The “Karla” Strategy for Teaching /R/

Most SLPs know this trick, and it is very helpful for getting that final position /r/ sound in words! Let’s break down the “Karla” strategy for speech-language pathologists and the parents who are wondering why this word works. Does this work for every student? No! Is it still a great facilitative context that works for some of our students? Yes!

Step One

Start by just practicing with “ka”. Have the child repeat this sound several times in a row: “ka ka ka ka ka”.

Step Two

“Ka” was easy, now let’s try “la”. Repeat this sound several times in a row: “la la la la la”. We need a good /l/ sound here, with our tongue flopping down. Check out my top tips for teaching /l/, or the “bellyflop sound” here.

Step Three

Now it’s time to combine the two! Repeat several times: “ka la ka la ka la ka la ka la”.

Step Four

Add the /r/. Repeat this several times as well, until we hear a solid /r/ sound in the middle of the word: “karla karla karla karla karla”. Not sure if it’s a solid /r/? Check out our post on helpful websites, and read about the amazing staRt website and app.

Step Five

Phase out the “la”. We start doing this by saying it more quietly, then we move to a whisper. After that, you can encourage the student to simply mouth the “la” part, while keeping regular volume for “kar”. Then, drop the “la” all together and aim for “kar” all by itself. Repeat all the steps again for extra practice, and support with finding that effective /r/ sound at the ends of words.