mommy speech therapy

I recently had a client that was struggling with the /t/ and /d/ sounds and realized I have not yet covered these on Mommy Speech Therapy, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on how to teach these sounds. I have grouped these sounds together because they are produced in the same manner and place. The only difference between the /t/ and /d/ sounds is the /d/ sound is voiced while the /t/ sound is not. If your child can produce a /t/ sound and not the /d/ sound you simply teach them to “turn on their voice” for the /d/ sound. Or if it is the other way around you teach them to “turn off their voice” by whispering the sound for the /t/.

Can Your Child Lift their Tongue Tip?

The most common substitution by children for the /t/ and /d/ sounds are /k/ and /g/ sounds. Children substituting the /k/ and /g/ sounds for /t/, /d/ and other front sounds generally do so because they have difficulty raising their tongue tip or they are confused about where to place their tongue to produce a /t/ and /d/ correctly. A simple way to test this is to have the child move their tongue from side to side and then up and down.

Teach Your Child Where to Place the Tongue for /t/ and /d/

If elevating the tongue tip is no problem then it is just a matter of placement. Try stimulating the gums behind the front teeth (the alveolar ridge), and the tongue tip with a small toothbrush, then tell the child to place the tongue tip behind his front teeth. Once the tongue is in place have him try to imitate a /t/ or /d/ sound all by itself. This should produce the sounds.

Teach Your Child How to Raise the Tongue for /t/ and /d/

If raising the tongue tip is difficult I like to use something tasty to provide a little incentive to get that tongue tip up. That something tasty might be putting peanut butter, pudding or marshmellow cream on the alveolar ridge, which is right behind the front teeth. Then have the child raise the tongue tip to lick the food off. Once the tongue tip is in place have them try to say the /t/ or /d/ sounds. You might say, “Make the sound of a clock, t-t-t-t-t-t.” This has been a very successful technique in therapy with the kids I work with.

Strengthen Tongue Tip Elevation for /t/ and /d/

Another good way to exercise that tongue tip elevation is to have the child hold a cheerio, or smartie on the alveolar ridge with his/her tongue tip. Play a game where they hold it up while you count to 10 then they can eat it. This typically works well with children who are 4yrs. of age and older.

Move the /t/ and /d/ Sounds Into Syllables

Once your child can produce a good /t/ or /d/ sound all by itself it is time to move it into syllables. For example practice saying, “ta, toe, tea, tai, tay, too, tu” or “at, ate, eat, ite, ot” or “atto, etta, ittu, auto, utta”

Move the /t/ and /d/ Sounds Into Words

If your child can say the syllables above with a nice /t/ or /d/ sound then he is ready to move them into words. Below are 6 links to download picture cards of words beginning with the /t/ and /d/ sounds, ending with the /t/ and /d/ sounds or with /t/ or /d/ occuring in the middle. You can download these as well as other sound cards on the downloads page.

6 sets of word cards to help teach the /t/ and /d/ sounds:
1. t-initial words.pdf
2. t-medial words.pdf
3. t-final words.pdf
4. d-initial words.pdf
5. d-medial words.pdf
6. d-final words.pdf

Move the /t/ and /d/ Sounds Into Sentences

If your child can say the /t/ or /d/ sound in the beginning of words then practice the initial /t/or /d/ sound in sentences. For example with /t/ words you might use the sentence “Talk to the _________.” Fill in the blank with the initial /t/ words you have been practicing, “Talk to the tree, or Talk to the toes…”

If your child can say the /t/ and /d/ sounds at the end of words then practice the final /t/ or /d/ sounds in sentences. For example for the /t/ sound try, “The _________ is hot.” Again filling in the blank with the final /t/ words you practiced.

If your child can say the /t/ and /d/ sounds well in the middle of words then practice the medial /t/ or /d/ sounds in sentences. For example with the /t/ sound, “I have a beautiful __________.”

Move the /t/ and /d/ Sounds into Stories

Have your child practice the /t/ and /d/ sounds while reading out loud. If your child cannot read have your child practice the /t/ and /d/ sounds while retelling short stories. I often make up stories using the picture cards we have practiced.

Move the /t/ and /d/ Sounds into Conversation

If your child is successful with the /t/ and /d/ sounds while reading aloud he is ready to move the /t/ and /d/ sounds into conversation. It is at this point you can correct your child if they forget to pronounce the /t/ and /d/ sounds spontaneously.

These suggestions should help your child move in the right direction for the production of the /t/ and /d/ sounds. Good luck with these steps, and remember to be patient. Your child will get this, it’s only a matter of time! I would love to hear your success stories with these or any other sounds you’ve been working on. I hope this post has been helpful.

-Heidi

One of the most common questions I hear from parents is “How much language should my child be using for their age?” As our children grow up, there are certain “communication milestones” that we can watch for which will help us know how they are developing. I thought it would be helpful to go over some of these briefly.

The following is a list of communication milestones taken from Linguisystems, Inc.

3 – 6 months
• Smiles spontaneously to human contact
• Smiles when playing alone
• Smiles at faces of several family members
• Stops crying when spoken to
• Shows different responses to different family members

6 – 9 months
• Responds to “Come here”
• Becomes more outgoing with familiar people
• Shows anxiety when separated from favorite caregiver
• Likes to be with specific people

9 – 12 months
• Reacts to others’ moods
• Is fearful of strangers
• Can tolerate momentary loss of contact with caregiver in unfamiliar places
• Shows off to get attention

12 – 18 months
• Has an expressive vocabulary of between 5 – 20 words
• Is aware of the value of communication
• Follows simple directions, especially with gesture
• Practices intonation, sometimes imitating an adult
• Uses mostly nouns with a few others, such as “down” or “up”
• Uses much, meaningful jargon with inflection and emotion

19 – 24 months
• Names common objects
• Uses two or three more prepositions such as “on,” “in,” or “under”
• Uses noun + verb consistently
• Family understands about 2/3 of what child says
• Receptive and expressive vocabulary is about 150-300 words
• Rhythm and fluency of speech is poor
• Uses “I,” “me,” and “you,” but may confuse “I” and “me”
• Control of pitch and volume is poor
• “My” and “mine” emerging (like a vengeance!)
• Follows commands, such as “Show me your nose”

25 – 36 months
• Uses “I,” “you,” and “me” correctly
• Uses some plurals and past tenses
• Knows principle body parts
• Uses three-word sentences
• Has about 900 words
• Family understands about 90% of what child says
• Verbs emerge quickly
• Understands and responds to questions dealing with immediate environment
• Tells about his experiences
• Can answer thinking questions, such as “What do you want when you’re thirsty?”
• Gives name, age, and gender
• Understands much more than he expresses

4 years
• Knows names of animals
• Uses at least four prepositions
• Knows some colors
• Can repeat four digits when given slowly
• Can repeat a four-syllable word
• Knows contrasts such as “larger” and “longer”
• Follows directions when desired object is not in sight
• Repeats many words, phrases, syllables, and sounds
• Loves make-believe and takes on multiple roles during play
• Talks extensively during play by himself or with others

5 years
• Uses adjectives and adverbs extensively in conversation
• Knows opposites such as “on-off,” “big-little,” “heavylight,” and “soft-hard”
• Counts to ten
• All speech should be intelligible, but articulation errors may persist
• Can repeat sentences as long as nine words
• Can define common words, such as “shoe,” “chair,” “hat,” and “bird”
• Can follow three-stage commands without help
• Understands simple time concepts, such as “morning,” “later,” and “tomorrow”
• Verbal language is generally correct
• Uses long sentences, including some compound and complex constructions

Keep in mind that this chart represents typical language development, and you can use this as a “barometer” of sorts to measure where your child is with their communication. There is a wide range of normal development, so there is some room for growth within these age brackets. However if you find that your child is falling significantly behind in regards to these age brackets it may be a good idea to have them evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist.

You can download the PDF file of this list here.

Many of you have been interested in how to stimulate more speech from your toddlers so I thought I would share a few tricks I use as a speech therapist. Most often children just need a little more incentive to get them talking so I like to use what is known to speech therapists as “Communicative Temptations.”

There are many ways of “tempting” your child to speak. Here are 8 Communicative Temptations I have found helpful in therapy. After getting the idea of how this works, I’m sure you will be able to come up with some of your own “temptations”. If you do and they seem to work for you, please share them with us.

1. Eat something your child loves in their presence with out offering them any. When your child indicates that they would like some, model a more advanced way for them to make the request, whether it is using a sign, a word or a simple phrase. For example, if your child points and grunts to the candy, model the sign for candy then wait and see if your child will imitate the sign candy. If your child simply keeps pointing and grunting take his/her hand and help him make the sign for candy then reward him/her with the candy.

2. Play with something your child loves but don’t offer to share.
For instance if your child loves playing with playdough and wants to participate in the fun, you could model the /p/ sound for “please” or “play,” or you could model the signs for please or play. If your child can already say one word model a two word phrase for him/her to imitate like, “play please.”

3. At meal time and snack time give your child bite size portions, rather than dishing up a whole serving for them, then wait for them to request more. If no attempt is made model the sign “more,” help them make the sign, or model the /m/ sound for them to imitate.

4. Limit your child’s access to things like the t.v., toys, food, or going outside. Set it up so they have to make a request or ask for help to access these things. You may accomplish this by putting favorite things up high or locked up.

5. Play turn-taking games such as rolling the ball back and forth, or pushing a car back and forth. Once your child expects another turn hold the car or ball and wait. Look at him/her expectantly if no sign or verbal request is made, model an appropriate request such as the sign for “ball,” the /b/ sound, the word “ball” or “ball please”…

6. Use tight containers to store things in. When your child indicates he/she wants a cookie you might hand him/her the cookie jar (tightly sealed of course), when he/she can’t open it and hands it back to you make him/her sign open or help.

7. Use wind up toys or other toys that are difficult for kids to operate on their own. Wind up a wind-up toy your child gets a kick out of then hand it to them when they want a turn, wait for them to request help by using the sign or the word to operate the toy.

8. Blow bubbles then screw the lid on tightly and hand it back to your child for their turn. Wait for them to request help with a a sign or a word. Model the sign or word if necessary.

Using these little tricks that require your child to communicate will teach your child the power of communication. They will learn very quickly that when they sign or say “out” they can go outside but if they simply cry by the door nothing happens. It is important to be quick with your reinforcement so your child will make the connection easily, for example if you are teaching your child to request “more cookie” be sure to have that cookie ready to put in their darling little hands right away. When your child points and grunts, or tantrums pay no attention at all, or be sure to explain that you don’t understand what they want even when you do. Then model an appropriate way to make the request. Little tricks like these have helped me get most non-verbal children to start communicating. And of course these things need to be done in patience and love. When your child sees that he/she can communicate their wants/needs effectively, it will give them added confidence that will help them in the continuing process of language development.