Articulation is Shorter Sessions Better?

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I just finished reading the Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. This equation is at the beginning of the book and sums up the philosophy: Small, smart choices + Consistency + Time = Radical difference The little decisions you make and habits you have amass into life-altering results as they’re compounded over years. This helps me to explain why I have found shorter sessions are best for articulation speech therapy.

Back when I first started to work with students with articulation difficulties I would have a group of children usually based on their grade level that I would see twice a week for thirty minutes. Some in the group would have different sounds that they were working on. In order to keep their attention we played many games with students using their ‘new’ sound when it was their turn. It began to feel as if everyday was ‘Groundhog’s day’ as I would often have students forgetting how to produce their sound at the next session. The students often asked about the ‘game’ we were playing concentrating more in the activity than in sound production. Once I read about Susan Sexton’s ‘5 minute kids’ articulation program I began to use it. The students were now having individual sessions for a shorter period of time directly focused on their specific sound production. The shorter sessions for articulation became how I worked with my articulation students.

5 minute kids books Rakovicspeechandlanguagechat

Susan Sexton’s ‘5 minute kids’ program is evidenced-based. It comes with a series of books that have words, phrases and sentences to drill on and suggested short games to use with the students. It utilizes the research that points to individual sessions for articulation therapy is more productive that group therapy. Additional research on the program has discharge from articulation therapy higher for this service delivery model than for the traditional group therapy.

How it works in my setting is that all my students have individual folders that are color-coded by grade level. Quarterly I screen my students to determine the sounds that they need to work on. I then have the students create an individual goal that addresses the sound, what position do they need to learn it in and at what level of speech ( ex. syllable, word, phrase, sentence or conversational). This then is on one side of the folder along with completed homework. I use library cards and envelopes to keep track of attendance and data from sessions. The students also have a sticker pad and stickers as they earn stickers for homework completion and drill work. On the other side I have worksheets both from the ‘5 minute kids’ as well as other resources. There is also an explanation on how to produce the sound that they are working on.

My K-2 school is set up in pods with tables outside the classrooms. I take my grade level folders to the pod area and I pull the students one at a time to review their sound. I schedule my 2nd graders first in the morning as they for the most part know the morning routine and are done getting their belongings organized and lunch ordered. The students are able to quickly get back to their classroom with minimal time away. I then do the first graders and leave the kindergarteners for last. The kindergarteners are usually in centers when I pull them so the teacher has already given them the instructions and now they are working on applying these concepts. It is easier for me to pull a student and then get them back to their center.

I have seen amazing growth with the students using this shorter session therapy time. I am also seeing a higher percentage of students practicing their sounds at home because they have now gotten many reminders during the week to do so.

References:

5 Minute Kids
Byers, Beth A., et al. “A Comparison of Intervention Intensity and Service Delivery Models with School-Age Children with Speech Sound Disorders in a School Setting.” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, vol. 52, no. 2, 2021, pp. 529–541., https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_lshss-20-00057.
Kamhi, A (2006). Treatment Decisions for Children With Speech Sound Disorders Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, Vol 37, 271-27