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Horizon Speech

Home Practice Strategies

Research consistently shows that home practice significantly improves therapy outcomes. Children who practice at home make faster progress than those who rely on therapy sessions alone. The key is short, frequent, FUN practice sessions—5-10 minutes daily is more effective than 30 minutes once a week. Make practice a positive routine, not a chore.

8 sections
3 pro tips
3 external resources

Why Home Practice Matters

Children typically see their speech therapist for 30-60 minutes, 1-2 times per week. That's only 1-2 hours out of roughly 100 waking hours each week—a tiny fraction of their time. Home practice extends therapy into daily life, reinforcing new skills and dramatically speeding progress.

Motor learning research shows that skills (including speech skills) are learned through repeated, distributed practice. This means many short sessions over time are much more effective than fewer long sessions. The brain needs repetition and rest to consolidate new motor patterns.

  • Children who practice at home make significantly faster progress
  • Distributed practice (short, frequent) beats massed practice (long, occasional)
  • 5-10 minutes daily is more effective than 30 minutes once a week
  • Consistent practice leads to more permanent changes
  • Home practice helps generalize skills to real-life situations

Principles of Effective Practice

The 80% Rule

  • Practice at a level where your child succeeds about 80% of the time
  • If accuracy drops below 60%, the task is too hard—move back a level
  • Success builds confidence; frustration undermines motivation
  • The goal is correct practice, not just any practice

The 'Strive for Five' Approach

  • Practice in sets of 5 repetitions (manageable chunks)
  • Take brief breaks between sets
  • Start slow to ensure accuracy
  • Gradually increase speed once accurate
  • Complete 3-5 sets per session (15-25 repetitions total)

Motor Learning Principles

  • Distributed practice: Multiple short sessions beat one long session
  • Variable practice: Practice in different contexts and positions
  • Correct practice: Quality matters more than quantity
  • Immediate feedback: Let child know if production was correct
  • Self-monitoring: Teach child to judge their own productions

Making Practice a Daily Habit

The hardest part of home practice is often just remembering to do it. Attaching practice to existing routines makes it automatic.

Attach to Existing Routines

  • Morning: Practice during breakfast or getting dressed
  • Commute: Practice in the car on the way to school
  • After school: Practice before screen time or with snack
  • Bath time: Great for language and sound practice
  • Bedtime: Practice before or after reading together
  • Homework time: Build speech practice into homework routine

Keep Materials Ready and Visible

  • Word cards in the car visor or center console
  • Practice sheets on the refrigerator or bulletin board
  • Apps pre-loaded on tablet, ready to go
  • Games set up in an accessible spot
  • Visual reminders (sticky notes, calendar)

Remove Barriers

  • Don't wait for 'the perfect moment'—any moment works
  • Practice doesn't need to be formal or at a desk
  • Accept 'good enough'—some practice beats no practice
  • Involve the whole family so it's a shared activity

Practice Activities by Goal Area

Articulation (Speech Sounds)

  • Word cards at your child's therapy level
  • 'I Spy' with target sounds around the house/car
  • Reading books with target sounds (have child emphasize them)
  • Silly sentences loaded with target sounds
  • Articulation apps (see Apps page)
  • Memory/matching games with target word cards

Language (Vocabulary & Sentences)

  • Narrate daily activities (self-talk and parallel talk)
  • Expand on child's utterances (add 1-2 words)
  • Read and discuss books together
  • Ask open-ended questions during play
  • Category games (name 5 animals, 5 foods, etc.)
  • Tell/retell stories with sequence (first, then, finally)

Fluency (Stuttering)

  • 'Special talking time': 5-10 min of relaxed 1:1 conversation
  • Model slow, easy speech without asking child to slow down
  • Reduce time pressure by pausing before responding
  • Follow therapist's specific techniques (if any)
  • Read together—low-pressure speaking opportunity

Social Communication

  • Practice conversation skills during play
  • Role-play upcoming social situations
  • Watch shows together and discuss characters' feelings
  • Read social stories before challenging situations
  • Debrief after social events (what went well?)

Practice Activities by Age

Toddlers & Preschoolers (Ages 2-5)

  • Follow therapist's specific activities closely
  • Incorporate practice into play (animals, toys, pretend play)
  • Use songs, fingerplays, and nursery rhymes
  • Read books with target words, pausing for child to fill in
  • Keep sessions very short (2-5 minutes)
  • Use high-interest, motivating materials (bubbles, favorite toys)

School-Age Children (Ages 6-12)

  • Word lists and flashcards (can be self-directed)
  • Board games with speech practice rules (say word before turn)
  • Reading aloud with focus on target sounds
  • Speech therapy apps (see Apps page)
  • Homework reading as speech practice opportunity
  • 5-10 minutes of focused practice daily
  • Begin teaching self-monitoring skills

Teens (Ages 13+)

  • Self-directed practice with periodic check-ins
  • Real-world practice (ordering food, making phone calls)
  • Recording speech and self-evaluating
  • Practicing presentations, job interviews, conversations
  • Using carryover strategies in demanding situations
  • Goal-setting and self-tracking progress

Tracking and Celebrating Progress

Simple Tracking Methods

  • Paper chart or calendar (check off practice days)
  • Practice log (note what was practiced, accuracy level)
  • App data (many speech apps track progress automatically)
  • Video recordings to compare over time
  • Share updates with therapist at sessions

Motivation and Rewards

  • Token boards: Earn tokens toward a reward
  • Sticker charts: Visual display of progress
  • Streak tracking: How many days in a row?
  • Milestone celebrations: Ice cream when reaching 100 words
  • Natural rewards: Practice, then preferred activity
  • Verbal praise: Specific and genuine ('You said your /r/ perfectly!')

Avoiding Frustration

The goal is to make practice positive. If practice becomes a battle or source of frustration, it will backfire. Here's how to keep it productive:

  • Stop BEFORE your child gets frustrated—end on a success
  • If something is too hard, go back to an easier level immediately
  • Use lots of positive reinforcement for effort, not just success
  • Make it fun—games, movement, silly voices, favorite activities
  • Don't practice when either of you is tired, hungry, or stressed
  • Short and positive beats long and frustrating every time
  • Quality (correct practice) matters more than quantity
  • If practice consistently feels negative, talk to your therapist

Common Challenges and Solutions

"We don't have time"

  • 5 minutes counts—build into existing routines
  • Practice in the car, during bath, while cooking
  • Something beats nothing; consistency beats perfection

"My child refuses to practice"

  • Make it a game, not a drill
  • Offer choices (which game? how many?)
  • Use high-interest activities and rewards
  • Practice during preferred activities (video game breaks)
  • Talk to therapist about motivation strategies

"I don't know how to practice correctly"

  • Ask therapist for demonstration and written instructions
  • Request videos of correct technique
  • Practice DURING a session with therapist coaching
  • Use apps that provide feedback
  • When in doubt, focus on quantity over technique

Expert Tips

Quality Over Quantity

10 correct productions are worth more than 50 incorrect ones. If your child is struggling, move to an easier level where they can succeed. The brain learns what it practices—make sure it's practicing correctly.

Make It Fun or Make It Done

If practice feels like a chore, motivation disappears. Turn practice into games, offer choices, use favorite activities, and keep it short. The best practice is the practice that actually happens.

Communication with Your Therapist

Tell your therapist what's working and what's not. They can adjust homework, provide different materials, or troubleshoot challenges. You're a team working toward the same goal.

Related Resources

Articulation & Speech Sounds

Articulation refers to how clearly your child produces speech sounds using their lips, tongue, teeth, and palate. While all children make speech errors as they develop, most naturally acquire all sounds by age 8. Speech sound disorders occur when errors persist beyond the expected age or significantly affect how well a child can be understood. With appropriate therapy and consistent practice, most children can achieve clear speech.

Learn more

Recommended Apps

Speech therapy apps can supplement professional therapy and make home practice engaging. However, apps should complement—not replace—working with a speech-language pathologist. The best apps are those recommended by your therapist to match your child's specific goals. Here are some SLP-recommended apps across different goal areas.

Learn more

Literacy & Reading Support

Speech and language skills form the foundation for reading and writing. Children with speech or language difficulties are at higher risk for literacy problems—but early support can make a significant difference. Phonological awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words) is one of the strongest predictors of reading success and is a key area where speech-language pathologists can help.

Learn more

Still Have Questions?

Our team is here to help. Book a free consultation to discuss your concerns and learn how we can support you or your child.

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