Why /r/ Is So Hard: A Conversation About Speech Sound Disorders

In this special Bright Conversations episode, host Shontaye Glover Jones sits down with Dr. Kelly Farquharson, professor at Florida State University and director of the Children’s Literacy and Speech Sound (CLaSS) Lab, to talk all things speech sound disorders—and why the /r/ sound is such a notorious challenge.

Explore Conversation

In this episode, Kelly shares research-backed insights and practical tips to help SLPs understand the complexity behind speech sound errors, approach intervention more strategically, and work more confidently at the top of their license.

Listeners will gain clarity on the difference between developmental errors and disordered patterns, why early intervention matters, and how implementation science can help bridge research and real-world clinical work.

Key topics discussed in this episode.

* Why /r/ is such a challenging sound to teach and master

* The science behind articulatory placement and motor planning

* How to distinguish between typical and atypical speech sound development

* Understanding the presence of a dialect vs a disorder

* Practical strategies for targeting speech sounds in meaningful contexts

* Early intervention and the pitfalls of “waiting until 8”

* Using implementation science to support classroom success

* Empowering SLPs to practice at the top of their license

🎧 Prefer to listen?
Check out this episode on your favorite platform:
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Want to explore further? Check out the SSD Series including a 1-hr course from Kelly on the /r/.

Guests

Kelly Farquharson
PhD, CCC-SLP
Dr. Kelly Farquharson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is an associate professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders at Florida State University and director of the Children’s Literacy and Speech Sound (CLaSS) Lab. Her research focuses on improving outcomes for children with speech sound disorders and language impairments through school-based implementation science. She is a frequent conference presenter, educator, and creator of the popular Phonetics Friday series on social media, where she brings humor, heart, and expertise to the field of speech-language pathology.

Learning Objectives

Describe key factors that make /r/ and other speech sounds particularly difficult to remediate.
Identify evidence-based strategies for contextualized, functional speech sound intervention.
Explain how implementation science principles can improve collaboration and carryover in school settings.