Articulation therapy

What is articulation therapy?

Articulation therapy can be used for both adults and young people who have difficulty producing speech sounds. The speech and language therapist will teach the individual how to correctly articulate speech sounds and practice these within therapy. Articulation is very beneficial for individuals with articulation disorder and help to achieve intelligible (how much we understand) speech.

Articulation therapy teaches individuals how to produce speech sounds correctly. Articulation therapy is different to phonological therapy, the speech and language therapist is not attempting to teach the rules of the sound system, but helping the individual to learn how to articulate the speech sound correctly.

Unlike phonological therapy, articulatory therapy will often work on specific speech sounds in isolation, whereas phonological therapy will work on a group of sounds at one time.

The speech and language therapist will use a drilling method when practising speech sounds i.e. practising the sound in repetitions. The speech and language therapist will do this using different activities to suit the specific age and interest of the individual. The speech and language therapist will work on the sound in stages; first they will work on the sound in isolation, then introduce the sound with a vowel, then in syllables, words and sentences.

The speech and language therapist will model the correct articulation of the specific sound and may use sensory feedback to aid correct articulation e.g. a mirror, visual cues, verbal prompts etc.

What are the benefits of articulation therapy?

Articulation therapy can benefit adults with conditions including neurological problems, hearing loss and impairments, speech disorders and physical disabilities.

There are many benefits of articulation therapy. The main benefit is increasing the individual’s speech intelligibility, which helps the individual to communicate more effectively. The individual may also gain more confidence to communicate from articulation therapy, this will provide social benefits and functional benefits.

Summary

Articulation therapy helps individuals who have difficulty producing speech sounds correctly. Articulation therapy helps to achieve intelligible speech. The speech and language therapist will provide fun and motivating activities to suit the individual’s age and interests.

If you feel you may benefit from speech and language therapy or would like any more information on our services please email office@slt.co.uk or call 0330 088 5643.