Speech and Language Kids Podcast

Arianna’s Story: Preschool Speech and Language


Listen Later

Arianna’s Story: Preschool Speech and Language

How do you know where to start with a preschooler who’s hard to understand? In today’s episode, I’m walking you through a real-life case study of a sweet little one (we’ll call her Arianna) who had significant speech and language challenges. I’ll share the exact process I used to figure out what to target first and how I built a therapy plan that made meaningful progress possible—even with limited time and resources.

This episode is perfect for SLPs, teachers, and parents working with preschoolers who have unclear speech, multiple delays, or difficulty getting their message across.

Listen to the Podcast Here

You can listen to the full podcast episode below:

Step 1: Identify the Main Areas of Impact

We started by figuring out which areas of communication were causing the most trouble. For Arianna, that meant:

  • Speech sounds (especially final consonant deletion and velar fronting)
  • Syntax and grammar (telegraphic speech and missing grammatical markers) These were the pieces that were making her the hardest to understand.
  • Tip: Narrow down to the areas that will give you the most bang for your buck—the ones that will make everything else easier once they improve.

    SLK Screening Checklist (Free inside the Hub!)

    Step 2: Use Progress Monitoring Tools to Dig Deeper

    Once we knew her biggest challenges, we used SLK’s progress monitoring checklists to pinpoint where she was breaking down:

    • Speech: We identified phonological processes (not just individual sounds) as the main issue.
    • Language: Grammar and sentence structure were the weakest spots—she was using very short, simplified utterances.
    • These checklists helped us move from a broad area (like “speech”) to the exact patterns to target in therapy.

      Progress Monitoring Tools

      Step 3: Choose the Right Therapy Pathways

      We mapped Arianna’s goals onto SLK’s structured therapy pathways:

      • Phonological Processing Pathway: Targeting beginner-level patterns like final consonant deletion and velar fronting.
      • Syntax & Grammar Pathway: Starting with early-developing grammatical markers like present progressive “-ing.”
      • This helped create a clear, step-by-step plan that fit her level and needs.

        Step 4: Target Specific, Functional Skills

        From there, we picked specific therapy goals:

        • Say words with final consonants (e.g., “cat” instead of “ca”)
        • Produce K and G sounds in the correct place in the mouth
        • Use basic grammatical forms like “jumping” or “eating”
        • These were the skills that would have the biggest immediate impact on her intelligibility and communication success.

          Step 5: Make Therapy Play-Based and Flexible

          Since Arianna was just 4 years old, we kept our sessions fun and flexible:

          • Used toys and books for natural practice
          • Modeled target sounds and grammar during play
          • Adapted session length to her attention span
          • Mixed speech and language practice together in the same session
          • We also collaborated with her teacher and sent simple homework activities home for carryover.

            Bonus: Troubleshooting Other Common Preschool Challenges

            In the second half of the episode, we tackled listener questions about similar preschoolers:

            • What to do when there’s echolalia and limited spontaneous language
            • How to support a preschooler using AAC/LAMP devices for communication
            • Choosing between speech vs. language vs. social goals when there are multiple areas of need
            • I shared how the same SLK framework helps guide those decisions so you can confidently know what to target first.

              Resources and Links

              Join the Speech and Language Kids Hub – Free & Paid Plans

              SLK Screening Checklist

              SLK Progress Monitoring Tools

              Therapy Pathways & Materials ($25/month or $250/year)

              The post Arianna’s Story: Preschool Speech and Language appeared first on Speech And Language Kids.

              ...more
              View all episodesView all episodes
              Download on the App Store

              Speech and Language Kids PodcastBy Carrie Clark, M.A. CCC-SLP

              • 4.6
              • 4.6
              • 4.6
              • 4.6
              • 4.6

              4.6

              155 ratings


              More shows like Speech and Language Kids Podcast

              View all
              Focus on the Family with Jim Daly by Focus on the Family

              Focus on the Family with Jim Daly

              4,800 Listeners

              The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast by The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast

              The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast

              4,814 Listeners

              Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled by JLML Press

              Respectful Parenting: Janet Lansbury Unruffled

              3,655 Listeners

              ClutterBug - Organize, Clean and Transform your Home & Life by Clutterbug

              ClutterBug - Organize, Clean and Transform your Home & Life

              1,980 Listeners

              Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard by Armchair Umbrella

              Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

              68,709 Listeners

              All Things Sensory by Harkla by Rachel Harrington, COTA/L, AC & Jessica Hill, COTA/L

              All Things Sensory by Harkla

              428 Listeners

              The SLP Now Podcast by SLP Now

              The SLP Now Podcast

              132 Listeners

              Science of Reading: The Podcast by Amplify Education

              Science of Reading: The Podcast

              620 Listeners

              Autism Parenting Secrets by Len Arcuri, Cass Arcuri

              Autism Parenting Secrets

              153 Listeners

              Uniquely Human: The Podcast by ART19    Uniquely Human

              Uniquely Human: The Podcast

              406 Listeners

              Good Inside with Dr. Becky by Dr. Becky Kennedy

              Good Inside with Dr. Becky

              4,356 Listeners

              The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

              The Mel Robbins Podcast

              20,784 Listeners

              The Autism Little Learners Podcast by Tara Phillips

              The Autism Little Learners Podcast

              107 Listeners

              The Jefferson Fisher Podcast by Civility Media

              The Jefferson Fisher Podcast

              7,675 Listeners

              Climbing the Walls by Understood.org

              Climbing the Walls

              335 Listeners