Does this sound familiar? This WAS a lot of you a Does this sound familiar?

This WAS a lot of you at the start of the year...

Your kids were not making fast enough progress with Cycles, or you were really focused on following the traditional articulation hierarchy.

If this sounds like you, and you still only have two approaches under your belt, or you kinda know about minimal pairs but have a zillion questions, the Minimal Pairs Handbook will support you from planning, implementing, to generalizing!

Why do a therapy approach incorrectly, when you can do it the right way from the start??

#minimalpairshandbook #slpsontpt #speechpathologist #minimalpairstherapy #speechtherapy #ebpslp #preschoolslp #schoolslp #slp2b
I remember the days when I used to spend 20 minute I remember the days when I used to spend 20 minutes planning one session 😳

Gosh, while it taught me discipline and a good structure, these days my planning time is honestly 0-5 minutes.

I KNOW my goals, and I’m really focused on what I want to get out of the session... but otherwise I’m not too hung up on the actual activity.

I have come up with some of the most engaging and motivating activities when I didn’t have time to sit and plan, but let therapy happen.

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechtherapist #slpeeps #privatepracticeslp #slp2b #slpbloggers #slpsofinstagram
Telehealth tip for minimal pairs: Within my sessi Telehealth tip for minimal pairs:

Within my sessions, I love choosing ONE PAIR and having the activity be meaningful!

So I’m playing the shark game (the one that always makes me scream!), but we have to STICK the fish in to play the game.

SPIN is another great word that works well, because there are a lot of games that have a spinner!

Hope this brings some fun, meaningful activity ideas into your session!

#minimalpairs #speechtherapy #slpeeps #slp #slpsofinstagram #speechpathologist #speechies #adventuresinspeechpathology
There’s a reason I’ve been MIA 🌞 Today was There’s a reason I’ve been MIA 🌞

Today was our last day of summer, and I can’t remember ever having a summer that was so mild and wet, but that sun was glorious!

Also... how MAGICAL is this new swimming spot I found today? A secret little sliver protected by rocks.

#cavesbeach #aussiesummer #slplife #adventuresinspeechpathology
This crocodile ONLY EATS fish when he hears those This crocodile ONLY EATS fish when he hears those back ‘k’ sounds 🐊 

Feeding games + minimal pairs therapy are always a hit with the preschoolers.

#adventuresinspeechpathology #slplife #preschoolslp #speechtherapy #slpsontpt #slpsofinstagram #speechdelay
PLEASE DON’T IGNORE VOWELS! I’m sharing on my PLEASE DON’T IGNORE VOWELS!

I’m sharing on my stories how I saw two kids this week who could only say their sounds correctly using high, front vowels.

It took my half the session to figure out this pattern, but NO JOKE, I grabbed this poster (it’s a freebie, and also available in General North American English) and figured it out!

The accuracy in our practice trials significantly increased once I stuck to words with those high front vowels 👏

Have you ever come across this?

#adventuresinspeechpathology #slpeeps #slp #speechdelay #speechdevelopment #slpsofinstagram #slpsontpt #slpfreebies #speechpathology #speechpathologist
I wanted to share this video to show you how you c I wanted to share this video to show you how you can break up minimal pairs therapy with a meaningful and fun activity!

We are working on /s/ cluster reduction, and took a break from “the cards” to work on nap vs. snap using an iPad game (we also practiced no vs. snow).

We pretended our hands were the machine and said “snap” and then the reinforcer is to tap the screen and pick up (or “snap”) the snow.

I find that kids really respond to these meaningful tasks as it emphasises how our words have meaning, and you can get a lot of organic practice trials in 💪🏻

BTW... I just ❤️ my kids!!!

#speechtherapy #speechpathology #slp #slpeeps #minimalpairs #speechdevelopment #privatepracticeslp #preschoolslp
I am just LOVING this prosody cues deck! I’ve g I am just LOVING this prosody cues deck!

I’ve got three on my caseload at the moment who respond so well to the emotion visuals, and it’s so lovely to hear some change in their voice vs. a monotone, robot-like voice!!

CARDS: @bjoremspeech @iowaspeechie @bjoremspeechpublications

#apraxiaofspeech #slpeeps #childhoodapraxiaofspeech #speechtherapy
Binding. It’s a simple little joy that makes my Binding.

It’s a simple little joy that makes my SLP life easier.

And no, I don’t have a binding machine... I take it to my local office shop and it costs me around $5 to do!!!

Any other binding fans out there???

#binding #slpsofinstagram #slplife #slpeeps #slpsontpt #speechies #slporganization
Just because you are contrasting /t/ vs. /k/ words Just because you are contrasting /t/ vs. /k/ words using minimal pairs, DOESN’T mean that you are forbidden from using any other cues!

Many times, my kids need some additional types of cues, whether it be gestures (point to the throat), a mirror (to see the tongue go back), metaphors (front vs. back sounds), or placement cues (move your tongue back) to help them be accurate so that they aren’t frustrated.

Many times those cues get dropped pretty quickly... but I still use a pragmatic cue where I question what the child means (did you mean tea or key?).

And yes, I used fronting as my example because GOSH IT’S A STUBBORN PATTERN sometimes. And I need aaaaaalllll the cues 🤣 do you agree??

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechpathology #slpsofinstagram #slpeeps #slp #speechtherapy #speechdelay #preschoolslp
Does this sound familiar? This WAS a lot of you a Does this sound familiar?

This WAS a lot of you at the start of the year...

Your kids were not making fast enough progress with Cycles, or you were really focused on following the traditional articulation hierarchy.

If this sounds like you, and you still only have two approaches under your belt, or you kinda know about minimal pairs but have a zillion questions, the Minimal Pairs Handbook will support you from planning, implementing, to generalizing!

Why do a therapy approach incorrectly, when you can do it the right way from the start??

#minimalpairshandbook #slpsontpt #speechpathologist #minimalpairstherapy #speechtherapy #ebpslp #preschoolslp #schoolslp #slp2b
I remember the days when I used to spend 20 minute I remember the days when I used to spend 20 minutes planning one session 😳

Gosh, while it taught me discipline and a good structure, these days my planning time is honestly 0-5 minutes.

I KNOW my goals, and I’m really focused on what I want to get out of the session... but otherwise I’m not too hung up on the actual activity.

I have come up with some of the most engaging and motivating activities when I didn’t have time to sit and plan, but let therapy happen.

#adventuresinspeechpathology #speechtherapist #slpeeps #privatepracticeslp #slp2b #slpbloggers #slpsofinstagram
Telehealth tip for minimal pairs: Within my sessi Telehealth tip for minimal pairs:

Within my sessions, I love choosing ONE PAIR and having the activity be meaningful!

So I’m playing the shark game (the one that always makes me scream!), but we have to STICK the fish in to play the game.

SPIN is another great word that works well, because there are a lot of games that have a spinner!

Hope this brings some fun, meaningful activity ideas into your session!

#minimalpairs #speechtherapy #slpeeps #slp #slpsofinstagram #speechpathologist #speechies #adventuresinspeechpathology
There’s a reason I’ve been MIA 🌞 Today was There’s a reason I’ve been MIA 🌞

Today was our last day of summer, and I can’t remember ever having a summer that was so mild and wet, but that sun was glorious!

Also... how MAGICAL is this new swimming spot I found today? A secret little sliver protected by rocks.

#cavesbeach #aussiesummer #slplife #adventuresinspeechpathology
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Adventures in Speech Pathology

Feel confident treating speech sound disorders

For SLPs · October 4, 2019

What is the “h insertion” trick?

If there is one thing that I have learned being a speech-language pathologist, is that one approach and one cue, does not work for every child.

Oh, wouldn’t our jobs be easier if you could just tell your child one thing and it magically stimulated that sounds and therapy could just go on its merry way!

Sure, over my years, I’ve collected my preferred tips and tricks. And this little ‘h insertion’ trick is one of those. Interestingly, when I recently polled SLPs, only about 50% knew about this trick, so I have to share.

The-h-insertion-trick

Like with any cue, it shouldn’t be the ONLY thing that you use. I want to make that clear. Cues come and go, and they are intended to help you to get a production.

WHAT IS THE ‘H’ INSERTION TRICK?

Let’s say that you are seeing a four-year-old child, and they keep inserting a plosive sound in between the initial fricative, and the rest of the word. You will hear this as “sdun” (for “sun”), “fbish” (for “fish”) and so forth.

By encouraging your student to insert an ‘h’ sound or word AFTER the initial fricative, you are not only keeping that long airflow going but helping them to transition to the vowel, and rest of the word like “F…hair, f…hish”. I try NOT to isolate that initial phoneme, but instead, elongate it if working with fricatives.

I have read of SLPs using this trick in the context of backward chaining such as “hip, hip, ship”. So, don’t be afraid to play around and see what works best for your child if it helps them be successful.

WHEN MIGHT YOU USE THIS TRICK?

I have seen it used when a child presents with:

  • Stopping (especially if the child can say their initial sound in isolation)
  • Prevocalic voicing (the ‘h’ sound can be a helpful transition from a voiceless consonant to the voiced vowel)
  • Fronting (some SLPs might shape this with a more throaty sounding ‘h’)
se-the-h-insertion-trick-for-stopping

TIP #1 As quickly as you can, try to reduce the gap and blend the initial sound and the rest of the word together. If you don’t do this, your student will be learning to say “f. hip”. 

This can be hard to undo. 

I get around this by drawing out that initial fricative sound almost like a gentle onset into the ‘h’ word. I want it to all sound joined together.

TIP #2 Don’t stick to teaching a motor pattern only when the issue is phonology. This trick can be that little thing that your student needs to help them be accurate. But if you continue ONLY to use this trick, then you aren’t really addressing the underlying phonological pattern.

WANT THESE CARDS?

GET A COPY OF THESE VISUALS on my TpT store. Otherwise, you can simply teach your students to add in the ‘h’ sound or draw your own.

Have you ever visited the Pam Marshalla page? I have loved reading her Q&A style column to get put more tips and tricks in my therapy bag. I’ll link to the pages that mention the h insertion trick among others:

  • Stopping prevocalic sibilants
  • Substituting fp for f in initial position
  • Stimulating voiceless consonants

Caroline Bowen is a speech-language pathologist who generously shares a wealth of information on the speech-language-therapy.com website that she manages. If you click the link, you will be directed to a range of worksheets. Look for those titled, ‘Aspiration trick’.

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Hi, I'm Rebecca.
I encourage SLPs to feel more confident treating speech sound disorders, and make faster progress with their students.

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