Therapy Techniques for a Distorted R

Question

Answer

Stop thinking of /r/ as a phoneme, and start thinking of it as a movement. Study your own production of /r/ and determine just exactly what your tongue is doing. Watch yourself carefully in a mirror as you say "Ahhrrr." Forget about the lips. Exaggerate what your tongue is doing, and teach your client to do that.

Also, watch another therapist who already knows how to do it. Don't be shy. Tell her/him that you want to simply watch someone who already knows how to do it. You will learn more in 15 minutes that you will anywhere else.

This Ask the Expert was taken from the course entitled: Techniques for the Distorted R by Pam Marshalla, M.A., CCC-SLP.

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Pam Marshalla, MA, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist with over thirty years of experience working with children of all ages and ability levels. She is the author of eight highly practical books related to speech-language therapy with children. She has spoken at hundreds of continuing education programs in the U.S. and Canada on articulation and motor speech disorders.