My favorite tips and tricks to say /r/
/r/ is one of the trickiest sounds to get down! I always explain this to parents and students because it is so easy to feel upset about a lack of progress. It takes time!
Here are my favorite speech therapy tricks to get the /r/ sound.
The techniques mentioned:
1. Discriminate between /r/ and /w/!
Often, students and clients will produce a /w/ in place of an /r/. This is because they round their lips as if they were going to “kiss a puppy.” Having the individual look in the mirror to pull their lips back is extremely helpful. I even have students and clients just my /r/’s from /w/’s to strengthen their auditory discrimination!
2. Learn what type of /r/ you make. I mentioned two different types of /r/’s in this video.
Bunched /r/: The sides of your tongue are up by your upper back molars and your tongue tip is pointed. I compare it to a mountain or as if you are trying to give the back of your throat a punch with the back of your tongue!
Retroflex /r/: You curl the tip of your tongue back and you have the sides of your tongue touching your upper back molars.
Now, I love to emphasize that my patients are students and are the most important pieces to their plan of care. I will ask them to try both in isolation (e.g., just saying “er”) and see which one they feel more comfortable with. At times, students will say they’re unsure which they prefer. In that case, I will use my clinical ear to see which sounds most fluid.
3. Use coarticulation (the movement between two sounds)!
Coarticulation and blending the target sounds can be helpful, especially when kids have /r/ at the beginning of words (prevocalic /r/ and struggle with the vowel-influenced/r/ (vocalic /r/) at the end of words. An example would be taking that final /r/ word (car) and immediately saying a word that starts with /r/ (red).
4. Use /k, g/ to help!
/K/ and /g/ are both velar sounds, meaning they are made in the back of the mouth. Combining these sounds with /r/ can help the individual bring their tongue to the targeted speech sound to help them master it! This is especially beneficial for bunched /r/.
I hope you enjoyed this video! Let me know if there is anything more you’d like to see!
