Answering Questions About The R Sound
Does your child struggle with the /r/ sound? We sat down with one of our Speech Language Pathologists to answer some of your questions surrounding this articulation. This is what she had to say:
Why can’t my child say the /r/ sound?
The /r/ is a very complex, dynamic sound produced differently according to 6 different vowel sound influences (er, ear, air, ire, or, ar) and initial /r/ can be paired with 11 different consonants to form different blends. For each sound combination, the 8 muscles of the tongue must work together to form different motions in relation to surrounding vowels and consonants. Keep in mind there are two ways to produce the /r/ the retroflexed (tongue tip curled back) and bunched (tongue tip down with the base of tongue high). Every child’s vocal tract is different, so there is no “one method fits all” technique.
When should my child say the /r/ sound correctly?
A recent study reveals new results that all liquids (/l/ and /r/) are acquired by 90% of children at 5 years 11 months (McLeod and Crowe, 2020). Be willing to start therapy earlier rather than later. This is because incorrect muscle patterns become more difficult to unlearn as the child gets older.
If my child can’t say the /r/ sound by age 5-6, what should I do?
Have your child evaluated by a speech-language pathologist at the local school or at a private-practice company. Medicaid and many insurances cover or partially cover speech therapy services for those who qualify.
What will the speech-language pathologist (SLP) do or what can I try at home?
- First, the SLP will look inside the mouth to do an oral motor examination. He/she will check for that enlarged adenoids and/or tonsils ages 9-12 can impact intraoral space. Also, they will check for a tongue-tie, which can impact speech, including the /r/ sound. If your child is a mouth breather, has “buck teeth,” and/or an open bite, this could be indicative of tongue thrusting. If you note abnormalities and the child does not make progress, he/she may benefit from an ENT or pediatric dentist referral
- You can make sure the child can discriminate between correct/incorrect productions of /r/. If your child cannot hear the difference, then therapy will be more difficult as the child has little to no motivation to improve if they don’t realize they are saying it incorrectly and may be easily frustrated if they assume their /r/ are correct. If they cannot hear the difference, you and the SLP can help he/she learn to identify correct and incorrect productions.
- Once a correct /r/ is elicited, the focus is on only one r-sound in one position at a time (i.e., r, ear, or, er, are etc.) This ensures success and reduces confusion and frustration for the child.
- The SLP will follow a hierarchy of only moving up once there is success at the lowest level. Most therapists consider 80% accuracy to be the criteria before moving on to the next level. Start with the /r/ sound in isolation. Then move to syllables, and then the word-level, and have them repeat the same word 25+ times. Then move to sentences, tongue twisters, and finally conversation.
- Take homework seriously. Seriously. We SLPs want to pull their hair out when every week, our clients tells us that they haven’t been practicing at home every week. Usually, we can tell anyway when they aren’t practicing because progress is a lot slower. Practicing at home helps the child make progress a lot faster. It helps the child start thinking about their /r/ in other contexts rather than just in the therapy room.
- Teach automaticity. To bridge awareness once the child is at the conversation level, have them ask other friends and family jokes focusing on the /r/ words. If the /r/ is sounding forced/labored, have the child try saying sentences “in slow motion” and in different accents. Choose a time of day or activity to have the child specifically think about their /r/ sound when they are talking to you. For example, on the way home in the car together, when cooking, or at the dinner table. Keep activities fun and upbeat, and gently remind your child to say the try again when incorrect. You could also say something like, “I heard “wed,” did you mean to say ‘red?’”
Why is it taking so long for my child to say the /r/ sound correctly even after starting therapy? The /r/ sound can also be challenging to visualize what is happening due to the changing motion when producing the /r/ sound. It takes time for the child to unlearn muscle patterns. It’s normal for it to take weeks or months before your child can say the /r/ sound correctly at home without cues after starting therapy.
Tried and true techniques for eliciting /r/ the speech pathologist may use
(or you can try at home):
- “ Ahhh—arrr” Have the child stick their tongue out like they are at the doctor and say, “ah.” Then, have them say, “arr” like a pirate. Practice in one fluid motion retracting the tongue. Make the tongue work in isolation apart from the jaw. Use a cork, cheerio, cracker or tongue depressor for the child to slightly bite on, but avoid breaking or making it crunch.
- Growl like a tiger “grrrr” while tensing up and pulling up on sides of chair to increase tension
- Lay on the ground for gravity to help pull tongue back for “er” sound
- “lllrrr” method: Have the child lick the top of their mouth and say the /l/ sound. As the tip of tongue approaches the back of the mouth, changing the sound to “er.”
- “SURE” method: Have the child say, “sh” to get good lateral tongue placement position. Then “shhhure” while retracting tongue. Then, prolong and hold.
- “EAR” method: Have the child say, “eee” to get good lateral tongue placement position. Then “ee—rrr” while retracting tongue. Then, prolong and hold.
- “Eureka!” Start with “y” sound to get tongue in a good position and prolong the beginning of word. Also try “yyourrr.”
References
Amanda Caitlin . (2020, January 18). My number 1 trick for the /r/ sound | How to elicit /r/ | The Speech Loft. YouTube. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukxOPi7sEvQ
Crowe, K., & Mcleod, S. (2020). Children’s English Consonant Acquisition in the United States: A Review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-15. doi:10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00168
Neal, A. (2020). /R/ Therapy Part 1. Speechpathology.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www.speechpathology.com/slp-ceus/course/r-therapy-part-1-9523
Neal, A. (2020). /R/ Therapy Part 2. Speechpathology.com. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://www.speechpathology.com/E/9586/1546631/25d220f0f478981393.
Peachie Speechie. (2021, May 4). The SURE way to say the /r/ sound by Peachie Speechie. YouTube. Retrieved January 23, 2022 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhXW_6PzA40
Peachie Speechie. (2016, October 3). Tools for teaching the R sound by Peachie Speechie. YouTube. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1zgAcm9rfc
Ristuccia, C., Gilbert, D. W., & Ristuccia, J. E. (2005). The Entire World of R: Book of Elicitation Techniques. Say It Right.
Say it Right . (n.d.). Free Speech Therapy Videos. Free speech therapy videos. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from http://www.sayitright.org/training/free-speech-therapy-videos.html
Secord, W. A. (2007). Chapter 5. In Eliciting sounds: Techniques and strategies for clinicians. essay, Thomson Delmar Learning.
