I use a multisensory approach based on integral stimulation that incorporates the principles of motor learning. I like to describe it as a “watch me, listen to me, do as I do/do it with me” method. The approach I take depends on the child’s communication needs. For a child with more significant communication impairment (or earlier in therapy), I might use the Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) approach. For a child with less significant communication impairment (or a child that is further along in treatment), I might use more of an eclectic approach, ReST, and/or Speech Motor Chaining, always focusing on movement pattern and syllable/word/phrase shapes rather than isolated sounds.

I love motivating materials that incorporate literacy, pragmatics, and language skills. I use hierarchical cueing strategies such as simultaneous speaking, teaching the child to watch my mouth, whispering, tactile cueing, performance feedback, results feedback, cognitive cueing, and visual cueing. I also like to incorporate prosodic variation and executive function skills, especially the skill of self-evaluation. Helping a child imitate and execute motor plans is fabulous, but empowering a child to assess if their own motor movements both sound and feel correct is a gift.