Where to start?

Where to start? That is a question I've asked myself MANY times! Whether it be the little one that settles on "eh eh" to signal they want something or the child that you suspect has apraxia of speech. There was a day thought that I felt like I made significant progress on this question. Very similar to reverse chaining, I just kept thinking in my mind about how to break things down to the most simplest form and build from there. That was the day that I started working on what I refer to as my "Sounds Book". It is basically just sounds in isolation of many consonant and vowel sounds in the English language. I didn't want to necessarily associate sounds with letters, because I wanted to be able to use it with kids even younger than preschool age. The idea was to try to pair the consonant and vowel sounds with actual environmental sounds that the kids could relate to. I admit, there is at least one that I feel like it somewhat of a stretch, but for the very most part, kids have LOVED this book. I like to print it off with each picture being a little less than 4 X 6 inches. This allows me to put it into a little inexpensive photo book that I can then give to the child as their own. 

"Point and Say" - this seems very simple, but it is oh so important. First point the the picture and then make the sound. I tend to point and then say/gesture at the the same time. I have seen time and time again that the motor movement can help bring about verbal language. Plus you are modeling for them what you want them to do; point to something and have a vocalization/approximation paired with it. It doesn't take long of modeling this with a child before they are able to pick up this book and "read" it themselves. 


For the child that only produces "eh eh" for everything they want. My thought was to just get them imitating and increasing their variation of sounds. For the child with apraxia or significant phonological delay, it's the most basic sound in isolation to then begin combining sound and building words. Plus you have a common "language" and/or reference point that you and the child are both familiar with. It helps to give a focal point and specifically refer to what is working in the mouth (i.e. lips popping, teeth together, etc). Simply saying "say it like this" or "make this sound" isn't specific enough and doesn't necessary direct the child is what specifically to change. 

Have fun with it. Be silly with it. The more fun it is for you, the more fun it will be for the child. There are so many ways to expand upon this idea, but for now, give it a try. You can find the whole thing at my Teachers Pay Teachers store at 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Stacey-Parks