The 5-Minute Home Speech Practice Routine

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Speech Therapy for Kids

When we created Speech Buddies more than 15 years ago, we had one clear goal: give families a tool and method they could easily carry from the clinic or classroom into everyday life at home. That goal still guides us today. Home practice plays an important role in speech progress, not just because repetition helps build skill, but because children strengthen new speech habits when they use them in different settings and with different people.

Once you know home practice matters, the next question becomes: what works best? Research points to a simple answer. Short, frequent practice sessions often lead to the best results. Ideally, that means practicing every day for about five minutes. Yes, five minutes can make a real difference. When you keep practice short, focused, and consistent, it becomes easier to stick with and easier for your child to enjoy.

Here is a simple five-minute routine you can use at home.

If it’s appropriate for your child, you can use your phone timer or an online timer like this one to keep it fun and game like.

Minute 1: Warm-Up Sounds

Start by practicing the target sound in isolation. For example, if your child is working on the R sound, simply say “RRRRR.”

If your child is working on more than one sound, you can practice two or even three sounds during one of these short sessions. This is also a great time to use your Speech Buddy Tool every time your child says the sound, or at least every other time.

Minutes 2 and 3: Word Repetition

Next, have your child repeat words that include the target sound.

Need a word list? You can use Claude or ChatGPT to generate one. Try typing or dictating this prompt:

“My child is in speech therapy in school/clinic and I want to practice between sessions. Can you give me a list of one- and two-syllable words that occur pretty frequently in American English and contain R? Make sure the R sound occurs in various positions in the word.”

Or you can use our practice lessons here with words targeting the r, s, sh, ch, and l sounds.

Once you have the list, say each word and ask your child to repeat it back to you. Resist the urge to give feedback after every word. Instead, wait until the end of the group and offer summary feedback such as, “Great job. You especially did well with Rs at the beginning of words.”

Minute 4: Phrase Practice

Choose about 6 to 8 words from the word repetition activity and turn them into simple phrases that are 3 to 4 words long.

Again, vary the position of the target sound. For example: “I love my red hat” or “there goes the blue car.”

If possible, make the target word the only word in the phrase that contains the target sound, but do not put pressure on yourself to make it perfect. Focus on steady practice. As before, wait until the end of the group before giving feedback.

Minute 5: Telling a Story

In the final minute, help your child bring everything together in running speech.

Ask your child to choose two or three of the words already practiced and use them to make up a silly story. The story does not need a formal structure. The goal is to help your child use speech in a natural, connected way that feels closer to real-life communication.

Keep It Simple and Positive

This kind of minute-by-minute routine can make home practice feel much more manageable. You can even print the outline below so your child knows what to expect each time.

You can also build in a reinforcement system to encourage consistency. If your child responds well to small, frequent rewards, use that approach. If your child prefers earning a sticker for each session and working toward a bigger reward after five or ten sessions, that works too.

Most importantly, keep practice positive. Help your child have fun, feel a sense of ownership in the process, and enjoy the progress that comes with it. Small, steady effort can lead to meaningful growth over time.

Home Speech Practice: 5 Minutes of Fun

Minute 1: Warm-Up Sounds

Minutes 2 and 3: Word Repetition

Minute 4: Phrase Practice

Minute 5: Telling a Story

At Speech Buddies, we’re dedicated to helping kids make meaningful progress toward their speech goals. If you have questions about how our tools can best be used in speech therapy, or need help finding an SLP, contact us today.

How Parents Can Use AI to Support Speech Therapy Progress at Home

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Speech Therapy for Kids

Artificial Intelligence can feel overwhelming, but it also offers real, practical benefits for families. One of the clearest is its ability to help parents organize and strengthen home practice that supports their child’s speech therapy progress. Whether your child receives services at school or through private therapy, AI can help turn professional guidance into simple, actionable support at home.

This post is designed to be practical. Below, you’ll find eight sample prompts you can copy and paste into a tool like ChatGPT, or Claude to help guide your home practice in a more focused and informed way.

Before You Start

A quick note before using these AI speech therapy prompts: blank spaces show where you should add your own information. When you see items in quotation marks separated by a slash, choose the option that best fits your family’s situation.

You’ll also notice that many of these prompts depend on information from your child’s speech therapist. That extra step matters. Staying up to date on your child’s goals, strategies, and current level of progress is an important part of making home practice more effective.

8 AI Prompts Parents Can Use at Home

1. Ask for game ideas that support speech practice

“Can you give me three low-cost board games that I can purchase to play with my __-year-old child/boy/girl to work on his/her speech sound development? I’d like the games to be completed in no more than 15 minutes and work well with only 2 players.”

2. Ask how to structure home practice

“My child ‘is typically developing’/‘has been diagnosed with ___.’ Given this, what is a recommended structure for getting the most out of our home-based exercises? Would you recommend more frequent, shorter practice sessions, or longer, less frequent sessions?”

3. Ask about the best physical setup

“What is a recommended physical setup for home-based exercises? For example, what type of room, chairs, tables, and lighting should we focus on? Should it be a dedicated space for us, or can other people be present?”

4. Ask for practice words tied to your child’s target sound

“My child is currently working on the ___ sound in speech services. Can you give me a list of 20 words that feature this sound? I want 10 words with the sound in the initial position of words and 10 in the final position of words. Also, for the latter, I don’t want plural words.”

5. Ask how to judge correct sound production

“How can I best judge whether my child said this sound correctly in each practice item?”

6. Ask what supports may help if your child is struggling

“If my child is having difficulty saying the ___ sound correctly, should I consider Speech Buddies tools as well as visual aids I can use to help ‘him’/‘her’ say the sound correctly and gain confidence?”

7. Ask when it’s time to move to the next level

“When do I know it’s time to advance to practicing with sentences versus just words? When do I know when it’s time to practice another sound my child is working on, such as the ___ sound?”

8. Ask how to encourage carryover into everyday speech

“When my child is really making progress with this ___ sound, what ideas or strategies do you have that can be used to promote generalization or habituation of what they’re really doing well in practice with me?”

Why the Right Input Matters

As we know, AI’s output is only as good as its input. The prompts above reflect some of the most important factors that go into effective home-based practice. The more specific and current the information you provide, the more helpful the response is likely to be.

Used thoughtfully, AI can be a helpful companion for parents and caregivers of children in speech therapy. It won’t replace your child’s speech therapist, but it can help you better understand how to support progress between sessions.

How to Maximize your Child’s School-Based Speech Therapy

As the fall and back-to-school season progress, your child’s school-based speech therapy services are likely in full swing. At Speech Buddies, we believe parents should play an active and consistent role in their child’s therapy journey. Whether you’re new to therapy or have experience, this blog post offers a roadmap to help parents stay engaged, informed, and empowered throughout the process.

It All Starts with the Evaluation

For those new to therapy, the process starts with an evaluation to assess your child’s current skills and how they compare to age-matched peers. After receiving the evaluation report, schedule a call with the clinician to ensure you understand and agree with the findings. The report should provide a clear picture of your child’s strengths and areas for growth.

Ask the clinician to clarify the top priority goals and how they will be addressed, including whether they will focus on one or two goals at a time or multiple. Also, ask which goals are suitable for you to work on at home.

Materials!

Once your child’s therapy goals are clear and they’ve built a good relationship with their therapist, ask for simple, affordable materials to use at home, such as games, toys, or exercises. Choose fun items that make speech therapy enjoyable—these are likely the same activities their therapist uses to keep them engaged. Using familiar materials at home will help reinforce therapy goals. Let your child help pick the materials so they feel involved in the process. If cost is a concern, look into non-profits like Small Steps in Speech, which offer small grants to support therapy services or materials.

Progress Reports

School districts usually provide progress notes every six months or more often. Be sure to review these reports carefully, just like any other school report. If something doesn’t match what you’re seeing at home, or if you think there’s room for improvement, reach out to your child’s therapist and schedule a quick meeting. With over 20 years of experience, I can assure you that these conversations are important for your child’s progress and won’t be seen as overly demanding.

Achieving Goals and Sustaining Progress

Happily, your child will make significant progress and move on to more challenging and meaningful goals. As a parent or family member, you are a key player in solidifying those gains and making them habitual in your child’s speech and language. Think of your therapist as the leader, and you as the one who supports and strengthens the skills they have taught. While this is a vast topic covered in our Speech Buddies blog series, the underlying recommendation is to be consistent in follow-up exercises. Even a small daily commitment, like five minutes almost every day, can significantly help maintain the skills learned during therapy. Find a part of your family routine—like your commute, dinner time, or a homework reward—and designate it as your “speech practice time.” The key is to make it both convenient and consistent.

Congratulations on starting your child’s school-based speech therapy! These services are key to your child’s development and play an important role in their future. While the impact of therapy can vary, following the tips above will help you get the most out of it and have a positive effect on your child’s growth.

Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP, & Speech Buddies Co-Founder

A Brief Guide to ENT Issues that could affect your child’s speech

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Language Development Parents' Corner Speech Disorders Speech Therapy for Kids

If a child shows concerning speech patterns, there is usually no clear cause. The vast majority of speech challenges related to development are what’s called idiopathic–they just happen. Sometimes, specific diagnoses can directly and casually affect speech challenges. Medical intervention can address these challenges, followed by intervention by a licensed speech-language pathologist.

Below, I summarize some of the most common issues related to otolaryngology (ear-nose-throat) that can present. Some may be present at birth and may be apparent or reveal themselves later in development; most issues appear in late toddlerhood or pre-school years. The goal of this post is to inform and empower parents and caregivers in a child’s development. However, it’s important to note that good care starts with qualified healthcare professionals.

Enlarged adenoids and tonsils

The adenoids, also known as pharyngeal tonsils, are bundles of lymphatic tissue that sit in the space between the oral and nasal cavities (the nasopharynx). When, after an infection like the common cold or an ear infection, the adenoids become inflamed (usually with pus–gross; I know), they can block proper nasal breathing. This issue can affect multiple vital systems in a developing child, but we’ll stick with speech here.

Often occurring in the later toddler years or during pre-school, enlarged adenoids can have varying effects on a child’s speech. Sometimes, there is no impact, while in others, it can be profound and require immediate attention. Speech affects include hyponasal speech, where children sound stuffed up. This can lead to a habitual open-mouth breathing posture, which can lead to changes in how a child articulates speech sounds.

The adenoids are the most likely to affect a child’s speech development when inflamed, but the palatine and lingual tonsils are also important to consider. When you open your mouth wide, you can see the palatine tonsils on the back sides. The lingual tonsils, not visible, are at the base of your tongue (see picture). These two tonsils affect speech production only when inflamed.

Should you suspect that your child’s adenoids and/or tonsils are affecting speech development, the first course of action would be to consult with your pediatrician or pediatrician otolaryngologist. A course of antibiotics and/or oral steroids can solve the problem. In rarer cases, surgery is required. Urgency is crucial, as delays can worsen speech problems. Please also see a previous blog post on this subject. (Tonsils & Adenoids)

Source url: https://teachmeanatomy.info/neck/misc/tonsils-and-adenoids/

Ankyloglossia (tongue tie)

I’ll be brief and direct you to this blog post (Is My Child Tongue-Tied?) as this subject is important and a current topic of discussion. There has been an uptick in the number of tongue tie surgeries being performed. The procedure is often quick, straightforward and painless when performed by a qualified provider such as an otolaryngologist or specialized pediatric dentist.

Parents should understand that the severity of tongue tie can affect speech and other oral behaviors like feeding and swallowing. I have seen unsubstantiated (and wild) claims from certain providers stating that tongue tie surgery can improve symptoms of autism and stuttering. Healthcare consumers must tread cautiously and remain vigilant against such claims, ensuring they comprehend the motives of those advocating for this procedure. Throughout my nearly twenty-year clinical practice, I have observed the changing opinions of clipping the lingual frenulum, with periods of powerful encouragement followed by periods of strong discouragement. Having a perspective that attitudes can swing based on recent evidence is crucial.

That said, tongue tie can have a negative impact on a range of critical behaviors, like suckling/breastfeeding, oral feeding, swallowing and speech. Any situation that limits a child’s tongue range of motion can affect functioning. As with adenoids and tonsils issues, the first line of defense, so to speak, is to consult with your pediatrician and ask him/her for a specialist referral.

Lip tie (sometimes referred to as bugloss)

As the name implies, lip tie occurs when the labial frenulum limits the range of motion of the lips. This condition less commonly affects speech development and production. When it does, the lip tie is usually quite severe. However, certain speech sounds require precise lip movements and lip tie. Again, as with tongue tie, should you suspect this is occurring in your child, your first course of action would be to contact your pediatrician.

Velopharyngeal insufficiency

Separating the mouth and nose is necessary for numerous reasons, too many to detail here. Compromising this separation can affect speech (and other functions). The hard palate, a piece of the maxilla (upper jaw) bone that fuses while a child is in utero, separates the mouth (oral cavity) and nose (nasal cavity). Sometimes, the incomplete fusion results in a cleft palate. Pediatricians almost always diagnose this condition at birth. They have a comprehensive, stepwise plan to treat and facilitate your child’s proper development of structures and functions.

Sometimes, however, an anatomical issue may be less apparent (i.e., a submucosal cleft). In these cases, a child’s voice might sound unusual, often hypernasal where air is escaping out of the nose when it shouldn’t. This issue requires a full clinical workup and diagnosis from a specialized physician. The course of treatment and speech therapy may vary for a congenital palate issue.

Finally, a situation can arise where velopharyngeal insufficiency occurs because the soft palate cannot function or may have malformations or injuries. The soft palate is a flap of muscle tissue between the nasal and oral cavities that raises and lowers to open or close off the nasal cavity. Just as with hard palate issues, soft palate challenges can make a child’s speech hyponasal. If the challenge is anatomical, the pediatric otolaryngologist will again possess the best resources to chart a course of treatment.

With these conditions, time is of the essence! Children have what we call critical periods for specific skills, like speech. Their brains are most receptive to learning these skills during specific age ranges. For speech, this occurs from birth to around 8-9 years old. Although it’s possible for a child to develop crucial speech skills after age 8-9, progress might be slower and therapy programs more complex and challenging. No matter your concern, the first step is to get information from a local licensed medical or speech and language professional. At Speech Buddies, we would be honored to assist you!

Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP, & Speech Buddies Co-Founder

New Speech Delay Study

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP normal speech milestones Parents' Corner Speech and Hearing Disorders Speech Therapy for Kids Speech Therapy Techniques

When the American Medical Association Speaks, We Listen

I’ve been quite affected by a recent research study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The research aimed at answering this question: did the Covid-19 pandemic affect the rate of diagnosis of speech delay in children up to the age of five?

The answer was a clear yes. The pandemic did see a great frequency of diagnosis of speech delay in children.

This post is dedicated to acknowledging this reality and proposing solutions to the collateral effect of the pandemic.

Study Key Points:

First, the study was huge. The authors’ analysis covered almost 2.5 million children. They were broken into four groups, one year-olds, two year-olds, three year-olds and four year-olds.

Second, the results were statistically significant. The researchers can be very confident that their findings are not due to chance and are in fact a representation of reality.

Third, they found increased diagnosis across all four age groups analyzed.

Solutions:

Now that we understand this situation is real and the pandemic is the likely cause of a greater prevalence of speech delay, let’s talk about what we can do to address it.

When a parent, teacher or pediatrician first raises a concern about a child’s speech development, the first step is always an evaluation with a licensed speech-language pathologist. Should the evaluation yield a diagnosis of speech delay, the next urgent step is to begin a course of therapy.

For decades, we’ve known of the existence of critical periods of speech development. The periods that children are expected to acquire given skills by a certain age. If a child misses these critical windows of development, rest assured speech therapy has been proven to catch children up. However, the sooner a child can be seen, the better the child’s prognosis.

Once a decision is made to get an evaluation, the next question to answer is where will we get these services? Luckily, there are many ways to do this but they all require a different procedure and have their strengths and drawbacks.

Options to explore:

See below for a list of these options which may be dependent on age, income or employment requirements:

This list is not absolutely exhaustive and other options that may be available to you. Here are a few examples:

Grant funding
TriCare (military insurance)
Therapeutic day schools – more significant developmental or medical needs

Connect:

At Speech Buddies we are committed to providing superior speech therapy solutions for all involved in the process (children, parents, caregivers, educators and fellow therapists).

Our Speech Buddies Tools have strong data to support their use with a wide range of speech delays. We also offer a free online directory for speech therapists nationwide on Speech Buddies Connect.

Lastly, we know the importance of setting up speech therapy promptly following a speech delay diagnosis. Please feel free to email us at info@speechbuddies.com for guidance on how to get started. We’d welcome the opportunity to point you in the right direction of either local, regional or national resources that you’d have available to you.

By Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP

Time-Series Analysis of First-Time Pediatric Speech Delays From 2018 to 2022

December 4, 2023 Brianna M. Goodwin Cartwright, MS1; Peter D. Smits, PhD1; Sarah Stewart, MD1; et al Patricia J. Rodriguez, PhD, MPH1; Samuel Gratzl, PhD1; Charlotte Baker, DrPH, MPH, CPH1; Nicholas Stucky, MD, PhD1
JAMA Pediatr. 2024;178(2):193-195. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.5226

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