The Entire World

of R
A Book Review by Alex Skelton

Author: Christine Ristuccia, M.S., CCC-SLP

Overview of the
Program
Facts about /r/
Evaluation
Treatment
Elicitation Techniques
Visual /r/s
Non-Visual /r/s

Facts About /r/

The phoneme /r/ differs from other

phonemes in that sometimes it is a

consonant, while other times it is a
vowel.
Correct production of /r/ depends on

the preceding letter.

When attempting to master correct

production of /r/, the speaker must

choose the right vowel

Variations of /r/
Phonetically, /r/ consists of eight

variations:
/ar/
/er/
/or/
/air/
/ear/
/ire/
/rl/
Prevocalic /r/

Traditional vs. Entire

World of R
Traditional Strategy

Typically focuses on the placement of /r/

within a word

The phonetic component of /r/ is often

ignored.
Initial

Medial

Final

Ribbon

Barefoot

Car

Run

Buttercup

Fear

Rain

Thorn

Four

Traditional vs. Entire

World of R
Entire World of R Strategy

/r/ is evaluated and treated phonetically

based on word position and sound

Only one phoneme and its word position is

targeted at a time

/air/ Initial

/air/ Medial

/air/ Final

Arizona

Dairy

Millionaire

Erin

Ceremony

Square

Heiress

Haircut

Scare

Benefits of the Phonetic

Approach
Addresses true characteristics of /r/

controlled vowels
Allows for consistent practice
Helps articulate goals and objectives
Is useful when educating parents,

students, and teachers about the

various types of /r/
Therapy time is decreased

Evaluation
Proper evaluation is the foundation

for articulation therapy

Students will often be able to

produce one type of /r/ and not

another.
Screen each type of /r/ in each word

position
After determining which sounds can

and cannot be articulated by the

student, remediation goals can be
developed.

Treatment
It is recommended to begin treatment

with the visual /r/s

Success gained with these sounds

should correct much easier

This success will carryover to more

difficult word positions and variations

Visual vs. Non-Visual

Visual /r/s

Non-Visual /r/s

/ar/

/er/

Prevocalic /r/

/rl/

/or/
/ire/
/ear/
/air/

Treatment
Begin with initial word position, followed

by the final word position, followed by the

medial word position
Focus on only one sound and word

position until it is mastered

It is recommended to not move on to

another sound and word position until

80% success at the conversational level is
attained.
Use success in one word position to shape

the other word positions

Suggested Remediation
Protocol
Easiest

/ar/
Prevocalic /r/
/or/
/ire/
/ear/
/air/
/er/
/rl/
Most
Difficult

Where to Begin
Remediate only the particular /r/ variations and word positions

that were misarticulated

Begin teaching visual vowels at the isolation level, and

progress down the hierarchy

Target only one type of /r/ controlled vowel and word position

at a time
Consistently practice the /r/ variations and word positions until

mastery is achieved (80% at structured conversational level)

Then slowly introduce other word positions in that variation
Mixing /r/ sounds and word combinations is appropriate at the

carry-over level

Steps to Success
Teach visual vowels with visual cues
Slow down production of vowel + /r/
Produce the visual vowel in isolation
Drill single words - /ar/ final
Drill 2 and 3 word phrases - /ar/ final
Drill sentences - /ar/ final
Reading
Structured conversation activities
Conversational Speech
Move to the next sound
Review the previously learned /r/ variations and word

positions at the end of each session

Eliciting /r/
Using Visual Vowels
Use mirror and drawings as visual aids

to demonstrate mouth and tongue

positions.
Elongate vowel sounds before /r/
Typically, /ar/ tends to be the easiest

for students to learn

Eliciting /r/
Retracted:
Tongue tip is down and pulled back
(Primary emphasis of this program)
Tongue goes from down (a) to up

(ar)
Use hand as a visual aid flat to hump

Eliciting /r/
Make Noise
Motor Sound - /errrrrrr/
Growling Sound - /grrrrrr/
Rooster Sound - /er/ /er/ /errrrr/
Fire Siren - /errrrrrrr/

Use /h/ Sound

Tell student to say her hat

See an ear
Hold /i/ for 2-3 seconds and then retract

tongue into /r/

Use /k/ and /g/ words

Teaching /r/ Controlled

Vowels
There is an English rule that vowel sounds

are held longer than voiced consonants.

Therefore, students should be taught to
elongate both the vowel + /r/
In the case of /ar/, elongate /a/ for 2-3

seconds, followed by /r/ for 2-3 seconds

After student has mastered the particular

/r/ at the phrase level, practice speeding

up the pronunciation at the sentence
level to simulate a more natural speed of
production.

Teaching /r/ Controlled

Vowels
Practice drill of /ar/ at the isolation level
/ar /ar/ /ar/ /ar/

After the isolation level has been achieved, instruct the

student to repeat /ar/ at the word level quickly and

accurately.
Art, Art, Art, Art

Next move to the phrase level. Repeat the phrase as

fast as possible with emphasis on correct pronunciation

for a 30 second period.
Art Show, Art Show, Art Show, Art Show

Continue to the sentence level, again with correct

pronunciation for 30 seconds.

The Art is good, the Art is good, the Art is good

Prevocalic /r/
External, Visual /r/
Pull lips back into slight smile position this will

help prevent rounding of /w/

Demonstrate lip retraction using a mirror oooooh

vs. eeeeeee
Say /ear/
Draw a smiley and practice Smilin Erie

Once the student can correctly produce /ear/, use

coarticulation to achieve prevocalic /r/: ear red

Fade out the /ear/
As an alternative, use /kr/ to elicit prevocalic /r/

/ar/
One of the easiest /r/ allophones for students

to produce
Mirrors are useful because the wide mouth

opening allows the student to see the

intraoral movements
For the vowel /a/, the tongue lives at the

bottom of the mouth, then the tongue goes

up for /er/
What does the doctor tell you to say when

you open your mouth?

What does a pirate say? Arrrrh

/or/
Lips are very rounded , so mirror

should be used for visual

reinforcement
First produce o followed by /er/

/ire/
Wide mouth opening
Tongue lives at the bottom of the

mouth for the vowel /aI/

Tongue goes up for /er/

/ear/
Research shows that /ear/ is the

allophone with the highest

percentage that students can
produce without therapy.
Corners of mouth retract in a smile

position to produce /i/

Known as the smile sound
Teeth show slightly

/air/
Replicate the /air/ sound with /ehhh/

or /ayy/ depending on the dialect

Produced with a small smile

/er/
Research demonstrates that /er/ is not produced as

correctly as other vocalic diphthong combinations

Fewer visual cues since it is produced internally
There is no vowel preceding it, and it is usually

stressed
Cues:
Rooster: /er/ /er/ /errrr/
/kr/ and /gr/ blends/
Use /j/ as in Eureka!
Use sibilants such as /sh/ and /zh/

Conclusion
The Entire World of R applies basic

phonological principles to break down

/r/ to its most fundamental
components
The majority of students with /r/

difficulties are more successful with

therapeutic techniques starting in the
second grade
A benefit of this program is that the

principles are broken down and

concise