Tips to support your child with speech sound difficulties

• Accept all communication attempts by acknowledging what your child has said.

• Repeat back what you think you have heard your child say when their speech is unclear. You don’t need to request that they repeat after you but if they do spontaneously then you are helping them develop their auditory feedback loop and modify their own speech to get it closer to your target model.

• Blame yourself for misunderstanding and let your child know that you are listening. If you’re still not sure what they have meant after they have repeated, ask them if they can show you.

During episodes of glue ear be sure to:

• Reduce background noise where possible. Don’t have the TV on in the background during an interaction if no one is watching.

• Be mindful of your distance from your child, your speech will be clearer the closer you are to them. Get down to their level when speaking with them.

Once a hearing test has confirmed hearing within normal limits, acoustically highlight sounds within words by:

• Whispering words containing quiet sounds like /t, p, f, s, sh/ as doing so will dampen

  down the louder surrounding sounds and highlight the quiet sounds.

• Lengthen longer sounds like sssssock and huffff, then repeat the word as you would

  naturally say it.

• If it makes grammatical sense, place the target word at the end of your sentence or

  phrase so that it is the last thing your child hears.

Help your child imitate sounds in words by:

• Getting them to watch your face and copy what you do or watch each other in a mirror.

• Hold out the initial placement of the target sound e.g. if targeting 'f' hold your teeth and lips in position until your child has got there too.

• Then say the word at a slower rate together at the same time, tell your child "Let's say it together, slowly."

• Get your child to say the word again, this time turn off your voice but continue to model the lip pattern (say the word silently whilst they say it aloud).

• Then ask your child to say it after you, still at a slower pace.

• Get them to imitate you at a normal pace. Go back to earlier steps if they trip up.

Practicing sounds in the mirror during daily routines

Help your child say longer and more complex words like 'helicopter' using a strategy called 'backwards chaining:'

• Clap and count the number of syllables or 'beats' in the word e.g. he-li-cop-ter "Four beats!"

• Visually represent the beats using your fingers/ drawing spots on a piece of paper or using bits of playdough or other toy.

• Practice saying the last syllable first e.g. "ter" when this is clear, chain it to the next syllable e.g. "cop-ter" when this is clear, chain it to the syllable before e.g. "li-cop-ter- and so on.

We know that children with a history of speech sound difficulties and/ or glue ear are at increased risk of delayed literacy development but you can help reverse this with targeted literacy exposure:

• Read books together and talk about literary aspects of the book like the ‘title’, who the ‘author’ is and what ‘line’ you are reading from. Have your child track the words with their finger as you read or model this yourself.

• Use the pictures in books to talk beyond the writing on the page. Ask your child questions like “What do you think will happen next?” “How is that character feeling?” “Why is he scared?” “What could she do to escape?”

• Count/ clap/ tap out the number of syllables in words.

• Draw your child's attention to rhyming words, “socks and fox they rhyme!” And play games which encourage your child to find the matching rhyme or identify the odd word out (the one that doesn’t rhyme). Make up silly rhyming songs together - nonsense words are welcome!

• Play games like "I spy something beginning with" or "something rhyming with..." for younger children it can be helpful to do this whilst sharing a picture scene the narrow the options. We love the 'You Choose' book series by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart!

• Draw/ trace/ copy letters and talk about the sounds they represent e.g. M is for mummy! This doesn’t just have to be with pencil and paper, use playdough or paint or draw with your fingers in sand or flour etc.

• Reading and writing is everywhere- when your child recognises the Logo of a favourite toy brand or a place – they are reading! So, praise them e.g. by saying, “That’s right you read the sign, it says LEGO Land.”

• Draw your child's attention to the functionality of reading and writing e.g. “I’m writing a shopping list so that we know what to buy at the shop” or “I’m reading the recipe, so I know the steps to cook.”

within words by:

Rat back what you think you have heard when

Reading together and tracing the text

ds within words by:

feedback loop and modify his own speech to get it closer too