Goal: Improve Prosody in Speech

Long Term-Ultimate Goal:

The client will independently use expected prosody (pitch, rate, and volume) during unstructured tasks 85% of the time on 3 out of 4 data collection days.

Download the No-Prep Therapy Kit:

We have a start-to-finish therapy kit that will give you everything you need to practice this skill in therapy and send home homework.  Click the packet below to open it.  Then, print it out and place it in the child’s notebook or binder.

Therapy Phases:

  1. Attending to Variations in Pitch, Rate, and Volume: The client will attend to several sounds in the environment (or recorded) and use at least 2-words to describe the sound (e.g. loud [volume], soft [volume], high [pitch], low [pitch], fast [rate], slow [rate] in 8 out of 10 opportunities on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  2. Demonstrating Prosody Variations in Non-Speech: The client will demonstrate a variety of prosodic features (i.e. volume, rate and pitch) when producing non-speech sound (e.g. sound effects) in 8 out of 10 opportunities on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  3. Demonstrating Prosody Variations in Speech: The client will demonstrate a variety of prosodic features (i.e. volume, rate and pitch) when producing single words or nonsense syllables in 8 out of 10 opportunities on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  4. Using Expected Prosody in Single Words: The client will demonstrate expected prosody following a model when saying single words in 8 out of 10 opportunities on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  5. Using Expected Prosody in  Phrases: The client will independently demonstrate expected prosody (i.e. rate, pausing, stress and intonation) when saying phrases in 8 out of 10 opportunities on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  6. Using Expected Prosody in Sentences: The client will independently  demonstrate expected prosody (i.e. rate, pausing, stress and intonation) when saying sentences in 8 out of 10 opportunities on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  7. Using Expected Prosody when Reading: The client will independently demonstrate expected prosody (i.e. rate, pausing, stress and intonation) when reading aloud 80% of the time on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  8. Using Expected Prosody During a Structured Task: The client will demonstrate expected prosody (i.e. rate, pausing, stress and intonation) when completing a structured task 80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.
  9. Using Expected Prosody during Spontaneous Conversation: The client will demonstrate expected prosody (i.e. rate, pausing, stress and intonation) 80% of the time with no more than 2 cues on 3 out of 4 data collection days.

Supplemental Materials

Here are some other resources that may help you when working on this skill:

High, Low, or Normal Pitch Worksheet

Help your client practice all variations of these concepts on command.  We aren’t worried about using the correct prosody yet, we just want to make sure that she understands the concepts that we’re talking about.  Once she can do that, move on to the next step!

Intonation and Pausing Worksheet

Let’s move on to phrases and sentences.  Talk about how changes
in pausing, intonation, and stress can change the meaning of a sentence.

Here’s a worksheet that will help you use punctuation to explain to a child about intonation and pausing:

Training Videos:

Need some extra help on treating this skill?  Check out these related training videos:

Webinar Recordings:

If you need some in-depth information related to this skill, check out our related webinar recording(s):

If you are working with a child who is not yet aware of the concepts of pitch, rate, and volume, you’ll want to start with some general awareness.  For this step, we’re just going to expose the children to the concepts of rate, pitch and volume in any way we can.  We’ll talk about words like fast/slow, high/low, and loud/quiet.  It’s often easiest to start with opposites so that children can really hear the difference between the two.  

Start with some simple activities where you just expose the children to these concepts while saying these words.  Once the child is able to participate in these types of activities, move on to the next step.  This step is really just for the children who aren’t ready to work on it directly yet.

Now we’ll explore the concepts of pitch, volume, and rate with non-speech sounds or sound effects.  We’ll start with opposites for contrast, such as high/low, loud/quiet, and fast/slow.  We need the children to understand these concepts before we’ll be able to work on prosody.  Once the child understands the opposites, we’ll work on the “mediums” of these concepts with more subtle variations.

One of my favorite ways to do this is with drums.  Get out a few different sized drums (or pots and pans) and some drumsticks (or wooden spoons).  Use two drums to show contrast between the two opposites of high and low.  You can use one drum to demonstrate how to bang slowly or quickly and how to drum loudly or quietly.  Remember to pair the words with the concepts as you demonstrate them.

Have the child also demonstrate these concepts on command.  Say “Make the drum go fast” Or “Play the high drum.”  Don’t forget to have the child practice in between speeds, volumes, and pitches as well.  We want them to understand that these concepts are a full spectrum from one end to the other.

Once the child has a great grasp of these concepts with noises that aren’t speech, we’re ready to transfer that to speech.  We will do the same type of activity as the last step but instead of using drums or other sound effects, we’ll use our voices.  Practice saying a word loudly, quietly, and with medium volume.  Practice repeating a sound or word quickly, slowly, and at a medium speed.  Practice saying a word with a high voice, a low voice, or a medium-pitched voice.  Also, try sliding the pitch up and down as you say a word.  Can you make your pitch go up as you say it?  How about down?

Help your client practice all variations of these concepts on command.  We aren’t worried about using the correct prosody yet, we just want to make sure that she understands the concepts that we’re talking about.  Once she can do that, move on to the next step!

Click here to download the “High, Low, or Normal Pitch Worksheet”

Now that the child fully understands how these concepts of pitch, rate, and volume can be varied in our speech, it’s time to talk about what’s appropriate.  Talk about which syllable gets stress (loudness), the rate at which certain sounds or syllables are spoken (rate), and how pitch variations can make the word sound more like a question, statement or exclamation. 

We’re obviously not talking about the full range of differences in prosody here, just a few concepts that can be demonstrated in single words.  

Click here to download the “High, Low, or Normal Pitch Worksheet”

Now we’ll get a bit more elaborate with our instruction of how prosody can affect what we say.  Let’s move on to phrases and sentences.  Talk about how changes
in pausing, intonation, and stress can change the meaning of a sentence.

Here’s a worksheet that will help you use punctuation to explain to a child about intonation and pausing: 

Click Here to Download the Intonation and Pausing Worksheet

In addition, here’s a video with some great suggestions about how pitch can be varied and changed in sentences: 

You can also talk during this step about using appropriate loudness and speed during sentences.

Once the child has completed all of the other steps in this process, he’ll be ready to work on all of these skills in conversational speech.  Your approach at this step will depend a lot on what the child is still having trouble with.  You may need to focus on just one of these concepts (pitch, rate, or volume) at a time until he has mastered in in conversation.  Work on his self-awareness skills and ability to self-monitor and decide when he needs to correct his prosody.  Work also on using cues and reinforcement from teachers and parents to help these skills generalize.

Resources, Tools, and Training for Speech-Language Professionals

*** The SLP Solution is for informational and educational purposes only and does not provide medical or psychological advice.  We provide general resources but cannot tell you exactly what should be done for a specific client.  Every client is different and your clinical judgement should be used when making decisions about specific individuals.

 

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