Principles of Motor Learning in Articulation Intervention

Tired of reaching for the same generic drills no matter what speech sound error walks through your door? In this episode, Hallie chats with Laura Rinella, MA, CCC-SLP, creator of Laura Teaches Speech and a pediatric specialist in speech sound disorders. Laura breaks down how she builds targeted, individualized treatment plans that move the needle on intelligibility, offers her take on telling articulation and phonological disorders apart in real sessions, and explains why she sees every kid's progress as a step toward letting their voice come through.

Bullet Points to Discuss: 

- Why principles of motor learning belong in articulation therapy

- how manipulating practice & feedback results in independence

- When more isn't always better - high trials aren't enough

- The performance trap - why success during practice doesn't equal learning

- The power of mistakes - update & refine the motor plan

- Variation - the secret sauce/game changer/the closer

Here’s what we learned: 

• Motor learning principles matter for every kid with a speech sound error, not just those with residual/lingering errors
• Mastering a sound in the therapy room isn't the same as mastering it in real life — that's the performance trap
• Variation in rate, intonation, and loudness is what drives carryover to real conversation
• Speech motor chaining builds from syllables to self-generated sentences, leveling up as accuracy improves
• Buy-in matters as much as biomechanics — kids need to believe change is possible before the movement work sticks

Learn more about Laura RinellaWebsite

https://substack.com/@laurateachesspeech https://www.archspeechtherapy.com/courses-resources/

Social

https://www.instagram.com/laurateachesspeech/ 

Other links: 

https://substack.com/@laurateachesspeech

https://www.archspeechtherapy.com/courses-resources/

Freebie - include this on the docs so we don’t need to copy and paste from this document (note for podmachine editor)

https://substack.com/@laurateachesspeech/note/p-188451575?r=7jc6eu&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web 

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

🎲✨ Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/secret-podcast-signup

📘✨ Grab your copy of The Secondary SLP Roadmap here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/stf-book

🎤✨ The Speech Retreat is Back! Learn more and register here!

https://www.speechretreat.com ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 

Freebie:

https://www.slpmadness.com/shop/p/freespeechtherapydescribingprobe

https://www.slpmadness.com/iep-goal-bank 

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefu