By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have an R-student who is just about ready for dismissal. He can do almost all postvocalic R sounds, but not ER all by itself. Thus, he can say, “deer,” “door,” “dare,” and “dart.” But he cannot say “dirt.” Help! Your client is almost there! He only needs to learn how separate the ER-part from the preceding vowels he has it attached to. In other words, he needs to learn to isolate ER from the VOWEL+ER’s he is doing….
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Does a short frenulum interfere with “R” production? A short frenum will prevent the client from learning what I call the “Tip R.” Most call it the “Retroflex R.” But a short frenum should not prevent the client from learning a “Back R.” My book called Successful R Therapy describes these two different positions for this elusive phoneme.
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have a child who can successfully produce R in all positions except in the post-vocalic position following O, as in “four,” “pour,” “door,” or “or.” Any advice you have would be great. If the client produces a truly great R in all other ways except the sequence following O, then this is a matter of helping him maintain a good-sounding O and then transitioning successfully to the final R he already can do. Here’s how I would do…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have a severely apraxic sixth grader who omits /r/ in blends. Is it appropriate to teach her to use /w/ instead in order to increase intelligibility? For example, can I teach her to say “bwick” for “brick”? I always take the liberty of teaching w/r in these cases. The /w/ holds the place until the client is ready for /r/. This is exactly what many typically developing children do in the younger years. I also add a schwa…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have a client who makes a nasal sound for L and R. He has no other nasal problems. What can I do? This is all a matter of ear training. This is a client who can move his velum, but he has a habit of lowering it when he makes certain sounds, in this case, L and R. In other words, the client does not have a velo-pharyngeal insufficiency or incompetency. He simply has a habit of lowering…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
