Stick Trick for the R Sound

Hey SLPs! Here’s a little trick for eliciting the R sound. All you need is a tongue depressor! 

How to do the Stick Trick for R

1. Ask your student to smile and open their mouth a little. 
2. Place the tongue depressor horizontally in their mouth, as pictured.
3. They will place the tip of their tongue on the edge of the stick in their mouth.
4. Prompt them to lift the back sides of their tongue up to touch the insides of their back teeth ( “taco tongue” position !)

Why this works

• It stabilizes the jaw.
• It prevents excessive lip rounding.
• It encourages tongue placement for bunched R.

Does it work for every single kid? Nope. Have I found some success with it? Yep. :) If you’re struggling with the R sound, the stick trick might be worth a try! Let me know how it goes! 

Oh, and if you want to see a video of me doing the Stick Trick with a child, click here. 

Need more materials and ideas for R? Check out this blog post and my free speech sound video library.

Xoxox,
Meredith 

Thanks for reading the Peachie Speechie blog! Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page so we can keep in touch. 💌