9f Handout: Speech shaping examples

You will break it down into such tiny steps that their usual panic feelings won’t have a chance to build up.

Tell the child exactly what they need to do as you go along and that they must make sure you only change one thing at a time – that is the secret to making it work! Stress that it’s up to the child how far you go in each session. You will only continue for as long as they feel comfortable, or until it is time to stop (always tell the child how long the session will last).

Introduce a sticker chart or appropriate recording system.

Goal: To use gesture without body tension

Targets: point or gesture to answer questions

Resources: Appendix Stage 3 activities, pointing, matching, and turn taking games.

When to move on: when child is relaxed and moves freely with a relaxed facial expression.

Resources: breathing: six sides of breathing, lazy eight, or mindfulness app.

Blowing: small piece of paper (or can make a paper origami boat together). Take it in turns to blow the paper, who can get it to the end of the table first?

When to move on: child can blow the piece of paper without anxiety. Emphasize that this is about using breath, not speaking!

Blowing: small piece of paper. Adult says they’re going to see what sounds make the paper move or “wobble”… try a range, and get the child/young person to copy the sounds that work… NB h, p, t, k are the ones that work if you say these with enough breath and don’t ad an “uh” or similar at the end!

When to move on: child can say the sounds h, p, t, k (whispering is fine)

Explain that you are going to say sounds that just use whispering… h s sh t k ch f p

(NB some children may find using lips more difficult).

You could pair practicing these sounds with a game like pop up pirate, building a tower, or adding pieces to a lego set.

When to move on: child can say the above sounds with confidence. (whispering is fine)

Practise adding an “uh” to the end. This may be whispered to start with but don’t move on until there is some voicing. Sometimes it can be helpful to talk about the vibration you can feel when pressing your throat/adam’s apple when voicing.

When to move on: child can say fuh, puh, kuh, tuh, suh. NOT whispered!

Move on to the sounds: d g n l j y

b m n v w

and vowels a e i o u

Move on when the child can do this confidently without whispering

Move on when the child can do this confidently without whispering

Take it in turns to say each letter of the alphabet

Move on when the child can do this confidently without whispering

Take it in turns to say each word in sequences e.g. alphabet, numbers, days of the week, months. It is a good back up to have these written down!

Move on when the child can do this confidently without whispering

Now ask your link speech and language therapist for guidance on next steps:

·       Consolidate at level 5 activities

·       Move on to level 6 activities and beyond

You will break it down into such tiny steps that their usual panic feelings won’t have a chance to build up.

Tell the child exactly what they need to do as you go along and that they must make sure you only change one thing at a time – that is the secret to making it work! Stress that it’s up to the child how far you go in each session. You will only continue for as long as they feel comfortable, or until it is time to stop (always tell the child how long the session will last).

Introduce a sticker chart or appropriate recording system.

Goal: To use gesture without body tension

Targets: point or gesture to answer questions

Resources: Appendix Stage 3 activities.

When to move on: when child is relaxed and moves freely with a relaxed facial expression.

Targets:

·       Child hears adult saying a phoneme (letter sound) and points to the relevant letter

·       (At home) child names letters when their parent presents them

·       (At home) as above but parent makes a recording of child naming the letters[1]

·       Play recording to adult at school on understanding no one else will hear it! This should be done with child’s knowledge but they may not wish to be in the same room.

·       Repeat until child is comfortable with adult hearing recordings made at home.

First demonstrate to the child how to use the recording device. The adult leaves the room while child makes the recording. You will need to agree a signal so the child can let the adult know they are ready for them to come back in. Have some phoneme or letters laid out so the child can choose what sound they are going to make.

·       Child records a sound with the adult outside the room (or at a distance)

·       Child plays the sound to adult

·       Repeat with various sounds

·       Repeat the recording and playback activities with child’s choice of sound and the adult must find the matching picture or letter. (This is good for increasing volume if necessary, but note that the distinction between ‘s’ and ‘f’ is very poor on some recording devices.)

·       Repeat the recording and playback activities, recording a sequence of two and then three sounds (either repeated sounds, eg ‘p – p – p’ or different sounds, eg ‘p – t – s’).

·       Repeat the recording and playback activities, alternating paired unvoiced and voiced sounds (eg ‘ssss (snake), zzzz (bumble bee)’; ‘t, d, t, d’; ‘k, g, k, g’; ‘p, b, p, b’) and making them sound different.

·       Record a sound with adult present but sitting at a different table with their back turned. Adult returns to childs table for child to play it back to them.

·       Repeat with different individual sounds and sequences of two to three sounds until comfortable recording both whispered and voiced sounds with adult on the other side of the room with back turned.

•       Say sounds with adult on the other side of the room, back turned.

•       Repeat as adult approaches and sits at the same table.

·       Recap the letter sounds activities as before. First adult says the sound and child points, and then the other way round.

·       Repeat these activities using letter names rather than sounds, ie M (‘em’) rather than ‘mm’; T (‘tea’) rather than ‘t’.

·       Work out which letter names sound like words and say them again, knowing they are words (eg pea, tea, bee, sea). Name these pictures or read words aloud.

ask your link speech and language therapist for guidance.