Encouraging Typical Speech Patterns
Contributed by KERRY SCHMIDT, SLP
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s adult speakers, we constantly
make little mistakes when we talk and then quickly correct them, almost without
noticing. This process of self-monitoring and self-correction is called making
revisions and repairs. Children with developmental phonological disorders are
usually not very good "self-correctors," partly because it is hard
for them to self-monitor their speech. The following strategies and activities
can be used in order to encourage the development of self-monitoring and the
ability to make revisions and repairs.
• Talk about making mistakes, then "fixing them up"
For example: You might say to your
child, "If I said ‘yam’ when I should have said ‘lamb’, I would have to fix it up. So
if I said, ‘Mary had a little yam,’ I would have to fix it up and say, ‘Mary
had a little lamb.'"
• Model self-corrections
For example: You might say to your
child, "It is too wet to mow the yawn...uh oh, I mean ‘lawn.’ That was a fixed-up-one. First I
said ‘yawn’ and then I quickly fixed it up
and said ‘lawn.’ Too wet to mow the lawn.'"
• Reinforce self-corrections
Do this by drawing attention to them and commenting when they
are made spontaneously (i.e., without adult prompting). For example: You
could say to your child, "That was a good fixed-up-one. First you said
‘tar,’ and then you fixed it up all by yourself and said ‘car.’ The best thing
was that you reminded yourself!"
• Use labeled praise
When you use labeled praise, be
very precise about what you are praising.
For example: Making very specific
comments such as, “I like the way you said ‘shoe’ with a good ‘sh’ in it” will be more powerful
reinforcers than general comments such as, “You said that nicely.” Labeled
praise can be used for reinforcing clear speech attempts and to encourage
children to make spontaneous revisions and repairs. Labeled praise can be used
also when the child makes an improved attempt at pronouncing a word.
For example:
Adult: What color is that?
Child: Bat.
Adult: Mmm?
Child: Berlat.
Adult: That sounded more like
black. I like the way you fixed it up.
• Talk about “making sense” when we talk
As opportunities arise, talk about words and the need to say the
right word so that people know what we mean. For example: You could say to your child, "You couldn’t
say, ‘I
eat my dinner with a walk,’ could you? People would get
mixed up if I said that. I really should say, ‘eat it with a fork.’"
• Explain why the 'fixed-up-ones' are important
For
example: You could say to your child, “When you do a fixed-up-one all
by yourself, it means that you are learning to remind yourself to make your
words sound right, just like I have to when I make a mistake myself.”
• Make modeling
corrections during conversation
Modeling is simply giving a clear example with no additional instructions,
explanations, or demands. When you notice a deviation from the normal pattern
(e.g., using the wrong sound or omitting a sound) involving a sound pattern
being worked on in therapy, repeat the word correctly yourself once, twice, or
three times in the context of the conversation. For example:
Child: That’s a tunny one.
Adult: Yes, a very funny one. A funny, funny one.
• When making modeling
corrections, remember:
(1) Not to distort the sound or word by over-emphasizing it. It is
better to draw the sound or word to the child’s
attention by saying it repeatedly.
(2) Not to ask the child to repeat the word back to you correctly. All
you have to do is say the word clearly yourself several times, in a way the
child will notice (e.g., as part of a conversation that you are both enjoying).
Source: Bowen, C. (1998).
Encouraging typical speech patterns in children with developmental
phonological disorders. Retrieved from
http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/encourage.html
