Speech therapy can help both children and adults speak more clearly. If you’re working to improve your speech articulation, or helping your child speak more clearly, you may be wondering how to practice effectively. Here’s why home practice matters, what to work on, and when to practice speech sounds.
Why practice speech sounds?
The goal of speech therapy is to master new speech sounds and use them across many kinds of conversations. This is called generalization. It helps you communicate more clearly in everyday situations, including at school, at work, and in social settings.
Why does home speech practice matter so much? Practicing between sessions reinforces what you’re learning in speech therapy. It allows you to keep moving forward at each session instead of spending time “relearning” material from the previous one.
Simply put, more practice leads to better progress. You can reach your goals sooner, which means spending less time in speech therapy. Because therapy requires both time and money, it makes sense to get as much as possible from that investment.
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How to practice speech sounds at home
Practice exactly what your speech therapist has assigned. For example, if your therapist asks you to work on a sound in syllables or words, don’t jump ahead to sentences. Articulation skills are typically learned through a hierarchy. You usually need to master a speech sound at each level before advancing to the next one. The levels are:
- Isolation level
- Syllable level
- Word level
- Phrase level
- Sentence level
- Conversation level
For example, suppose you were practicing the /s/ sound. The hierarchy would look like this:
- Isolation: /s/
- Syllable: so
- Word: soup
- Phrase: eat soup
- Sentence: I eat soup for lunch.
- Conversation: I had soup for lunch. It was a new soup I’d never made before. This soup had lots of vegetables and tasted delicious.
How long should speech practice take?
You may wonder how much time to spend practicing speech and whether longer or shorter sessions work best.
Shorter, more frequent bursts of practice are actually better. They give the person frequent opportunities to learn and produce the sound correctly, which can lead to faster improvement. Aim for 5 to 10 minutes of practice each day. These bite-sized sessions can go a long way.
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When to practice speech sounds at home
Your speech therapist will also tell you when to begin practicing. Before you start, you need to be able to produce the speech sound correctly. That way, you’re practicing the correct motor pattern rather than reinforcing a pattern of saying the sound incorrectly.
If your speech therapist hasn’t assigned homework yet, don’t panic. You’re likely still in the early stages and may need a few more sessions before you’re ready to practice independently. Ask your speech therapist how you’re progressing.
You can work on speech sounds as part of your daily routine. Try fitting in a little practice during activities such as:
- While getting ready for the day
- During the drive to school or work
- Right before bed
- While cooking or washing the dishes
Choose a time and place with as few distractions as possible. This helps the person practicing focus and listen carefully to how they’re producing each sound.
For children, practicing target words during playtime can be especially fun, such as during make-believe play with toys. Games are useful tools, too. The person can practice their target sound with each turn. Try board games, card games, shooting hoops, or kicking a soccer ball back and forth. Any motivating activity can work.
4 tips for speech practice at home
1. Find a practice partner
Whenever possible, practice with a partner. A child might work with a parent or caregiver, while an adult might ask a spouse or friend to help. Practicing with another person is always beneficial because the partner can provide feedback, assistance, and prompts when needed.
2. Keep practice positive
Articulation practice can be difficult, and you may not feel motivated to do it every day. Try to keep the experience as positive as possible. If you care for a child, praise them when they produce sounds correctly and let them know you see how hard they’re working. Simple comments such as “Great job!” or “I know you’re trying hard on this!” can go a long way.
If you’re an adult in speech therapy, take pride in what you’re accomplishing. Setting aside time to improve your speech isn’t always easy. You’re investing in yourself, so remember that consistent practice will pay off over time.
3. Give your child constructive feedback
It’s both OK and necessary to tell a child when they haven’t produced a sound correctly. Keep your feedback positive but honest. You might say, “That’s not quite it. Let’s try it again!” or “I can tell you’re working so hard. Let’s keep at it!”
4. Be patient
Changing a speech pattern takes time. Unlearning one can be a little like changing a habit, and habits can be hard to break. Improving speech patterns is certainly possible, but it requires time and diligent practice.
There’s a lot to consider when practicing speech at home, but consistency matters most. Remember that your speech therapist is there to support and guide you at every step.