Baby-led weaning: Empowering little eaters from the start

ByLondon Speech and Feeding July 2, 2025July 2, 2025

I had a mum ask me about Baby Led Weaning the other day. So I thought I would write a blog on all the useful questions she had and what we discussed as it may help lots of mums and dads out there.

As a Paediatric Feeding SLT, one of the exciting developments in recent years is the growing interest in baby-led weaning (BLW). This approach to introducing solids has gained significant traction, and for good reason. It empowers infants to take the lead in their feeding journey, fostering a positive relationship with food and supporting important developmental milestones.

What exactly is baby-led weaning?

At its core, baby-led weaning is about offering your baby appropriately sized and textured solid foods from the very beginning, allowing him or her to self-feed. Instead of spoon-feeding purées, you present whole, soft foods that your baby can grasp, bring to his or her mouth, and explore at his or her own pace. This means no mashing, no blending, and no forcing spoons into reluctant mouths. It’s a fun, messy, and intuitive process that is led by your baby’s natural instincts.

The genesis of baby-led weaning

‘Baby-led weaning’ was popularised by British health visitor Gill Rapley. In the early 2000s, Rapley observed that babies naturally develop the skills needed to self-feed and that traditional spoon-feeding might actually hinder this development. Her work, particularly her book Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods (co-authored with Tracey Murkett), published in 2008, brought BLW into the mainstream and provided a structured framework for parents. Her research and observations highlighted the benefits of trusting a baby’s innate ability to regulate his or her intake and explore different textures.

What’s the deal?

Implementing BLW is simpler than you might think, though it does require a shift in mindset. Here’s a breakdown of what it typically involves:

Readiness is key: The golden rule of BLW is to wait until your baby shows clear signs of readiness. This isn’t about age alone, but rather developmental milestones. Your baby should be at least six months old, able to sit unassisted, have good head and neck control, show an interest in food (e.g., reaching for yours), and have lost his or her tongue-thrust reflex (which pushes solids out of his or her mouth).
Offer finger foods: Start with soft, easily graspable foods cut into finger-sized sticks or spears. Think cooked sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli florets (soft enough to mash with gentle pressure), banana sticks, or avocado slices. The goal is for babies to be able to pick it up and get some into their mouth.
Embrace the mess: BLW is inherently messy, especially in the beginning. Food will be squished, dropped, and smeared. This is a crucial part of the learning process as babies explore textures, smells, and the properties of food. A wipeable mat under the highchair and a good bib are your best friends!
Observe, don’t interfere: Allow your baby to lead. He or she will decide what to eat, how much, and how quickly. Avoid putting food into his or her mouth or pressuring him or her to eat more. This respects his or her hunger and fullness cues, laying the foundation for healthy eating habits.
Continue breastmilk or formula: Until your baby is well-established on solids, breastmilk or formula remains his or her primary source of nutrition. Solids are for exploration, taste, and developing skills, gradually increasing in quantity over time.

The benefits of baby-led weaning

The advantages of BLW extend far beyond simply getting food into your baby. From a speech and feeding perspective, the benefits are compelling:

Develops oral motor skills: Chewing, gnawing, and manipulating various food textures are crucial for developing the muscles in the mouth, jaw, and tongue. This strengthens the oral motor skills necessary for speech development.
Enhances fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination: The act of grasping food, bringing it to the mouth, and coordinating these movements significantly refines fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Promotes self-regulation and intuitive eating: By allowing babies to control their intake, BLW helps them tune into their own hunger and fullness cues, fostering a healthy relationship with food and reducing the likelihood of overeating.
Encourages adventurous eating: Exposure to a wide variety of tastes and textures from the outset can lead to less picky eating later. Babies are more likely to accept new foods when they have been in control of their exploration.
Facilitates family mealtimes: BLW integrates babies into family mealtimes from an early age, promoting social interaction and making mealtime a shared, enjoyable experience.

When is baby-led weaning appropriate, and when not?

While BLW offers numerous benefits, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.

When BLW is appropriate:

When your baby meets all the developmental readiness signs: This is paramount for safety and success.
When you are comfortable with the mess and the learning curve: It requires patience and a relaxed attitude.
When you are committed to offering a variety of safe, appropriate foods.
When you are willing to learn about and practise safe food preparation to minimise choking hazards.

When BLW might not be appropriate (or requires extra caution and professional guidance):

If your baby has a history of prematurity or significant developmental delays: His or her oral motor skills might not be sufficiently developed.
If your baby has certain medical conditions or anatomical differences (e.g., cleft palate, severe reflux, swallowing difficulties): These may necessitate a modified approach to feeding.
If there are significant feeding difficulties, aversion, or a history of choking incidents.
If you feel overly anxious about choking: While BLW, when done correctly, is not associated with a higher choking risk than traditional weaning, parental anxiety can impact the feeding experience. Education and consultation with a professional can help alleviate these concerns.

A note on safety: Choking hazards

It’s crucial to understand the difference between gagging and choking. Gagging is a natural reflex that helps prevent choking and is very common in BLW as babies learn to manage food in their mouths. Choking is silent and serious. To minimise choking risks:

Always supervise your baby closely during mealtimes.
Offer appropriately sized and textured foods. Avoid small, round, hard foods like whole grapes, nuts, popcorn, and large chunks of meat.
Ensure your baby is sitting upright and calm.
Educate yourself on infant CPR.

Final thoughts

Baby-led weaning is a wonderfully empowering approach that celebrates a baby’s natural abilities and fosters a positive and independent relationship with food. As Speech and Language Therapists we often see the positive impact it has on oral motor development, self-regulation, and overall feeding confidence. By understanding what it entails, when it’s appropriate, and prioritising safety, you can embark on this exciting journey with your little one, helping him or her become a confident and capable eater from the very first bite.

If you would like help and support with weaning your baby whilst continuing to breastfeed then please get in touch!

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

Speech and Language Therapy

Learn the benefits of Cycles Phonology Approach in Speech Therapy
ByLondon Speech and Feeding March 6, 2023February 10, 2023
Cycles Phonogogical approach

When your child attends Speech and Language Therapy, it can look like your child’s therapist is playing. Therapy needs to be fun, which means carrying out therapy through the medium of play. But remember every approach used has evidence behind it. We need to know that therapy will be successful, so an evidence-based approach is essential.

One of the approaches used for Speech Therapy (i.e., working on speech sound production) is the Cycles Phonology Approach. This approach focuses on the patterns and processes rather than each individual sound. For example, it may be working on final consonant deletion, so the omission of the final sound in words. As Speech and Language Therapists we understand that children can get frustrated and fatigued working on the same sound every day. This approach attempts to solve that. Hodson suggests, the approach is also useful for children with more speech sound errors, as therapists see progress in areas not targeted.

How does the Cycles Phonology Approach work?

Your Speech and Language Therapist will assess your child’s speech development and will then analyse the results. They will also look for which sounds they can produce with support (this is called stimulability). They will analyse patterns in the results and will formulate a plan.

The Cycles Phonology Approach intervention allows your child to work in blocks. This might mean they work for half a week for 30 minutes on (e.g., clusters). Then the next half they’ll work for 30 minutes on a different process (e.g., omission of sounds at the end of words).

Research has found that the following error patterns respond well to this approach:
- Syllables (identifying the different parts in a word e.g., “ae-ro-plane”)
- Final Consonant deletion (omission of the final sound e.g., “ca” instead of “cat”)
- Initial consonant deletion (omission of the first sound e.g., “at” instead of “cat”)
- Fronting (instead of making a sound at the back of the mouth, it’s made at the front e.g., “tat” instead of “cat”)
- Backing (instead of making a sound at the front of the mouth, it’s made at the back e.g., “gun” instead of “bun”)
- S blends (e.g., “sl, sm, sn, sk, sw”)
- Gliding of liquids (e.g., “lellow instead of yellow”, “wabbit instead of rabbit”)
What does a Speech and Language Therapy session look like when using the Phonology Cycles Approach?

The format of the session remains the same for whichever speech sound pattern your child is working on. Your child’s Speech and Language Therapist will review the previous session. Then they will use an activity to work on your child hearing the sound several times (this is called ‘auditory bombardment’). Then your child will practise saying the sound. Next, the Speech and Language Therapist will check if your child can say any of the sounds which they haven’t been able to produce before, with support. This is called a stimulability check. After this, your child will take part in an activity which builds their awareness of sounds in words (such as a rhyming or syllable activity). The session will finish with another auditory bombardment task (i.e., hearing their tricky sound repeatedly).

I will give you advice for practising at home, as it’s vital that your child learns in the correct way. We aim for 100 turns in therapy sessions, so it’s vital your child is motivated.

Contact me to improve your child’s speech sounds and improve their confidence when talking.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Echolalia · Speech and Language Therapy

What Is Echolalia And Does It Have A Function? How Can Speech Therapy Help With Echolalia?
ByLondon Speech and Feeding January 11, 2022January 31, 2023
Echolalia is a term used when assessing or treating children with Autism. The term refers to the repetition or echoing of utterances, either our own or others’. It can also be echoing phrases heard on television, advertising jingles or catchy repeat phrases used in tv programmes or nursery rhymes and songs. Whilst we all use echolalia occasionally and it can be observed in typically developing children, we tend not to see/hear it beyond the age of 2.5 years old. Children with ASD, however, do use echolalia often into late childhood.

There are generally two types of Echolalia:

Immediate echolalia

Here the repeated phrases or words are produced immediately after someone has spoken the original words or within two conversational turns of the original utterance.

Delayed echolalia

The repeat echoing of the original utterance occurs sometime later, more than two conversational turns or with a much longer time delay. Due to the delay it can be hard to interpret the meaning of the echolalic utterance as it may refer to something that happened long ago and in a different context to the originally utterance.

(Stiegler, 2015, Fay 1967, Blanc 2014)

There are other unconventional speech behaviours which include:
- Perseveration of Speech – persistent repetition of speech
- Repetitive questioning – persisting even though answers were given
- Vocalisations such as: humming, whistling, clicking, squealing etc.
Much research has gone into the meaning and treatment of Echolalia and the following list consists of possible functions that have been identified:
- Information sharing
- Responding to answers
- Labelling
- Drawing attention to self
- Protesting
- Requesting
- Giving instructions
- Self-regulation, calming
(Stiegler 2015, Prizant 1983)

Echolalia does have a function and is part of the Gestalt Learning Process (where longer units of speech are memorised and then used as a whole without the individual words being meaningful).

As a Speech and Language Therapist I promote sound and proven Intervention based on the Hanen Programme which helps provide a highly facilitative Interaction Style and I will tell you a bit more in my next blog how the “More Than Words” approach can help children with echolalia move through their Gestalt Learning into more analytic processing of language, grammar and meaning.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
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Speech and Language Therapy

Can AI help my child’s speech delay? What it can do and what it can’t
ByLondon Speech and Feeding March 11, 2026March 9, 2026
If you’re worried about your child’s speech, you are absolutely not alone. Many parents I work with tell me the same thing:

‘I’ve been Googling…’
‘I asked ChatGPT what activities to try…’
‘TikTok said we should practise this sound every day…’

It makes complete sense. When waiting lists are long, evenings are quiet, and your child is struggling to communicate, it’s natural to look for help wherever you can find it.

AI tools can actually be helpful in some ways. But they also have clear limits especially for children with significant speech delays or speech sound disorders.

Here’s an honest, balanced guide to what AI can do, and what it simply can’t.

✔️ What AI can help with

1. Explaining things in simple language

AI can be very helpful for explaining speech and language terms in a way that’s easy for parents to understand for example, what a phonological delay is, or what Childhood Apraxia of Speech means. It can also suggest possible reasons for a child’s speech delay based on the information you provide.

The difficulty is that parents (or teachers) can only ask questions based on what they notice or perceive to be the problem. In practice, this doesn’t always tell the full story. For example, parents often report that their child ‘can say certain words’, but during an assessment we may find those words are actually produced with consistent error patterns. These patterns give important clues about the underlying nature of the difficulty, whether it’s a delay or a disorder and they guide the speech therapist in choosing the most effective targets to improve intelligibility.

2. Suggesting games and activities

AI is very good at suggesting ideas for games and practice, such as word lists, simple play activities, sound practice games, book suggestions, and ways to encourage talking within everyday routines. These can be especially helpful when you feel stuck or want some fresh inspiration for supporting your child at home. It can help to think of AI as a big ideas bank, somewhere to dip into when you need new, playful ways to keep practice engaging.

3. Helping you prepare questions for a therapist

Some parents use AI to list questions before an assessment, understand reports and organise concerns.

This can make therapy feel less overwhelming and more collaborative.

Used this way, AI can actually support the therapy process.

❌ Where and why AI cannot replace real life speech therapy

There is substantial research supporting the effectiveness of real-life speech therapy compared to generic online resources or AI-generated suggestions. Here are some key points highlighting why in-person therapy is often more beneficial:
- Personalisation: Speech therapists assess each child’s unique needs, strengths, and challenges through direct observation and interaction. This personalised approach allows for tailored interventions that address specific issues, which generic resources cannot provide.
- Nuanced understanding: Therapists are trained to recognise subtle cues in speech production, including the nuances of sound articulation, language comprehension, and social communication. This expertise enables us to identify underlying issues that may not be apparent through generic assessments.
- Motivational support: A speech therapist can provide encouragement, motivation, and emotional support, which can significantly enhance a child’s willingness to participate and engage in therapy. This relational aspect is crucial for building confidence and reducing anxiety around communication.
- Evidence-based practices: As a highly trained and specialised speech therapist I utilise evidence-based practices that are grounded in research, ensuring that the techniques used are effective and up to date. This contrasts with generic online information, which may not always be reliable or validated.
- Progress monitoring: In-person therapy allows for ongoing assessment and adjustments to the treatment plan. We track progress over time and modify strategies as needed, ensuring that the therapy remains effective and relevant.
Research studies consistently show that individualised, face-to-face interventions lead to better outcomes in speech therapy than generalised approaches. For parents and caregivers, seeking professional help tends to provide a more effective path toward improving their child’s communication skills.

The healthiest way to think about AI

AI works best as a starting point, not a substitute. You might use it to understand your child’s report and learn how speech develops,

But if your child has significant delay or difficulty being understood, what makes the real difference is:
- A tailored assessment
- A clear therapy plan
- Expert target selection
- Ongoing adjustment
- Support for both child and you the parent!
Dear parents,

If you’ve been turning to AI for help, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It means you care!

But please know the best outcomes usually come from combining your daily support at home with guidance and support from your speech therapist who knows you and your child.

Many of my past and present clients tell me that they really value my ‘handholding’ and me guiding them in between the sessions. A quick check in is often all that is needed but it makes a huge difference!

If you’d like support or advice, please contact me and I can help guide the next steps.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Autism Therapy · Speech and Language Therapy

Milestones of autistic children: Crawling, walking, and talking
ByLondon Speech and Feeding October 25, 2023March 25, 2026
Image by wayhomestudio on Freepik

For all children every milestone achieved is a testament to the unique and intricate process unfolding within each young mind. For autistic children, this journey may present a distinct pattern, with some reaching developmental milestones like crawling, walking, and talking later than their neurotypical peers. Let’s have a look into the fascinating realm of Autism and explore why some autistic children might crawl, walk, and talk later, shedding light on the underlying factors contributing to this unique way of developing.

1. Individual Pacing:

Child development is not a one-size-fits-all journey. Each child, whether neurotypical or autistic, has a unique timeline for achieving milestones. Autistic children, like any other children, follow their own pacing. This individual rhythm might lead them to focus on one set of skills before they progress to others. Like some neurotypical children might focus on talking earlier than walking, autistic children might prioritise other areas before crawling or talking.

2. Neurodevelopmental Complexity:

The human brain is a remarkable entity, with a bewildering array of interconnected processes that lead to us achieving our developmental milestones. Autistic children often have variations in “neural wiring”, which can impact the balance between gross motor skills (crawling, walking) and fine motor skills. Speech and language acquisition falls under fine motor skills and may be momentarily disrupted due to the divergent neurological pathways at play in autism.

2. Sensory Processing Differences:

One of the hallmarks of autism is altered sensory processing. Autistic children often experience sensory stimuli differently than their neurotypical peers. This heightened or diminished sensitivity can influence a child’s desire or ability to engage in activities like crawling and walking. The sensation of movement while crawling or walking, for instance, might be overwhelming for some autistic children, causing them to either avoid or delay these activities.

3. Visual-Spatial Abilities:

Autistic children and adults frequently display excellent visual-spatial abilities. This strength might lead some children to focus more on activities that engage these skills, potentially delaying their engagement with activities like walking or talking. As they navigate their environment and process information visually, they might naturally invest more time in activities that stimulate this particular cognitive ability and strength.

4. Communication Challenges:

For many autistic children, speaking can be a really complex and difficult endeavour. Communication delays are a common feature of autism. This can affect both receptive and expressive language development. While some children might be physically capable of crawling or walking, they may not yet have the tools to communicate their desires and intentions. This leads to a temporary focus on non-speaking forms of expression. This does not mean that they do not communicate at all. But autistic individuals often start out using jargoning or echolalia as a form of communication as well as behaviours and physical forms of communication.

5. Executive Functioning and Motor Skills:

Executive functioning, or abilities for planning, organising, and carrying out tasks, can vary in autistic children. These skills are crucial for activities like crawling, walking, and talking, which need coordination and planning. About 40% of autistic persons have a motor planning difficulty.

6. Intense Interests and Routines:

Autistic children often develop intense interests in specific subjects, sometimes to the exclusion of other activities. These interests might become their primary mode of engagement. They might side-line milestones like crawling, walking, or talking. The mostly rigid adherence to routines and preferences might cause them to allocate more time to their preferred activities. This delays their engagement with other developmental tasks.

How can Speech and Language Therapy help:

Support and Intervention:

Early intervention and regular Speech and Language Therapy play a pivotal role in the developmental journey of autistic children. Therapies tailored to individual needs can aid in bridging the gaps between milestones. Occupational therapy, for example, can help address sensory sensitivities and motor skill challenges that might impact crawling and walking. Speech therapy can help communication development, gradually bridging the gap between non-verbal expressions and spoken language.

For example, we now know that echolalia or jargoning of longer phrases with intonation, repeating scripts from favourite tv shows or songs have many meanings and communicative functions. For example, a child who utters long strings of echolalic utterances, often difficult to understand, might want to do any one of the following:
- Comment
- greet
- ask a question
- make a request
- express surprise
- negate something.
We now understand that the way to support a child with echolalia is to acknowledge all utterances and try and find out what the meaning is behind these scripts. This is very supportive. Over time it will lead a child to move on to understanding and saying more clear and self-generated language. For more information about this Natural Language Acquisition here are some other great websites for you to look at:
- https://www.meaningfulspeech.com/
- https://communicationdevelopmentcenter.com/the-natural-language-acquisition-guide-echolalia-is-all-about-gestalt-language-development/
Conclusion

In conclusion, the journey of an autistic child’s development is a testament to the uniqueness and complexity of the human mind. The delays or differences in achieving milestones like crawling, walking, and talking can be attributed to a range of factors, including
- neurodevelopmental intricacies,
- sensory processing variations,
- and communication challenges.
It’s crucial to recognise that these delays are not indicative of a lack of potential, but rather a manifestation of the intricate interplay between an autistic child’s strengths and challenges. By embracing these differences and providing tailored support, we can help each autistic child unfold their potential at their own pace.

Do get in touch if you would like to book an appointment where we can explore how to help your child develop and thrive

Do get in touch if you would like to book an appointment where we can explore how to help your child develop and thrive

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Autism Therapy · Speech and Language Therapy · Top tips

Discover nine ways to support literacy in autistic children
ByLondon Speech and Feeding April 28, 2023April 11, 2023
We are all aware that Autism is on a spectrum. By the very nature of this, it means that every child will present differently, so an individualised approach is required. We need to remember to use a child’s strengths to support their needs. By using a person-centred approach, you’ll see your child’s literacy develop and thrive.

I hear many parents concerns about literacy as well as communication. Will they be able to read, write and spell? How will they manage their literacy independently? The questions are endless, so let’s look at how you can support your child’s literacy skills and how together we can provide a scaffold to them becoming independent learners.
1. The one thing we know is that Autistic children are visual learners. They succeed by us sharing pictures and demonstrating how the narrative is shown.
2. Start reading to your child at an early age. You can never start too early. This creates a love for books and supports vital pre-literacy skills (such as increasing vocabulary, following narratives, awareness of sounds in words, and letter recognition and awareness). By supporting pre-literacy skills, you’re starting the process to create confident young readers.
3. There are many ways to use books. You can narrate the story using different voices and tones to increase interest. You can do this even if your child isn’t interested. They are still listening and learning vital skills. You may even ask and answer questions and voice the skills that they will need for internal monitoring.
4. Use their interests to select appropriate reading material. In addition, you can then create questions on the book and provide a scaffold to support your child with the answer.
5. Use technology to spark their interest in reading. Demonstrate how they can read online. This is often successful as it becomes an individual activity as opposed to needing social interaction.
6. Provide them with a choice of texts (e.g., would you like ‘Perfectly Norman or when things get too loud’) rather than an open-ended question such as ‘What book would you like to read?’
7. Write key pieces of information down on paper. Research suggests that Autistic learners understand written text better than speech.
8. You could have a ‘word of the day’ from chosen reading material that you explore together.
9. Reading aloud to your child can have many benefits which include understanding vocabulary to how the book is read, with appropriate intonation.
I highly recommend the boom decks as they are a great resource!

The ethos at London Speech and Feeding:

“If they can’t learn in the way we teach, then we teach the way they learn”

If you need speech, language or communication support or advice, I am always here to help.

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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Autism Therapy · Speech and Language Therapy

How we can help shape smooth consonant blends
ByLondon Speech and Feeding April 13, 2026April 10, 2026
For many children, especially those navigating Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), the challenge isn’t just making individual sounds. It’s the ‘speech gymnastics’ required to move smoothly from one sound to the next.

You might notice that instead of saying ‘Train’, your child says ‘Ter-ain’, or for ‘Frog’, you hear ‘Fer-og’. That sneaky little ‘uh’ sound in the middle is what we call a schwa vowel. In the world of speech science, this is known as epenthesis. It’s essentially a ‘repair strategy’ the brain uses to break up a difficult cluster of sounds into two easier pieces.

While it might seem like a small detail, that tiny vowel makes a big difference in how fluent and clear a child’s speech sounds. In today’s post (and the video below), I am working with my student on ironing out that schwa by focusing on co-articulation—the art of getting the mouth ready for the second sound while still finishing the first.

The ‘best friends’ strategy

To help my student understand this complex movement, I use visual cues and a story. There are many ways to portray two sounds living closely together, but for this session, I used the ‘Best Friends’ story.

In our story, the /T/ and the /R/ are older brother best friends who want to play together. The ‘schwa’ sound is represented by a little sister who keeps trying to jump in the middle of their game! Because my student has a younger sister, this scenario was instantly familiar and helped him visualise why we needed to ‘close the gap’ between those two sounds.

Alternative methods I often use:

Beyond stories, I often use other visual and tactile methods to show the closeness of two sounds:
- The sliding finger: I draw two dots on a paper—one for /T/ and one for /R/. We slide a finger quickly from one to the other. I might say, ‘Don’t let the ‘uh’ monster jump in the gap!’
- The rubber band: We stretch a rubber band as we speak. I tell my student that the word is one long, smooth stretch, rather than two separate ‘pops’.
- Visual cues for ‘quiet’ sounds: I often put my finger to my lips or tap my throat to remind a child to keep the first sound voiceless. If the voice stays ‘off’ during the /T/, it’s much harder for that schwa vowel to creep in.
The importance of ‘pure’ modelling

A major hurdle in clearing up these blends is how we, as adults, model sounds. Often, when teaching the alphabet, we say ‘Kuh’, ‘Puh’ or ‘Tuh’. But if you listen closely, you’re actually adding a vowel! If a child learns that /K/ says ‘Kuh’, it’s only natural they will say ‘Kuh-R’ for /KR/.

To give your child a cleaner blueprint, try modeling ‘pure’ sounds. Think of whispering rather than talking:
- The /K/ sound: A short, sharp burst of air from the back of the throat. No voice! (A quiet /K/ click).
- The /P/ sound: Just a ‘pop’ of air from the lips. If your throat vibrates, the vowel has snuck in.
- The /T/ sound: A tiny tap of the tongue behind the teeth.
Why is this important?

You might ask, ‘If I can still understand them, does it really matter if they say “ter-ain”?’

The goal of speech therapy isn’t just functional communication; it’s building phonological awareness. When a child adds extra vowels, it can eventually impact their literacy. If they hear ‘ter-ain,’ they are much more likely to eventually spell it as ‘terain’ or ‘traint’.

By helping them master these clusters through co-articulation now, we are setting them up for success in reading and writing. And we are giving them the confidence to speak with ease.

Feel free to contact me if your child needs help with clusters or other difficulties either aligned with Childhood Apraxia of Speech or other articulation difficulties.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.

References
- Hall, N. (2011). Vowel Epenthesis. In The Blackwell Companion to Phonology (eds M. Oostendorp, C.J. Ewen, E. Hume and K. Rice). In this work, epenthesis is defined as the insertion of a vowel to break up complex consonant clusters into simpler, more manageable syllables. This is often viewed as a ‘repair strategy’ used by the brain when a transition between sounds is too complex to execute quickly.
- Aichert, I., & Ziegler, W. (2004) Brain and Language 88(1):148-59. Syllable frequency and syllable structure in apraxia of speech. This research highlights that children with Apraxia often struggle specifically with word-onset clusters, leading to distortions like the schwa.
- Browman, C. P., & Goldstein, L. (1992) Phonetica 1992;49(3-4):155-80. Articulatory Phonology: An Overview. This paper explains that fluent speech requires ‘gestural overlap,’ where the movements for two different sounds happen simultaneously. This supports the ‘Best Friends’ method of keeping sounds close together.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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