Would you do me a favor? If you have a prompt or a word that would fit in the R Builder, would you mind sending it to me at laura@archspeechtherapy.com? I’d love to add it to this resource.

Here’s to beautiful, crisp, strong Rs,

Laura

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Laura is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: LTS Office Hours

Time: Aug 21, 2026 11:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/91346225244?pwd=uxCvn6AgJGY2Sakpz3jO9pVMlkfGKE.1

Meeting ID: 913 4622 5244

Passcode: 982878

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You get:

➜ ‘Make SSDs Series Easy’ Course Series (4 hours of PDH total)

Available now: Use PMLs in Articulation Intervention & Back to Basics: SSDs Defined

Coming: Dynamic Speech Assessment: Gold Standard, but Also I’ve Only Got An Hour & Use Multiple Oppositions This Year OR R: Elicitation to Generalization (Subscribers decide.)

➜ Monthly live Q&As/‘Office Hours’ See you tomorrow (8/21/26) via Zoom at 11:00 AM CST!

➜ Monthly downloadable resources

September: R Builder: phonetic prompts + facilitative contexts categorized by the 5 elements needed to produce R accurately

August: Phonological Patterns Chart categorized by Delay vs Disorder

July: Variation Visuals: large and small visuals to facilitate varied practice in motor learning

June: Complex S, Z, SH and CH Combination Word Lists (2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 syllable words)

May: Recurring R Word List

➜ 10-15 minute mini lectures

Available now: Minimal Pairs Therapy & Principles of Motor Learning

Coming: Treating Lateral Lisps & Multiple Oppositions

Free Subscribers

You get:

Free downloads available now:

• Principles of Motor Learning Cheat Sheet

• R Starter: Facilitative context resource to elicit accurate R

• Minimal Pairs Map: 2-page guide to implement this approach with fidelity

• Complexity Approach Simplified: 2-page guide to implement this approach with fidelity

• Multiple Oppositions Map: 2-page guide to implement this approach with fidelity

I’m so glad you’re here!

Here’s to treating SSDs with confidence,

Laura

Find the answers to:

What is a speech sound disorder?

What are the SSD subtypes?

What are the features of each subtype?

I am looking forward to answering any questions you may have during our live Q&A affectionately dubbed ‘Office Hours’ on Friday, August 21st at 11:00 AM CST. Office Hours will occur each month, so if there’s a better time for you, please let me know.

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Motor Learning

Practice: complex, randomized(said once) & varied (a…

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We know variation facilitates motor learning when treating sound distortions. In their R Tutorial, Preston and colleagues (2020, p. 975) explain, “Variable practice can be achieved by increasing the number of target words, targeting /r/ across multiple word positions, and practicing target words with variations in rate, intonation, and loudness.”

I created these variation visuals as a way to prompt students to produce their target in a variety of ways. I have the large whisper, shout, question and sentence visuals hanging in the four corners of my office. Students run from corner to corner saying their target in a variety of ways. I like to use the smaller cards during activities at the table and also, to send them home with their target words to encourage practice variation at home.

My students are loving them and I am too because I'm seeing motor learning happen. Just this afternoon a dad said, “You know, I think those cards (small variation visuals) you gave us last week really helped. He seems to have made improvement saying L just in the last week.” I’d love to hear how you use them in your sessions!

The next course in the Make SSDs Easy course series, Back to Basics: Speech Sound Disorders Defined, will be available on July 31st.

In addition to the courses, I’ll be sharing an SSD resource every month and have a live Q & A via Zoom to answer any questions you may have. In case you missed it, the Recurring R List is attached as well.

Thanks so much for being here. We’re just getting started!

Laura

PS I couldn’t decide on shout/loud or whisper/ quiet so I included both. You decide what you like best!

Reference: Preston, J. L., Benway, N. R., Leece, M. C., Hitchcock, E. R., & McAllister, T. (2020). Tutorial: Motor-based treatment strategies for /r/ distortions. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(4), 966–980. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-20-00012

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I hope all is well in your world!

Our live Q & A is today, Wednesday, July 15th from 7:30 - 8:30 PM CST! You’re welcome to pop in whenever works for you. If you’ve had a chance to watch the first course all about principles of motor learning in articulation intervention, great! If not, no worries. Either way, I’d love for you to join us! If you have a specific question in mind, you can comment below or email me at laura@archspeechtherapy.com so I can make sure to include it.

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Ready to speed up articulation intervention?

This 1-hour course, ‘Use Principles of Motor Learning in Articulation Intervention’ will do just that.

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Ready to speed up articulation intervention?

This 1-hour course, ‘Use Principles of Motor Learning in Articulation Intervention’ will do just that.

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We made it. Sweet summertime. I worked in the schools for several years so during the summer I would:

1.) Completely unplug & forget my SLP identity. ‘Twas blissful.

2.) Take a few extra moments to learn about parts of my caseload that I loved and/or that puzzled me. ‘Twas stress-free & helpful.

I’m guessing you may still be on number one, but when you’re ready, I’ve compiled my favorite The Informed SLP reviews —10 total with 3 being completely free. I love the straightforward, easy-to-read style of these reviews.

In two weeks, my first 1-hour course, ‘Use Principles of Motor Learning in Articulation Intervention’ from the 4-part series ‘Make SSDs Easy’ will be available to paid subscribers ($5 a month!). I’m so excited to share how principles of motor learning have transformed my work with children with sound distortions.

Our path to making SSDs easy:

End of June:
Use Principles of Motor Learning in Articulation Intervention

End of July:
Back to Basics: Speech Sound Disorders Defined

End of August:
Dynamic Speech Assessment: Gold Standard, But Also I’ve Only Got An Hour

End of September:
Use Multiple Oppositions This Year

*Earn 1 PDH for each 1-hour webinar.

You’ll have access to each of these courses and the live Q&A sessions that will follow two weeks after each course.

I’m eager to make this space a place where you can get your SSD questions answered, connect with an SLP community that values evidence-based practice, and, of course, have some fun!

Straightforward
Make it click.
Use it tomorrow.

I hope you have a beautiful week full of peaks.

Take care,

Laura

Tislp Favorites June 2026

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We made it once again. The last Friday in April. May craziness is just ahead and then sweet summertime!

Multiple Oppositions is an approach that you don’t need…until you do. This approach is for designed for that one child who uses a single sound such as /d/ or /w/ for several phonemes or clusters.

The first time I used this approach, a PreK student achieved intelligible speech in 6 months versus 12 or 18 months. After that, I was hooked. Admittedly, I felt uncertain implementing a new approach. I didn’t love not feeling confident in therapy, but as with all new things, it was worth it.

I’m hopeful this cheat sheet will be the nudge you need to try Multiple Oppositions with a student who has a phoneme collapse. If you already use this approach, I hope it provides a quick fidelity check.

Have questions? Comment here or find me @laurateachesspeech on Instagram.

If you find any of my resources helpful, please share!

Here’s to a beautiful weekend!

Laura

Multiple Oppositions Map

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Hey there,

Happy Friday! This 9 minute video is a follow up my recent short video comparing the Traditional Articulation Approach to Principles of Motor Learning (PML) in articulation intervention. It review the 2 stage and 4 stage models of speech sound learning and then outlines practice and feedback principles. I also shared some examples of what use …

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I hope this Complexity Cheat Sheet finds you well.

Trying a new approach can be intimidating. When I tried the Complexity Approach for the first time, it felt awkward and clumsy. Lots of mistakes were made. Yet, lots of progress was made, too. Fast. The trickle-down effect we so often hear associated with this approach is real.

For so long, the Cycles Approach was my go-to for children with a severe Speech Sound Disorder with phonological deficits (highly unintelligible, lots of patterns). It still is if a child is reluctant to take a risk and can’t withstand lots of prompting. For child who is willing to try and doesn’t mind prompting, the Complexity Approach is not only effective, but efficient. It’s hard in the beginning and you may begin to question your clinical life choices. Stick with it and I hope you experience the same as I have: slow, hard, slow, hard - boom. Sound explosion. Increased intelligibility. Confidence.

If you find the resources here helpful, please consider sending another SLP this way. My goal is to create a space where EBP SSD resources are affordable and accessible to all to make SSDs easier.

Have a great week,

Laura

Complexity Approach Simplified

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We made it. It’s Friday!

Truth be told, I am not good at Familiarization, the first step in Minimal Pairs. I rush it. I always have. I did it again just this week. I had a student name all ten pictures, which she did beautifully. We moved through the listening step and then, when it came time for her to name the pictures, it did not go well. She said, “Stop (top)” for ‘No’ (No/Snow) and couldn’t remember the girl’s name Kate (Kate/Skate). Since she couldn’t readily name the pictures independently, I couldn’t provide a pragmatic prompt regarding my semantic confusion - which is the whole point of this approach!

I created this free resource from my Minimal Pairs lecture. It gives the rationale for this approach (I love a good research quote!) and the steps, but it also answers questions like, “How many pairs do I use?” and, “What if progress stalls?”

My hope is that this resource moves us closer to my goal: make SSDs easy.

Here’s to hoping I can slow down and improve step 1 next time. My forever reminder to myself that often SSD interventions are slow, slow, slow, FAST.

Have a great weekend,

Laura

Minimal Pairs Map

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Follow along @laurateachesspeech on Instagram!

R Starter

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Hey there,

Last week at ISHA, an attendee asked about eliciting ER; nothing she had tried was working. I created this R Starter with her question in mind. Please note some targets are nonsense words. I’m hopeful it helps you gain some momentum targeting R!

Is your district or group wanting to learn more about Speech Sound Disorders? Contact me here to schedule a day of interactive, hands-on learning!

If you found this resource helpful, please tell your SLP friends to subscribe and follow along @laurateachesspeech on Instagram!

Happy (almost!) Friday! Laura

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Pml Cheat Sheet

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