Top 3 Ways to Practice Speech Part 2

Written by Jill Hicks, Speech-Language Pathologist, September 2024

This is a continuation of Part 1, the blog posted on September 5, 2024.  In that post, we discussed the High Repetition method.  That is an effective way to provide numerous opportunities for your child to practice their targets.  ​Now let’s talk about a related way to practice targets called the High Interest method.

High Interest 

The High Interest method can also be called Play Therapy. During Play Therapy the adult chooses high interest toys or games that include speech targets.  The child explores the toy on his own, directing play.  He will naturally gravitate to the items or activities  of high interest to him.  The adult gets on the child’s level  and observes what the child is playing with.  It is important to set up the environment for success.  This includes removing any background noise such as the t.v., music, a dog barking, etc.  It is also helpful to remove all but the chosen toys from the play area.

Here's an example.  George is learning to say the /k/ sound at the beginning of words. George is naturally drawn to playing with toy cars.  The adult intentionally assembles a number of toy cars and a box to be a garage.  Other toys and distractions are removed from the play area.  When George is brought into th play area, he goes directly to the cars and starts moving them.  The adult gets down on George’s level and models the target word “car” numerous times during a fifteen minute play session.  When George attempts to say “car” the adult reinforces his attempts.  

High Utility

​The third method of practicing speech is the High Utility method.  The High Utility method can also be called the Carry-Over or Carry-Over to Real Life Contexts method.  This type of practice is done during every day life situations.  It is very useful to the child because it teaches sounds, words, and sentences that occur in the child’s life.  The targets will be useful during the child’s day to day communication.  ​​In the High Utility method the adult keeps in mind one or more of the child’s targets, remembering to model and reinforce that target in various real life contexts.

An example of the High Utility Method is Ava. Ava is learning to say the vowel “o” starting with saying “o” in the word “on”.  Whenever the adult is with Ava and sees an opportunity they model “on” in context.  When putting Ava’s socks on the adult says “on”.  When turning the light switch on the adult says “on”.  When Ava gets on her ride on toy the adult says “on”.  

The advantage of the High Utility method is that it uses words in a variety of real life contexts.  It is therefore both meaningful and useful to the child.  The challenge with this method is keeping targets in mind and remembering to model them throughout the day.

We have looked at 3 effective ways to practice speech and language targets with your child:  High Repetition, High Interest, and High Utility.  Each of these methods has particular advantages.  By being intentional about practicing throughout the day, you will give your child more opportunities to learn.  The more opportunities your child has to practice targets using these 3 methods, the sooner he or she will get there.