Children under four with speech delays or disorders often present with Final Consonant Deletion, making their speech hard to understand. When a child with Final Consonant Deletion says, “I saw a duck and some fish at the park,” it might sound like, “I saw a du and suh fi a the par.”
As speech pathologists, one of the hardest things is knowing which approach to use to tackle this pattern. The truth is, there is no one “right” way. Through evidence, experience, and getting to know the child, we can start to think about what might work for them.
One way to help a child understand the concept of correcting their Final Consonant Deletion is through metaphors and metaphonological cues. In other words, helping them learn the rule by calling final sounds in words “tail sounds” and linking this idea to something they already have knowledge of – animals and their tails!
This is one of my favourite ways to help the rule “make sense” for younger learners.
Our recently updated product, the Final Consonant Deletion Tail Sound Packet , has everything you need to teach and consolidate this phonological rule for younger children.
My personal favourite activity is the Tail Sound Puzzle. This can be a POWERFUL visual. It can help your students see the concept, and when they get it – it is so exciting! As children make the puzzle, they say the animal’s name, making sure to say it’s “tail sound”.
If the child deletes the final tail, I take the ‘tail’ picture away and tell them that they have forgotten to say the animal’s tail sound.
If my student isn’t aware that what they are saying doesn’t make sense, and they are not “hearing” that they are deleting the last sound in a word (or animal’s name), we’ll do some Listening for Tail Sound tasks.
As the SLP, I will alternate saying the the animal’s name with (sheep) and without (shee) its “tail sound”, and have the child match it to the board. It’s a fun way to develop the child’s awareness of sounds in words.
Once my students understand this “tail sound” concept, I love sending these Draw the Tail Sound sheets for home practice ( I’ve even uploaded them onto my iPad!). Your child will have five practice attempts at saying the name of the animal WITH its tail sound before they can ‘draw’ the tail on the animal .
It’s an interactive and engaging activity that my students really enjoy… especially when they can draw any type of tail they like!
Another activity that can easy to do in small groups or for home practice are the Match the Tail Sound tasks.
Your child will practice saying the animal’s name with its tail sound, and then draw a line to “find its tail”.
If the child forgets and says “la_” for “lamb”, you might point to the lamb’s tail on the right hand side and say, “Oops, you forgot your tail sound when you said lamb. There is an “m” sound at the end”.
Adventures in Speech Pathology creates speech therapy materials that you download as a digital file, and then print to use with your students.
Hi, I'm Rebecca.
I encourage SLPs to feel more confident treating speech sound disorders, and make faster progress with their students.
We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.
You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings .
Close GDPR Cookie Settings
Last Updated: 17/01/2024
Adventures In Speech Pathology Pty Ltd respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website, adventuresinspeechpathology.com (the "Website"). By using our services or providing your personal information to us, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
We may collect various types of personal information, including but not limited to:
Personal Identifiers: Such as your name, email address, phone number, and postal address when you sign up for our services or communicate with us.
Usage Data: Information about how you interact with our Website, including your IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and actions taken.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing preferences and activities on our Website. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings.
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
To provide and improve our services.
To communicate with you, respond to your inquiries, and provide customer support.
To send you updates, newsletters, and marketing communications if you have opted in.
To comply with legal obligations and protect our rights.
We may share your personal information with third parties in the following circumstances:
With service providers and business partners who assist us in delivering our services.
To comply with legal requirements, such as responding to a court order or government request.
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or part of our business.
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
Access: You may request access to the personal information we hold about you.
Correction: You may request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Deletion: You may request the deletion of your personal information, subject to legal obligations.
Data Portability: You may request to receive a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw your consent for marketing communications at any time.
We take appropriate measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed as completely secure.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will notify you of any material changes through the Website or by other means.
If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact us at support@adventuresinspeechpathology.com.
Data Protection Officer
Our Data Protection Officer can be reached at support@adventuresinspeechpathology.com.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary CookiesStrictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
Enable or Disable CookiesIf you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
3rd Party CookiesCookies and Tracking Technologies
This website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and collect information for various purposes. By using this website, you consent to the use of these cookies and technologies as described below:
Google Analytics:
We use Google Analytics to collect anonymous information about our website's visitors, such as the number of visitors, their geographic location, the pages they visit, and the duration of their visit. This information helps us analyze website traffic and improve our content and user experience. Google Analytics does not collect personal information, and the data is aggregated and anonymized.
Facebook Pixel:
In addition to Google Analytics, we use Facebook Pixel, which is a tracking technology provided by Facebook, Inc. This technology allows us to track the actions of users after they click on a Facebook ad and come to our website. It helps us measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and understand user interactions with our website.
Why We Use Cookies and Tracking Technologies:
To analyse website traffic and improve our website's functionality and content.
To measure the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising campaigns.
To provide you with a more personalized and relevant browsing experience.
Cookie Management:
You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or by using the cookie consent tool provided on our website. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect your experience on our website.
Opting Out:
If you wish to opt-out of specific tracking technologies or advertising cookies, you can do so through the settings provided by the respective services, such as Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel. Additionally, you can adjust your Facebook ad settings to control the information Facebook uses to show you ads.
Questions and Contact Information:
If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies and tracking technologies, please contact us at [email address]. For more information on how we handle your personal data, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Enable or Disable CookiesPlease enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!
