Let’s Talk Articulation Therapy

What is Articulation Therapy?

Articulation therapy is what you might typically think of when you think of speech therapy. If you picture speech therapy as a child going to an overly enthusiastic speech teacher because their “s” sounds more like a “th”, or because their “r” is more like a “w”, you’re thinking of articulation therapy! Simply put, the objective of articulation therapy is for the client to articulate their sound in the correct place. 

How do kids learn speech sounds? 

Like every learned procedural memory, speech is based on muscle memory. Your tongue, teeth, and lips make up your “articulators” which work together to perfect speech sounds. When they start consistently making the right sound, or a sound that they feel is correct, muscle memory then takes over so children can make sounds without so much attention and effort! 

But what if these sounds aren’t produced correctly? 

In this case, a speech therapist intervenes and teaches the child how to articulate in the correct place in the mouth, in the correct manner, with the correct voicing. After teaching the right sound, then comes practice, practice, practice! With enough practice producing the sound correctly, muscle memory kicks in and these speech sounds will be more or less automatic. 

How long does my child have to be in articulation therapy?

Gosh, this is a frequently asked question and one that we truly can’t ethically answer. There are many factors that contribute to therapy taking more or less time. If you are looking for your child to be dismissed from articulation therapy sooner rather than later, your best bet is to attend therapy consistently, participate actively with your child both in the therapy room and out, and have patience with your child as they are learning at their own pace. 

Wondering if your child could benefit from speech therapy services? Contact us for a free 15 minute consultation and we would be happy to answer your questions!