R CUE DATABASE

These are ideas for elicitation, but please always get appropriate consent from supervisors and/or caregivers where necessary.
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Blog Post: What Does the Tongue do for Bunched R?

Blog Post: How to Choose Bunched or Retroflex

  • Sides of Tongue:
    • “Make the sides of your tongue touch your top teeth or gums.”
  • Back of Tongue:
    • “The back of your tongue child be pulled back toward your throat.”
    • “Pull the back of your tongue back but not up.”
  • Tip of Tongue:
    • “Lift the tip of the tongue off the floor of your mouth.” 
    • “The tip of your tongue should be pointing forward, not up or down.”
    • “The tip of your tongue should be in the middle of your mouth.”
  • Middle of Tongue:
    • “The middle of your back town should scoop down but the sides of your tongue stay up.”
    • “Try to keep the middle part of your tongue low.”
  • Lips:
    • “Round your lips just a tiny bit, but not too much.”
    • “Tighten the corners of your lips just a little.”
    • “Keep your lips steady.” (If they try to round for /w/.)
  • Jaw:
    • “Your jaw looks clenched, try relaxing it and opening it a little bit.”
    • “Your mouth is open to wide, try closing it a little bit.”

More Resources:

  • stroke sides of tongue with tool and explain that spot needs to touch the top molars – can pretend there’s “glue”
    • tongue depressor
    • lollipop
    • toothette
    • sour spray
    • fun dip
    • peanutbutter
    • nutella
  • twizzler trick (video): cut twizzler in approximately 1/3, place across back of tongue and have them push up to make an “arch” and achieve tension (read more about tension)
    -twizzler alternatives (read more):
    • sour punch straws
    • slim jims
    • red vines
    • any licorice
    • silicone straws
  • help the tongue retract- guide tongue back with
    • gloved hand
    • tongue depressor
    • floss pick
  • pretzel sticks
    • use both to get retraction and tongue widening
    • place along molars like “railroad tracks” for the tongue to move along
    • visual included in this freebie

       

  • Touch the back of the head and ask the student to pull their tongue back toward your finger
  • pretend to vacuum (facilitates tongue retraction as you pull the “vacuum” back)
  • cup hand, palm facing down

To get the sides of the tongue to raise:

  • “Make the sides of your tongue go up like a…”: boat, bowl, taco, bird’s wings, butterfly’s wings, basket (pretend to hold an egg in the middle)

 

To get tongue retraction:

  • “Pull your tongue bike like…”: a turtle pulls its head into its shell
  • “Pretend your teeth are railroad tracks”- the sides of the tongue should connect to the upper molars/inner gums

Try these words when cueing the R:

  • “sure”
  • “ear”
  • “Erie”
  • “eureka”
  • “sure”
  • try laying back to let gravity help with tongue retraction (on a yoga ball, on the floor, head hanging off chair or table)
  • Blog Post: What Does the Tongue do for Retroflex R?

  • Blog Post: How to Choose Bunched or Retroflex

    • Sides of Tongue:
      • “Make the sides of your tongue touch your top teeth or gums.”
    • Back of Tongue:
      • “The back of your tongue child be pulled back toward your throat.”
      • “Pull the back of your tongue back but not up.”
    • Tip of Tongue:
      • “Lift the tip of the tongue off the floor of your mouth.” 
      • “The tip of your tongue should be pointing forward, not up or down.”
      • “The tip of your tongue should be in the middle of your mouth.”
    • Middle of Tongue:
      • “The middle of your back town should scoop down but the sides of your tongue stay up.”
      • “Try to keep the middle part of your tongue low.”
    • Lips:
      • “Round your lips just a tiny bit, but not too much.”
      • “Tighten the corners of your lips just a little.”
      • “Keep your lips steady.” (If they try to round for /w/.)
    • Jaw:
      • “Your jaw looks clenched, try relaxing it and opening it a little bit.”
      • “Your mouth is open to wide, try closing it a little bit.”

     

  • More Resources:

To get the tongue to curl

  • have the student say /l/ and use a tongue depressor to help tongue curl back into mouth
  • touch the top center of their head and tell the student to point their tongue to your finger
  • curl fingers upward, palm facing up
  • “Curl your tongue like…”:
    • an elephant’s trunk
    • you’re licking ice cream
    • a rooster throwing his head back to crow
  • make a claw hand
  • made a pirate hook hand
  • “Make a sound like a…”
    • tiger
    • bear
    • motorcycle
    • pirate

Be sure to check for stimulability for BOTH bunched and retrfoflex R-

Sources:

Preston, J. L., Benway, N. R., Leece, M. C., Hitchcock, E. R., & McAllister, T. (2020). Tutorial: Motor-based treatment strategies for /r/ distortions. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(4), 966–980. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_lshss-20-00012

 Reinking, Rebecca. (2021, October 10). I Have A Cue For That! [Conference Presentation] Speech Sound Disorder Series. https://www.bethebrightest.com/

Secord, W. A. (2007). Eliciting sounds: Techniques and strategies for clinicians. Thomson Delmar Learning.

 

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