Speech Therapy: Target Sounds

What Are Target Sounds?

In speech therapy, target sounds are the specific speech sounds chosen for a child to work on during treatment. These sounds are selected carefully by a speech and language therapist as part of articulation therapy, and they form the focus of practice sessions both in clinic and at home.

Typically, a therapist will select around three sounds at a time. This allows the child to concentrate their efforts without becoming overwhelmed. Each set of target sounds is usually worked on for several months, giving enough time for genuine progress and consistent use in everyday speech.

The goal is steady mastery rather than rushing through a long list of sounds. Once a child can produce their target sounds reliably in conversation, the therapist will introduce new ones.

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How Target Sounds Are Selected

Therapists do not pick target sounds at random. The selection process takes several factors into account:

• How often the sound appears in simple, single syllable words
• Whether the sound occurs at the start, middle or end of words
• How frequently the child uses words containing that sound in daily life
• How disrupted or unclear the sound is when the child speaks
• Whether mastering one sound might help with learning others
• The child's age and what sounds are typically expected at that stage

Some sounds develop earlier than others in most children. Therapists often prioritise sounds that should already be established for a child's age group, or those causing the most difficulty in being understood.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists provides guidance on typical speech sound development, which therapists use alongside their clinical judgement when planning treatment.

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Practising Target Sounds: From Isolation to Conversation

Speech therapy follows a structured approach when teaching new sounds. Children usually begin by practising target sounds in isolation. This means producing the sound on its own, without any surrounding letters or syllables.

Starting this way helps the therapist observe exactly how the child forms the sound. They can see tongue placement, lip movement and breath control more clearly. It also makes it easier to identify what adjustments might help.

Once a child can produce the sound accurately in isolation, practice moves on to syllables. The sound is combined with vowels in simple patterns. After that, the focus shifts to whole words, with the target sound appearing in different positions.

The next stage involves phrases and sentences. Finally, the aim is for the child to use the sound correctly in natural conversation without having to think about it consciously. This progression can take time, and each child moves at their own pace.

Practising at Home

Home practice plays a significant role in speech therapy. Therapists will usually provide activities and exercises for parents or carers to do with their child between sessions. Consistent, short practice sessions at home help reinforce what has been learned in clinic.

Many families find that building practice into daily routines works well. This might mean spending five or ten minutes during a calm part of the day, perhaps after school or before bedtime. The key is regular repetition without turning it into a chore.

If you are looking for activities matched to your child's specific target sounds, the Speech Exercise Finder on this site can help you locate suitable resources.

Parents should not worry if progress seems slow at times. Learning new speech patterns takes patience, and setbacks are normal. Your child's therapist can offer guidance if you have concerns about how practice is going or if you need fresh ideas to keep sessions engaging.

For general information about speech and language therapy services in your area, contact your local NHS trust or speak to your child's health visitor or GP for a referral.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Speech Exercise Finder lets you get personalised speech exercises to practise at home based on your specific difficulty and age group. Takes about 2 minutes. Try it now →