5 Ways to Get the Most out of Articulation Therapy

You have 20 minutes to work with a group of articulation students. 20 minutes goes fast. Too fast. How can you utilize each and every one of those minutes to the maximum? It’s a question I’ve asked myself time and again, leading to a few strategies which have greatly increased the results my students get. And results are what we’re after. Here are 5 ways to get the most out of your articulation therapy.

1. Don’t just work on articulation skills. Wait–what? That’s right. Integrate articulation skills into other activities and you’ll get results. In my own sessions, I’ve noticed students make the most progress when the articulation prompts are embedded in other tasks. It pushes them to another level because it is then on the student to locate his sound and produce it correctly, instead of the therapist simply handing him the sound. This also works because you are not simply working on articulation. You are increasing other skills, which makes it a win. Here are a few examples:
   • Phonological Awareness Articulation Intervention
     • Supported by research, this resource packs a powerful punch when it comes to results. Students work on phonological awareness skills without even realizing they are simultaneously working on articulation and BOTH improve.
   • Articulation Cards using Tier 2 Vocabulary
     • Students will simultaneously work on articulation WHILE also improving their vocabulary.
   •  Nonfiction Texts with Articulation Targets
     • Students work on articulation WHILE also improving reading comprehension.
2. Utilize every moment. This means making use of those precious few seconds you are walking the student from his classroom to the therapy room and back. When I pick up a student for therapy, staff better believe we will be quietly talking in the hallway (except when there is testing going on) to make to the most of our time.
3. Carry it over into other times and activities of the day. Consider utilizing those dreadful school pictures (what else is there to do with them) like I have in this post HERE. Have students make bookmarks, or FLIPMARKS to remind them of their sounds while reading.
4. Evaluate the use of your time during the session. This is an area I touch on in my SLP Minimalist Series. Games and crafts are definitely not “bad.” However, if you’re taking up 5-10 precious minutes of your session cutting out circles or setting up the game “Don’t Break the Ice” and there is NO talking or productions going on, it may be time to re-evaluate your activities.
5. Get creative with scheduling. One program I really like is called 5 Minute Kids™. This program delivers services to students with speech sound disorders by scheduling short, individual drill sessions (usually in the hallway). It requires little planning and minimal time out of the classroom for the student. Data has shown that this model is more effective than traditional group therapy in achieving speech and language goals (Sexton, 2006). I utilized this program with my intervention articulation students. Instead of scheduling a group of articulation students for 30 minutes a week, I would see them individually in the hallway 2-3 times a week for 5 minutes each session. The amount of drill and practice we achieved using this method was amazing and many of my students were able to exit services within a couple of months. There was no wasted time walking to therapy, playing games, or waiting on anther student’s turn. We simply drilled and got results. 

I hope this has given you a few ideas on getting the most out of your articulation therapy Remember, it is not activities, crafts, or materials that make your articulation therapy effective. It is effective therapists who make articulation therapy effective.