Monarch Speech Therapy

07/14/2026

Final consonant deletion friends, I see you!! This is a super common speech pattern under 3 years old, but if your child is older than that and leaves the final consonant sound off their words, like saying “ha” instead of “hat,” it can be especially difficult to understand them!

In speech therapy I use kinesthetic cueing to help children isolate the sound and attach it to a motor movement that helps them remember to include it at the end of a word.

When teaching a final sound like the “t” in “hat,” I’ll hold out haaaaaa- and then clap as I add “t.” Over time we hold the middle of the word shorter and shorter until we can say “hat.”

Let me know what other speech and cueing tips you’d like to see 👇🏼

07/10/2026

The R sound can be so tricky to master! Those Rs after vowels are especially difficult. Here is a trick to help with words that have an “air” sound.

1. Start by holding out “ayyyy”
2. Keep your tongue tight between your teeth
3. Pull your tongue backwards to make “rrrrrr”

Practice this trick in words like:
Bear, hair, chair, scare, fair, dare

R is one of the sounds that will be available in my speech therapy sound guides launching 6/11/26! In the guide you can find more tricks and ideas to work on R, as well as some more info about the sound with some guided videos. I can’t wait to share it with you!!

07/08/2026

This is a great example of how being capable of a skill doesn’t mean your child will use it independently.

If you’ve ever thought “I know my child can do this…so why isn’t he??” you’re not alone.

A lot of times parents see a disconnect of what they know their children are capable of and what their child actually does on their own.

The truth is, a child may be able to do something with support, prompting, or after watching someone else do it, but that doesn’t mean the skill has become automatic yet.

Learning happens through repetition. Every time you model a word, gesture, or action, you’re strengthening that connection in your child’s brain. Those repetitions matter, even if you don’t see an immediate response.

In this video, my baby already knew the sign for “more.” But it still took seeing me model it five times before he signed it independently. He just needed a few more opportunities to process, plan, and decide to use the skill on his own.

So if it feels like you’re repeating yourself over and over, don’t get discouraged. Keep creating opportunities for your child to take that step from “I can do it” to “I’ll do it on my own.” 🫶🏼

07/07/2026

This one is for all my cluster reduction friends! When there are two consonants at the beginning of a word, it can be tricky to get both those sounds.

Here’s how I use forward chaining in speech therapy to help get both parts of the “sp” consonant cluster, like in the word “sp**n”

1. Start by holding out the first sound: ssssss
2. Pause, then add the rest of the word: p**n
3. Repeat, and this time blend sssssssss-p**n
4. Keep making that space smaller and smaller to say “sp**n”

07/03/2026

Speech therapy goes far beyond teaching how to make sounds. Often, the most important thing that comes from a session is the child increasing in confidence.

Studies show that children who struggle with speech sound disorders tend to have continued academic and social difficulties through high school and into adulthood if they don’t receive therapy. A lot of this is because the child recognizes that speech is difficult for them, and may feel frustrated or hesitant to keep trying.

That’s why working on communication confidence and validating a child where they are at is SO important. It is normal for new skills to feel hard. What matters is encouraging the child that no matter how hard it is, they are supported and they have the tools to do it.

We 👏🏼 can 👏🏼 do 👏🏼 hard 👏🏼 things!

If you believe in your child, they will start to believe in themselves too. This inherent confidence makes an AMAZING difference in a child’s overall speech therapy success.

Be sure to follow more for ideas on how to support your child’s speech and language with confidence!

07/02/2026

If your child’s tongue sneaks out while saying L sounds, here’s what I do in speech therapy.

Instead of letting the tongue peek between the teeth, we want the tip of the tongue to gently touch the bumpy spot (alveolar ridge for my fellow anatomy nerds) just behind the top front teeth. This gives the tongue a stable place to make the sound and helps prevent that tongue-out habit.

One of my favorite therapy tricks? Use a mirror!

When kids can see what their tongue is doing, they’re much more likely to notice when it sneaks between their teeth and make corrections themselves.

Speech production is more than just hearing the sound, it also matters how it is produced!

L is one of the sounds I will be releasing as one of my Speech Sound Mini Guides coming soon! Be sure to sign up for the waitlist at the link in my bio so you don’t miss it. ❤️

Save this for later, or send it to a parent working on the L sound! 💙

06/30/2026

Does your child make cute mispronunciations??

Not every speech error means a child needs speech therapy. Speech sounds develop over time, and some sounds are expected later than others. Knowing what’s typical for your child’s age can help you understand when to watch and when it may be time to seek support.

💬 Comment “LINK” and I’ll send you my blog post that explains speech sound development, age expectations, and when to consider an evaluation.

06/30/2026

Have you noticed that your child seems to understand everything... but often doesn't communicate back?

Sometimes there can be an underlying language delay. Learn more about it on the blog.

Expert pediatric speech therapy services in American Fork, Utah. Specializing in early intervention, language development, and speech sound disorders. Call 801-855-6904.

06/29/2026

It’s insane how big of an impact this simple action can make 🤯

When you copy your baby’s babbles, you’re teaching them:
• back & forth flow of conversation
• shared interaction/social connection
• imitation skills

The more often a baby engages in communication play, the sooner they will eventually start imitating back!

Save this tip for later or share with a parent who has a baby!