Helping your child develop their speech sounds

A speech sound error is when a child mispronounces a word. They may either miss off a sound or replace it with another sound. For example,

Or

The following strategies can help support your child’s speech sound development.

Model back the correct speech

• Provide a good speech model for your child to learn from
• If they say a word incorrectly, say the word back to them correctly but in a light-hearted way, for example,

• Do not ask your child to repeat the word at this point as it is likely they will just repeat the inaccurate pronunciation and this will reinforce the incorrect speech pattern

Repeat the correct production

• Try and repeat the correct production of the word a few times

• It is helpful for children to ‘see’ the sound as well as hear the sounds and words so try and ensure your child is looking at your mouth when you remodel any words

Reduce the number of questions you ask

• Comment on pictures and talk about books and events using short, clear sentences, rather than asking your child to simply label items as this will enable your child to hear the correct model of the word

Slow down

• Slow down your own rate of speech as this will encourage your child to speak more slowly

Give Choices

• Use choices to find out the context of what your child is saying, for example,

Build confidence

• Try not to draw too much attention to your child’s speech difficulties
• Show your child you are interested in what they are saying and not how they are saying it
• Do not pretend to understand your child if you do not
• If you cannot understand what your child is trying to tell you, ask them to repeat it, without blaming them, for example,

• Encourage your child to ‘tell’ you another way, for example, by pointing, miming, drawing, or using different words
• Praise your child for the non-speech things that they do well, for example: