Speech and Language Therapy Advice
HELPING A CHILD TO LEARN TO USE A NEW SPEECH SOUND
Lots of children find it tricky to learn to speak clearly and may need to work hard to
learn to use some sounds effectively. When helping a child to develop their speech
skills it is important to understand that they need to work through a series of steps to
success. The speed at which different children develop their skills will vary. It is
essential that you work at their pace and are not tempted to rush any of the stages.
If the child is not ready for the next step then you will end up asking them to do
something that is too hard, leading to constant failure and low self esteem.
The stages of learning to use a new sound:

Can the child hear the speech sound? We use lots of different sounds in
English and young children need to learn to hear the difference between them,
eg. Did you say p, t or k? This can make a big difference to what the child
hears when people are speaking, eg. are you talking about a cap or a tap, a
tick or a kick? This can take a long time for some children. It is important to
help a child to hear a sound that they are not using by playing listening games.
Can they tell you which sound you are saying from a choice of 2 or 3? Young
children often enjoy relating speech sounds to pictures or actions rather than
letters, eg. Using the Jolly Phonics pictures and saying “s” when you see the
snake. Remember, in these games you are focusing on the sounds, not the
letters.

Can the child hear the new sound within words? This is harder than
listening for the sound on its own. You will need to play more listening games
using words instead of sounds. The sound might be at the beginning or end of
a word. The hardest difference for a child to hear is often working out whether
you are saying the target sound, or the one that they usually replace it with, eg
big or fig? If the child can hear the difference between 2 sounds that they tend
to muddle then they are doing very well.

Can the child say the sound? Some children find it very hard to tell their lips
and tongue what to do and need to spend a long time practising making the
sound they are trying to learn. If you think that the child is finding this
particularly difficult then please contact your Speech and Language Therapist
for advice.

Can the child say the sound at the beginning or end of simple words?
This is harder than saying the sound on its own. Some words will be easier
than others as the letters in them will support the correct articulation for the
child’s new sound.

Can the child say the sound in all sorts of words and sentences? This
can take a very long time. Start by playing simple games which require the
child to comment using short phrases, eg. asking for a particular card in Happy
Families or Go Fish. Looking out for tricky letters before starting a reading
book can also work well.
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Important points to remember:
1. You are helping the child with something that they are finding hard. They are not
being lazy or naughty, but will quickly become fed up if they keep failing. If the child
is reluctant then perhaps the activity is too hard, or they are not feeling ready for it.
Check that you are not asking too much from them and try to keep practise games as
fun as possible. Think about what motivates the child and what rewards they
respond to.
2. Unless you are sure that the child is able to say their target sound, do not ask
them to keep repeating words or sounds after you. If the child says a word wrong
then accept it, but model the correct way of saying it when you answer them, eg.
Child: “Loot a tar.”
Adult: “Oh yes, look a car. What a great car.”
Give lots of praise when a child does well in practise.
3. Practise little and often. At times it is better to do 2 minutes 15 times a day than
sit down for ½ hour together and struggle through lots of efforts until you are both fed
up. It is always better to stop on a positive note, so don’t be tempted to make the
session too long just because things are going well. Remember the longer you
practise the more likely it is that the child will begin to make mistakes.
4. Practise in as many situations as possible. This makes it easier for the child to
generalise their new skills.
5. Don’t be tempted to move through the stages too quickly, as this can just end up
reinforcing bad habits. Make sure that the child is very good at the current stage, eg.
making the sound on its own, before moving on.
6. Make sure that the child is in the right mood before you begin; therapy practise
will be much more successful. If things are going badly, stop and try again later.
7. Avoid distractions during practice times:
 turn the television/music off
 find a quiet place
 discourage unhelpful noise and input from other children.
8. Concentrate only on the sound(s) suggested by the child’s therapist. This may
mean ignoring other speech errors for the time being; you can help the child with
these later.
9. If a child becomes reluctant to practise their speech games then you could try
focusing on modelling their sound to them using a range of games and activities. For
example you might make up a story about Soapy Sarah who washes smelly socks,
or read a story about Kevin the careful camel (remember you do not have to stick to
the words written in a picture book if you find one with useful pictures). This
approach is a helpful way to give the child the chance to hear their target sound
without feeling any pressure.
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General ideas to help a child with speech sound difficulties:
Please discuss these suggestions with everyone involved with the child. This
includes family members and friends, school staff and other carers. It is important
that everyone is consistent and helps to support the child.

DO gain the child’s attention and eye contact before talking with him/her.

Do get down to the child’s level and speak slowly and clearly so that they can
see, hear and process the sounds you make as you are talking.

Do use sentences appropriate to the developmental age of the child; the
younger he/she is, the shorter the sentences should be. Try to be guided by
the child’s language level, not their age. This allows you to give them a model
that they can follow, rather than a lot of noise that it is hard for them to follow.

Do be positive about the child’s speech.

Do listen to what he is saying, rather than how he is saying it.

Do give the child the opportunity to speak freely. Constantly interrupting a
child’s conversation to correct his pronunciation will make it hard for him to
formulate ideas and may reduce his confidence and delay his language
development.

Do repeat a word accurately if it has been mis-pronounced by the child.
e.g. Child says: “Where’s my tock?”
Adult says: “There’s your sssock.” Gently highlighting the hard sound.

Do not constantly correct the child or tell him/her he is saying words wrongly.
This implies criticism and may put him/her off talking to you. For example, if
the child says “tar”, you should not say “No, it’s a car.” This is likely to lead to
confusion and a feeling of rejection. If you say “Yes, it’s a car.”, you will have
approved of the child’s attempt to say the word whilst also implanting the
correct version into the child’s perception/subconscious.

Do not allow family or friends to correct a child’s speech, tease or criticise.
Children who are finding it hard to develop clear speech are not being lazy.

Do not keep asking the child to repeat or “Say .......” or put them in a situation
where they are required to speak.

Do not use exaggerated mouth movements when speaking to the child.

Do not allow him/her to become too speech conscious.

Do not withhold opportunities from a child simply because he/she has unclear
speech. Children with speech sound difficulties need to have the same
opportunities to learn and develop reading skills as other children, but they will
need you to show more care and awareness of the demands within tasks.
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