Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service

Cued Articulation Consonants by Jane Passy

An Information and Resource Pack for Teaching Cued Articulation at Single Sound Level.
Cued Articulation supports the teaching of speech sounds visually, using:
1. Hand signs 2. Colour coding
3. Single and double lines to represent whether or not voice is used
Some children may have difficulty pro- Using signs and visual support at speech sound
ducing speech if they struggle to hear level helps the child to learn:
and process the speech sounds. Often  What the sounds are
these children need to be able to see  Whereabouts in the mouth they are made
the sounds as well as hear them. Cued  How they are made
 That they are different
Articulation aims to help children form a  That they have meaning
visual picture of each sound which they  That they can be represented by symbols
 That they could be strung together to make words
can then remember and produce.
The different types of visual Support used in Cued Articulation
Colour Coding: The different colours that are used represent where the sounds are made
in the mouth and are often associated with an idea to help the child to remember.

Orange and red: Light Blue: sounds where the tongue Brown: sounds made Light green:
sounds involving the tip touches the front top part of towards the back of ‘s’ (snake in
lips. (Lip-stick colours!) your mouth. (Blue tongued lizard) your mouth. the grass)

Lines under the written sounds:

Single lines are used to indicate sounds Double lines are used to indicate sounds
made without voice such as ‘p’ or ‘t’. made with voice such as ‘b’ or ‘d’ (sounds
When making these sounds you cannot are made using your vocal cords). Signs are
feel your vocal cords (i.e. your voice box). formed with two fingers (if the child is una-
This is reflected in the signs, by using one ble to form a sign with two fingers then the
finger. whole hand can be used.)
Sound Voicing How to make the sign
p No voice Tips of thumb and index finger are together by the side of the mouth. As the
e.g. pig sound is produced the finger and thumb open.

b Voiced e.g. Tip of thumb, index and middle finger are together by the side of the mouth. As
ball the sound is produced the fingers and thumb open.

t No voice Index finger begins pointing upwards at the side of the mouth. It is then moved
e.g. toy forward a short distance from the mouth as the sound is produced. d Voiced e.g.
dog Index and middle finger begin pointing upwards. They are then moved for-
wards a short distance from the mouth as the sound is produced.

d Voiced e.g. Index and middle finger begin pointing upwards. They are then moved forwards a
dog short distance from the mouth as the sound is produced.

k No voice Index finger is bent pointing down and positioned across the front of the throat.
e.g. cat, As the sound is produced the wrist twists forward bringing the finger in the same
kite position forward and down.

g Voiced e.g. Index and middle finger are bent pointing down positioned across the front of the
m gate throat. As the sound is produced the wrist twists forward bringing the fingers in
the same position forward and down.
n Voiced e.g. Tips of thumb, Index and middle finger are pressed together and held by the side
mat of the nose during production of the sound.
Voiced e.g. Index and middle finger are together and straight, pointing towards the nose dur-
no, know ing sound production.

ng Voiced e.g. Index and middle finger are placed in a curve in front of the throat (as in the
king starting position for “g”). Using your other hand the index and middle fingers are
together and straight, pointing towards the nose (as in for “n”). These positions
are held.

h No voice Palm of hand is held up by the side of your face, as if waving to someone. As the
e.g. hello sound is produced the hand moves forwards, away from the face.

f No voice Index finger begins sideways under your bottom lip. As the sound is produced the
e.g. fish finger remains sideways but is brought downwards and forward, away from the
lips.

v Voiced e.g. Index and middle fingers begin placed sideways under your bottom lip. As the
van sound is produced the fingers remain sideways but are bought downwards and
forward, away from the lips.

s No voice Index finger begins sideways at the corner of your mouth. As the sound is made,
e.g. sock the finger moves away from the mouth in an up and down motion. (Like writing
an ‘s’ on its side).

z Voiced e.g. Index and middle fingers begin sideways pointing towards the corner of your
zebra mouth. As the sound is made, the fingers move away from the mouth in a zig-zag
 sh No voice Index finger and thumb are held at the side of the mouth with a small gap between
e.g. sheep them. As the sound is produced the finger and thumb remain in the same position but
are moved forward, away from the face.

sh Voiced e.g. This sound only occurs in the middle of words. Thumb, index and middle finger are held
treasure at the side of the mouth with a small gap between the thumb and fingers. As the sound
is produced the fingers and thumb remain in the same position but are moved forward,
away from the face.

th No voice The hand is held near the corner of the mouth with the index finger out and pointing
e.g. think, forwards. As the sound is produced the hand, with pointing finger, is moved forward,
thought away from the face.

th Voiced e.g. The hand is held near the corner of the mouth with the index and middle fingers out
the, they and pointing forwards. As the sound is produced the hand, with pointing finger, is
moved forward, away from the face.

L Voiced e.g. Index and middle fingers are held together pointing towards your mouth, with their
lady backs facing away from your face. As the sound is produced the fingers describe a small
semi- circle downwards by action of the wrist.

r Voiced e.g. Index and middle finger are curved pointing towards the mouth. (Like the ‘r’ shape). As
rabbit the sound is produced the hand is moved very slightly forwards and downwards by wrist
action.

ch No voice Index finger begins pointing upwards at the side of your mouth with the thumb tucked
e.g. chair, in. As the sound is produced drop the index finger down and bring the thumb forward
church so it is in line with the finger. At the same time move the whole hand forward a short
distance.

j Voiced e.g. Index and middle finger begin pointing upwards at the side of your mouth with the
jug, jog thumb tucked in. As the sound is produced drop the fingers down and bring the thumb
forward so it is in line with the fingers. At the same time move the whole hand forward
a short distance.

W Voiced e.g. All fingers tips and thumb tip are together, near the side of your mouth. As the sound is
window . produced your hand moves forwards away from your mouth and your fingers spread
o
out

Y Voiced e.g. To begin your hand is flat and face down, held at the side of your face. As the sound is
yellow produced your hand moves forwards, away from the face, and your finger spread apart.
ᴑ

Videos- Both videos listed below can be found if you type “Cued Articulation” into YouTube.
 Jane Passy Cued Articulation (2).avi This is a video of Jane Passy (the creator of Cued Articulation) us-
ing the signs
 Cued Articulation: deafcreate. ALEX'S_DVD.mp4 on YouTube This is a video of a young boy using Cued
Articulation to support his articulation. (Jane Passy has commented & ‘liked’ this video.)