Major focus area

Speech Therapy -> Articulation

Short description

Successive approximation is a strategy used to shape new sounds from sounds or articulatory postures in the child's existing sound inventory.

Long description

Successive approximation is a strategy used to shape new sounds from sounds or articulatory postures in the child's existing sound inventory. This approach builds from the placement of an existing sound that is similar to the target sound. Analysis of the existing inventory and the potential targets may reveal phonemes that share common production features. The existing sound serves as the starting point. Through successive modification or adjustments in either the position or movement of the articulators or the manner of production, each step results in a closer approximation of the target sound. For example, the phoneme /t/ may be used to facilitate the correct production of /s/ (Secord et al., 2007). The alveolar place of articulation is similar for both sounds. When the client is instructed to release the /t/ with a strong burst of air, while slowly retracting the tongue lightly from the alveolar ridge, the resulting sound can be prolonged and will approximate a /s/ sound.