List of 8 SLP- Approved Phonology Goals for Speech Therapy
Are you searching for a speech therapy goal bank for phonological disorders? SLPs will enjoy these 10 SLP-recommended phonology goals for speech therapy. Please keep in mind that these goals are simply ideas. Feel free to modify and individualize these goals to match the needs of your student. The goals are meant to provide sample goal wording for school SLPs who are writing speech therapy goals to target a variety of phonological processes.
What are Phonological Processes?
It can be helpful to have a list on hand of all the phonological processes when selecting goals for your students.
This phonological processes list is the perfect reference guide for SLPs. Make sure to bookmark it for repeated use.
What Phonology Goals for Speech Therapy Target
These speech therapy goals target specific speech patterns.
SLPs typically do not write their specific approach or therapeutic techniques as part of the objective. This can provide flexibility when needed.
SLPs may wish to research using a S.M.A.R.T. goal format when writing IEP objectives.
This is a framework for writing measurable IEP objectives. The acronym stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Please modify these goals as needed.
Before Identifying Phonology Goals for Speech Therapy
SLPs will first need to identify active phonological patterns present in that child’s speech.
Many assessments are designed to help SLPs analyze and best select the processes that have the most impact on speech intelligibility.
Some of these include:
- the Clinical Assessment of Articulation and Phonology- 2nd Edition (CAAP-2)
- Hodson Assessment of Phonological Patterns (HAPP-3)
Example Phonological Goal Template Wording
SLPs can simplify the process of writing phonological goals with a template such as:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of ___________ by producing _______________ in THE INITIAL AND FINAL POSITION OF WORDS given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Here’s an example:
NAME will reduce the phonological process of final consonant deletion by producing final consonants (to include /p/, /t/, and /k/) in words given verbal/ visual models and cues with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions.
I used the same accuracy (80%) and wording, such as “across 3 consecutive sessions” and “given verbal and visual models and cues”- please change this if this doesn’t fit your student’s needs. You might want to do a different accuracy level, or have your student produce the words independently- that’s your call!
Final Consonant Deletion Speech Therapy Goal Ideas
Here is a template:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of final consonant deletion by producing _______________ in THE FINAL POSITION OF WORDS given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Here is an example:
STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of final consonant deletion by producing final consonants (to include /p/, /t/, and /k/) in words given verbal/ visual models and cues with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions.
Fronting Speech Therapy Goal Ideas
Here is a template:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of velar fronting/ palatal fronting by producing _______________ in THE INITIAL AND FINAL POSITION OF WORDS given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Here is an example of how to word a velar fronting goal for speech therapy:
STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of velar fronting by producing velars (to include final /k/, initial /k/, and initial /g/) in words given verbal/ visual models and cues with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions.
Here is an example of how to word a palatal fronting goal for speech therapy:
STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of palatal fronting by producing palatals (to include final “SH” and initial “SH”) in words given verbal/ visual models and cues with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions.
Stopping Speech Therapy Goal Ideas
Here is a template:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of stopping by producing fricatives (_______________) in THE INITIAL AND FINAL POSITION OF WORDS given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of stopping by producing fricatives (to include /f/, /s/, and “sh”) in the initial and final position of words given verbal/ visual models and cues with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions.
Cluster Reduction Speech Therapy Goal Ideas
Here is a template you can copy and paste if you wish:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of cluster reduction by producing both/ all sounds in a consonant cluster (focus on______ blends) given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of cluster reduction by producing initial s-blends (to include SM, SN, and SW) in words given verbal/ visual models and cues with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions.
Deaffrication Phonology Speech Therapy Goal Ideas
Here is a template for deaffrication speech therapy goals:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of deaffrication by producing affricate sounds (CH, J) in the _________ position of words given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Here is an example:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of deaffrication by producing affricate sounds (ch initial, ch final, j initial) in words given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Weak Syllable Deletion Phonology Goals
Here is a template for a weak syllable goal:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the process of weak syllable deletion by producing all syllables in 2-3 syllable words given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Velar Assimilation Speech Therapy Goal Ideas
This one has come up a few times, so I figured I’d add an example to the list.
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the process of velar assimilation by producing non-velar sounds correctly in words that contain neighboring velar sounds (examples: good, dog, cat, tack) given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Gliding Speech Therapy Goal Idea
Here is a template for a gliding speech goal:
During structured therapy tasks, STUDENT will reduce the phonological process of gliding by producing liquids (R, L) in the initial position of words given VERBAL/ VISUAL MODELS AND CUES with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive therapy sessions by DATE.
Minimal Pair Activities to Try
I hope this article provided some quick, simple goal wording ideas for your phonological goals.
Be sure to check out these simple minimal pair activities.
More Speech Therapy Goal Banks
Looking for more speech therapy goal ideas?
In the middle of a busy day, having a goal idea template can be a life-saver.
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