Articulation Therapy
Articulation therapy treats speech sound errors — the R that comes out as a W, the lisped S, the sounds a child leaves off the ends of words. A speech-language pathologist teaches how each target sound is physically made, then builds it up from single sounds to words, sentences, and everyday conversation until it holds without thinking about it.
Who this is for
Children whose speech is hard for unfamiliar listeners to understand, who are self-conscious about how they sound, or who still have sound errors past the age most children have outgrown them. Sound development follows a rough timeline — most children produce K and G by about age four and R and TH closer to seven — so what is typical at four can be worth evaluating at six.
What therapy actually looks like
Articulation work is hands-on and repetitive by design. A therapist shows exactly where the tongue, lips, and jaw go, uses mirrors and tactile cues, and gives a high number of practice repetitions per session — which is a large part of why we do this face to face rather than over video.
- A full speech sound assessment to identify every error pattern, not just the obvious one
- Sound taught in isolation, then in syllables, words, phrases, sentences, and conversation
- Practice targets chosen from words the student actually uses at school and home
- Short home practice routines that take five minutes, not thirty
Carryover is the whole point
A sound produced correctly in a therapy room but not in the classroom has not been learned yet. We build carryover into the plan from the start — cueing systems teachers can use in passing, and practice that moves into real conversation as early as the student can manage it.
Questions about articulation therapy
My child is 5 and still says "wabbit". Should I be worried?
Not necessarily — R is one of the last sounds to develop and many children are not consistent with it until around age seven. What matters more is whether the pattern is isolated or part of a broader set of errors, and whether it is affecting how well your child is understood. A short consultation is usually enough to tell you which situation you are in.
How often are articulation sessions?
Typically two to three short sessions a week. Articulation responds to frequency more than to session length, so several 20-minute sessions generally do more than one long one.
More questions about getting started, payment, and locations
Related services
Speech-Language Therapy
Based on individual needs, speech-language therapy with a licensed speech-language pathologist can target the underlying skills to reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
Language
Support for understanding and using language — vocabulary, grammar, following directions, telling stories, and expressing ideas clearly.
Evaluations
Comprehensive speech and language evaluations that give families and school teams a clear picture of a student’s strengths and needs, with practical recommendations.