Quick Cues for Tricky Speech Sounds

Here’s a Speech Sound Guide for ages 2 to 6! Feel free to print it off or just save it to your phone.

Also, I have a (brand new) profile on IG. This week I made a post about 3 signs that indicate it’s a good time to take your child to an SLP. You can watch it here!

Here’s this week’s post, also all about speech sounds! 👇

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In my last newsletter, I talked about how it can be helpful to use visual cues, such as hand signs, when correcting speech sound errors.

Today, I thought it’d be helpful to break down some simple tips for prompting frequently errored speech sounds. If your child struggles with producing certain sounds, try the practical, therapy-tested strategies below!

K, G

These sounds are made in the back of the mouth.

• Placement cue: “Keep the front of your tongue down. Lift the back of your tongue up to touch the roof of your mouth, like you’re about to swallow.”
  
  

• Extra tip: Lying on their back can help gravity pull the tongue into the right spot. Sometimes, I’ll use a Dum Dum sucker to gently press down on the front of their tongue while they try the sound - they love it!
  
  

• Hand sign: Touch your throat when producing /k/ or /g/ to show that this sound is made in the back of the mouth.

R

The R sound is tricky! There are two different ways to make it - retroflex (tongue tip up) or bunched (tongue tip down). Both require tongue tension. You may need to experiment a bit to see which works better for your child. (Fun side note: try it yourself - do you know which kind of R you make?)

• Placement cue: “Keep your tongue inside your mouth, curled slightly up or bunched in the middle, without touching your teeth.”
  
  

• Extra tips & hand signs:
  
  

  • Retroflex R: Curl your hand backward with fingers pointed up, or move a flat hand with curled fingertips backward to mimic the tongue curling. You can also use the “L–R slide”: say “L,” then slide your hand backward to show the tongue moving back to make R.
    
    

  • Bunched R: Make a flat hand and then pull it back in a “bunched” shape to mimic the tongue pulling back high and strong.
    
    

S and S-Blends

This sound is made with the tongue behind the teeth, directing airflow forward.

• Placement cue: “Put your tongue just behind your top teeth, but don’t let it stick out. Keep your teeth closed (I like to say, ‘Keep it in jail!’) and blow air forward in a skinny stream.”
  
  

• Extra tip: Smiling naturally keeps the tongue back where it belongs.
  
  

• Hand sign: Use a “snake gesture” - move your hand side-to-side like a slithering snake to remind your child that /s/ is the “snake sound.”

L

This sound is made with the tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge (the bump behind the top teeth).

• Placement cue: “Touch the tip of your tongue to the bump right behind your top front teeth, then let the air flow around it.”
  
  

• Extra tip: Start with “la-la-la” before words, or touch a Dum Dum sucker to the alveolar ridge so your child knows where to place their tongue.
  
  

• Hand sign: Make an “L” shape with your hand, point to the roof of the mouth, or trace the upward tongue movement with your finger.
  
  

TH (voiceless as in thumb, voiced as in this)

This sound requires the tongue tip between the teeth.

• Placement cue: “Stick your tongue out just a little bit between your top and bottom teeth. Blow air out for the quiet TH (‘thumb’), and turn your voice on for the noisy TH (‘this’).”
  
  

• Extra tip: Place a hand on the throat to feel vibration for the voiced TH.
  
  

• Hand sign: Place your hand in front of your mouth to feel the burst of air when saying TH.

Final Note:When giving your child cues, keep it simple and encouraging. Short reminders like “tongue back,” “smile and blow,” or “tongue tip up” can help them remember what to do - without overwhelming them.

Thanks for reading!

Casey

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