Every month, The Story Box delivers specially-selected books and either a Challenge of the Month Card or Parent Guides (depending on the package chosen by the parent). The card and guides provide information on how to capitalize on language opportunities within the books through specific activities. In addition to those activities, you can use your new books to improve your child’s articulation!
Typical Development of Speech Sounds
Children are expected to be able to pronounce different sounds at specific ages. Some sounds are more difficult for children to make, and they may need a little more time before they can say them correctly. Take a look at this chart from MommySpeechTherapy.com to see how your child is doing:
What Sound to Focus on
Now that you know which sounds your child should be pronouncing correctly, choose one sound to start working on. You may want choosing the earliest developing sound. For example, if your child is 6 years-old and having trouble saying both the “K” and “L” sounds, you might consider working on “K” first, since he or she was expected to be able to say this sound by age 3 (compared to 5 for “L”). You could also choose a sound that your child is stimulable for. That means your child can make this sound, but may just need a little more help with it. For example, putting it in words.
Choosing the Right Book
Now that you know what sound you want to work on with your child, choose a book that seems to have words with that sound frequently. One of our previous books, The Adventures of Honey and Leon, for example, would be great for working on the “L” sound since once of the dog’s names starts with that sound. Calvin Look Out! could be used to work on the “C”/”K” sound.
Practicing Speech Sounds While Reading
Before reading the story, jot down about 10 different words from the story that have the sound you’ve chosen to work on. For “L”, this could be words like look, Leon, love, landing, leash, and others. Tell your child the sound you’d like them to practice while you read the book together, and encourage them to watch how you make that sound. Then encourage your child to repeat the words from your list as they come up in the book. Keep things positive and praise your child for their hard work and attempts to pronounce the sound!
Amy Yacoub, MS, CCC-SLP | Speech Pathologist
Proud Member of The Story Box Family
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