities to help production: 1. Saying the sounds /t/ and ‘y’ quickly. 2. Pretending to be a train.
Picture/prompt to represent ‘ch’ is: train
‘j’ Achieved by placing teeth together, pushing lips forward and crisply pushing the sound out with voice* on.
Activity to help production: 1. Saying the sounds /d/ and ‘y’ quickly.
Picture/prompt to represent ‘j’ is: jack in a box
*If you hold your hands either side of your neck and make any vowel sound you will feel a slight vibration through your hands. This is you voicing or turning your voice on.
Please refer to a previous yoohoo blog for information relating to the order in which, typically, speech sounds develop. https://yoohoo.org.uk/blogs/news/speech-sound-development
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