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Motor-speech stories for articulation movements: bilabial-dental

16 March 2018 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

Sometimes, unclear speech isn’t caused by problems with speech sounds at the single sound level. Many people – children and adults alike – struggle with the movements required to sequence combinations of speech sounds, e.g. to go from a front sound like /t/ or /d/ to a back sound like /g/ or /k/ and back again quickly.

In this pack, we target tongue movements, specifically movements from “bilabial” sounds where the lips are together (e.g. /p, b, m, w/) to sounds involving the tongue/lips and teeth (e.g. /f, v/, unvoiced “th” (as in “bath”) and voiced “th” (as in “bathe”)). We call these movements bilabial-dental movements.

Together, these articulation stories are designed to train specific speech sound movements. They are not tongue twisters in the traditional sense. Instead, the stories are loaded with words and phrases designed to target a particular pattern of speech movement.

Clinically, we’ve had good results using these stories with a variety of clients, including older children with residual speech sound errors and adults with speech issues associated with traumatic brain injuries, aphasia, and mild apraxia of speech. We’ve also used them in accent modification training to train movements that are common in English, but not common in a client’s first language. We hope you and your clients find them useful.

Download the stories here.

Related products:

Motor speech stories for articulation movements: alveolar-velar

No-Prep Auditory Bombardment /ch/ Pack: to help eliminate deaffrication and voicing errors

7 March 2018 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

It’s hard for a child to say a sound if they can’t hear it properly, or distinguish it from other speech sounds. But it can be fiddly and time-consuming to coordinate word lists, with matching pictures and high quality audio recording – especially for children who have not yet learned to read.

“Auditory bombardment” – also known as “focused auditory stimulation” – is an evidence-based practice to help children focus on the target sound or sound combination. It can be used:

with the Cycles Phonological Remediation Approach (Barbara Hodson); or
as an add-on to traditional articulation therapy or phonological treatments, e.g. auditory discrimination work, minimal pairs or multiple oppositions treatments.

This pack is all you need to implement an auditory bombardment program for the /ch/ sound. It includes:

word lists using high frequency, simple vocabulary;
beautiful, engaging photo flashcards illustrating each word on the list; and
audio recordings(Australian-accented female voice) in easy-to-use M4A format, which can be played on your phone, iPad, or computer, and emailed to clients after the session.

Evidence tells us that you need as few as 3-5 examples of a sound for children to pick up the pattern. This pack includes 6 lists of words – 30 words in all – showcasing the target sound at the start, middle and the end of words.

To download the pack, go here. Then simply print the cards, download the audio file, and go!

No-Prep Auditory Bombardment /f/ Pack: words, pictures and audio recordings – /f/ sound (initial, middle, final)

7 February 2018 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

“Auditory bombardment” – also known as “focused auditory stimulation” – is an evidence-based practice to help children focus on the target sound or sound combination. It can be used:

with the Cycles Phonological Remediation Approach (Barbara Hodson); or
as an add-on to traditional articulation therapy or phonological treatments, e.g. auditory discrimination work, minimal pairs or multiple oppositions treatments.

This pack is all you need to implement an auditory bombardment program for the /f/ sound. It includes:

word lists using high frequency, simple vocabulary;
beautiful, engaging photo flashcards illustrating each word on the list; and
audio recordings in easy-to-use M4A format, which can be played on your phone, iPad, or computer, and emailed to clients after the session.

Simply print the cards, download the audio file, and go!

SLP Three-Piece Thursday 7: on productivity, the death of expertise, and more sleep!

14 December 2017 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

On productivity: Being productive isn’t the same thing as doing more things or being busy. It’s doing the right things. Time, energy and attention are not unlimited: you should be stingy with each. Start with a purpose: three things you want to achieve each month, week and day. Reward yourself for finishing tough tasks. Work less than 50 hours a week. Write down every outstanding task you can think of to free-up brain power. More: check out Chris Bailey.
On the death of expertise: Information wants to be free and is almost infinite these days. The days of making a good living by using ‘secret’ information are ending. But there are some problems. There is too much conflicting information out there on many topics. Many people – especially vulnerable people – have insufficient tools to sift facts from lies; evidence from fiction. Having less skill at a task can make you less likely to recognise your own incompetence. People pay more attention to information that supports what we think is true (confirmation bias). These factors create blind spots: we can miss the obvious. There’s never been a better time to add value by fact-checking and educating people on how to process information. But experts are frequently wrong. For more, read Tom Nichols’ book The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters.
On sleep: Too many of us are exhausted! Sleep more. Rid your bedroom of electronic devices and invest in black-out blinds. Keep a sleep schedule. Set an alarm for bedtime (not just wake-up time). Wake up at the same time every day (even weekends). Nap more during the day. For more, check out Chris Winter’s The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It.

SLP Three-Piece Thursday 6: on being original, managing your anger, and making it big

7 December 2017 By David Kinnane Leave a Comment

Be original. Both the quantity and quality of your new ideas are important. You never know which one will be a hit. Sometimes, a good way to generate ideas is to procrastinate. Leaving things to the last minute forces you to improvise and stops tasks expanding to fill the time available. To test your ideas, try to convince people why an idea is a bad one – talk up the shortcomings and see if you can convince yourself. To sell a radical idea: (a) repeated exposure is required, so speak up and repeat yourself; and (b) tie it to something that already exists. Avoid group think and echo chambers – in the real world, and online. Surround yourself with critical thinkers who will tell you the truth. Surround yourself with people who are dissatisfied with the way things are. For more, watch Adam Grant at TED2016 – The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers.
Manage your anger. Rage can be healthy, e.g. if you are trying to work up the courage to make a big change. But it can also damage your relationships and health. Know yourself: know the signs you are losing your temper (e.g. blushing, sweating, shallow breathing), and take control before boil-over point. Send yourself to “Time Out”. Schedule brooding time. Focus on the positive. Recognise that many set backs are temporary and solvable. Meditate. Exercise. Sleep. Recast problems as challenges. Focus on what you can control; on solutions or mitigants. Make lists of things you are grateful for in life. Tweak habits to reduce things that trigger stress and anger. For more, see Charles Elliott and Laura Smith’s “Anger Management for Dummies“.
Make it big. Fame and fortune aren’t always awarded on merit. Being in the right place at the right time can make a big difference to outcomes. Clients are attracted to objects, products and services that are novel, but familiar (recognisable). People are attracted to repetition with slight variations, e.g. in music (verse-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge). The best marketing can’t help a poor service. Being too popular can trigger a backlash, e.g. when you scale and lose exclusivity. People look to others for validation, which is why Charles Douglas pioneered the use of laugh tracks into TV comedies. 90% of tweets don’t get shared; and only 1% get shared more than 7 times. Popularity can be boosted by exposure, the proper balance of familiarity and novelty, and repetition but, in the end, chance plays an important role. You have to be in it to win it though! For more, watch Derek Thompson – Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction.