Articulation Archives - Page 28 of 34 - Marshalla Speech & Language

Category: Articulation

Oral Stability and the Frontal Lisp

By Pam Marshalla

I receive weekly questions about the severe frontal lisp. The questions always are about how to keep the tongue inside the mouth for speech. We are talking here about the client who has: Interdental tongue placement on all the sibilants: S, Z, Sh, Zh, Ch, J Interdental tongue placement on all the lingua-alveolar sounds: T, D, N, L Open mouth resting posture Reverse swallow (infantile suckle-swallow, tongue-thrust swallow) From a motor perspective, the severe frontal lisp with interdental tongue placement…

Hypernasal /r/

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I read your explanation on how to teach a child to say R without nasality. I used a tube to help him as you suggested, and he now understands the difference between oral and nasal sounds. However, he still cannot produce the vocalic /r/ without it sounding hypernasal. I have tried everything and I was wondering if you have any suggestions! You have to tell him NOT to say R. Instead, have him say his nice oral vowel with…

Giving a Prognosis to Parents

By Pam Marshalla

Q: What do you say to parents who want to know how much longer speech therapy will continue? I have been seeing an 8-year-old boy for two years for auditory processing, and for both receptive and expressive language skills. He is making good progress but could honestly be in therapy for a few more years. It sounds like this client may never have “normal” speech and language, and he could use help for as long as he can get it….

The Roles of Oral Rest Posture and Neutral Position in Articulation Therapy

By Pam Marshalla

Q: How do oral rest and the neutral position impact articulation? Should we be concerned about these subjects in clients with an articulation/phonological deficit? So very many of our clients have problems with oral rest posture and the neutral position that I get at least one email per week from all over the world from SLP’s trying to figure out what to do about it. I will have a chapter devoted to this topic in my next book to be…

Quick Dismissal on /r/

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I saw a client with /r/ problems and dismissed him after he could produce /r/ with reminders on picture-naming tasks. I saw him again a year later and his /r/ had deteriorated. Should this have happened? Should I put him back in therapy, or do you think that this will take care of itself? What I have done with these kids is the following: You let him go too quickly. Never dismiss a client until the process of articulation…

Stimulability and /r/ Therapy

By Pam Marshalla

Q: Do you think that a 21-year-old client who is not stimulable for /r/ can learn it? A client who is not stimulable for /r/ is just as likely to learn it in therapy as one who is not. The therapy is designed to teach it to him. The idea of “stimulability” comes from the phonology literature. When a client has multiple misarticulations we work on the next phoneme for which the client seems stimulable. The same idea does not necessarily…

“Sharp” or “Whistling” /s/

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I have a student who has been in therapy for /s/ for a while now and, although he is able to produce the /s/ sound, his mom thinks it is now too sharp and unnatural. Do you have any advise for this? When we are talking about refining an /s/ like you describe, this all auditory work combined with subtle tongue, lip, and perhaps jaw changes. This is the essence of articulation refinement for all phonemes for all clients….

Articulation Procedure Basics

By Pam Marshalla

Q: When a child can produce his new sound correctly, do we go for the next level – syllabic level – in the same session? Don’t we have to dedicate a whole session for one goal to be sure that we have achieved the desired result? I always do as much as possible in every session I have with my clients. I try to work on phoneme, syllable, word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, and conversation all in the same session if…

Motivating /r/ Therapy

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I’m working on /r/ with a 4th grade boy that simply does not care about his speech. The parents are upset about his refusals and are blaming me for it! Help! A Few Ideas for the Client Let him opt out for now. Tell him he does not have to fix this now, and that he can do it later. Make it matter-of-fact and no big deal. Some kids will stay in therapy when they know they can get…

Postvocalic /r/

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My client has an initial position /r/. But I’m having a difficult time getting it in final position. How can I get this final /r/? Use his initial /r/ to teach the final /r/. I do it like this: Select a word that starts with /r/ that he can say well, like “rock”. And select a word that ends in /r/ that he cannot say, like “car.” Have the client say them in sequence: “Car-Rock.” The trick is to…