Targeting the R Sound

TARGETING THE R SOUND

The R sound is one of the tricker sounds for children to master! It requires various parts of our oral cavity to move and tighten in order for an accurate R sound to be produced. What makes it especially challenging is the parts of the mouth that are involved in making the sound are not as visible as those for sounds made at the front of our mouth (e.g., m, b, f). With strategic intervention and support, the R sound can be mastered though! Below is an overview of how we would approach targeting the R sound: Build knowledge of oral cavity

• Identify and label articulators: tongue, lips, hard palate, molars, etc.

• Know the placement of each in order to produce an accurate R sound

• Build understanding of tension, as the tongue must be tense to produce an accurate R

Use various strategies to elicit the sound

• Use different cues (e.g., gestures, verbal, physical, visual)

• Use words or sounds to facilitate R

• Incorporate proprioception

Practice increasingly complex words, phrases and sentences

• There are many different R sounds, including pre-vocalic R (e.g., red), vocalic R (e.g., -ire, -ar, -er, -or, -air, -ear) and r blends (e.g., bread)

• Targeting each of these in isolation, phrases and sentences will support generalization to conversation

Incorporate Principles of Motor Learning

• Evidence based principles that focus on the way practice is structured and how feedback is given

• As sessions progress and child is more successful, will adjust target words and feedback provided.