Therapy Materials Review: Phrase Flips - Flips for Learning Intelligible Production of Speech
This is a review of
Phrase Flips. This flip book is published by Super Duper Publications. The flip book is designed to let you easily address target sounds at an easy level (single syllable) level, moderate level (2-3 syllables), and advanced level (4-5 syllables).
Target Audience
The target audience for the Phrase Flips will usually be children ages 3 and up although I can imagine using the easy level with even younger children. The pictures on the cards are appealing to children. This book would work well for children using a traditional articulation approach to therapy. In skilled hands, this book would also be useful for variety working with clients needing intense practice using a motor speech approach to articulation however the book isn't really designed with that approach in mind.
Description of Phrase Flips
This product is a 11 inch by 4.5 inch spiral bound book with hard covers. The book has a built in easel so you can stand it upright. Inside you'll find three sets of picture cards divided by tabs into sections according to place of articulation (bilabial, labiodental, alveolar, palatal, and velar). The set of cards on the left are easy (single syllable). The middle set are moderate (2-3 syllables). The set on the right are advanced (4-5 syllables).
Phonemic Breakdown
The main focus is on initial and, at the multi-syllable level, functional medial productions of these sounds. In general, the easy level introduces 4 single-syllable words for each phoneme. The moderate level introduces a second word or syllable targeting that phoneme and the advanced level introduces a third. That gives you a total of 12 words per phoneme most in initial position.
- Bilabial (/p, b, m, w)
- Labiodental (/f/)
- Alveolar (/p, d, s, n, l)
- Palatal (/sh, ch, J, r)
- Velar (/k, g)
How to Use the Phrase Flip book
In a traditional articulation framework this book would be a great set of stimulus materials to practice phonemes in initial and medial position at increasing difficulty levels. The book would also be useful for generalization and practice for children with motor speech articulation problems (such as Childhood Apraxia of Speech) for specific phonemes that have already been taught and established at the single word or syllable level, but need additional drill at multi-syllable levels.
Pros and Cons of the Phrase Flips book
Pros:
- The Phrase Flips book is compact and easy to carry around.
- The Phrase Flips book covers a lot of territory. It has 16 phonemes in initial and medial position at three increasing difficulty levels. It will not help you get into great depth on any given phoneme, but if you need to carry something with you that covers a lot of territory, this might fit the bill.
- The book is sturdy and has a built in easel.
- The illustrations are well done and appealing to children at a wide variety of ages.
Cons:
- The Phrase Flips book does not focus on phonemes in final position.
- The Phrase Flips book does not go into any one phoneme at great depth.
- The flip format is something of a gimmick in this particular book. I cannot see a huge therapeutic reason to address one phoneme at the easy level, a different phoneme at the moderate level, and a third phoneme at an advanced level simultaneously. The only advantage is that you can take a level completely out of play by turning the entire set over so that a blank card shows at that level.
Bottom Line:
Nice resource for a SLP who typically needs to address articulation targets at multiple levels of difficulty just be aware that the book focuses mostly on initial and medial productions and doesn't provide a great deal of depth on any one phoneme.
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