The first stage of speech sound therapy is to learn to hear the difference between speech sounds. Children need to be able to hear that every sound is different before we can expect them to use new sounds. 

This 2nd stage is for practising sounds on their own (not in words). A therapist will let you know which target sounds to practise. Remember to say the sound only, not the letter name. For example you would say ‘s’ not ‘suh’ or ‘ess’. 

Stage 3 is for practising blending sounds with a vowel (e.g. s + ee = ‘see’). A therapist will tell you which target sounds to practise and whether to practise blending before or after a vowel. Model the sounds for your child to copy. As they become more confident with the activity they may be able to have a go without a model. 

Stage 4 is for practising using sounds in single words, not in sentences. A therapist will tell you which target sounds to practise and whether to practise at the beginning, in middle or at the ends of words. 

Stage 5 is for practising using the speech sounds in sentences. A therapist will tell you which target sounds to practise and whether to practise at the beginning, in middle or at the ends of words. 

After this we work on reading sound loaded passages (if they can read) and using the sound in conversation.