PROMPT is a comprehensive treatment approach that improves a child's speech intelligibility — how clearly others understand them — while building meaningful, everyday communication.
Every PROMPT evaluation at COG is completed by a PROMPT Certified provider. That same certified provider creates your child's treatment plan and oversees all PROMPT therapy sessions and programming, so your child's care stays consistent, high-quality and true to the PROMPT approach.
A PROMPT-trained speech therapist places carefully chosen cues with their hands on a child's face, jaw and mouth. These cues help the child learn to coordinate their jaw, lips and tongue to produce sounds and words more accurately.
PROMPT isn't simply about teaching a child to say words correctly. It's about helping them use those words to communicate in everyday life.
Imagine a child working on the word "go." With enough drilling and PROMPT cues, they might say it beautifully in the therapy room. But once they leave:
Saying a word in therapy isn't the same as using it independently. PROMPT targets the physical movements of speech and connects every pathway a child needs to communicate.
Working on all three together helps children carry new skills into real life — getting wants and needs met, commenting, protesting, and more.
How the mouth moves to produce a word.
What the word means and how to use it.
When, why and with whom to use the word.
Every child's plan is individualized, but our sessions follow a consistent structure.
With tactile PROMPT cues, the therapist practices speech movements and target words chosen for your child. It may look repetitive — that's on purpose. It teaches the motor system to say words more accurately and consistently.
Planned activities that build the same targets into real communication:
Throughout every activity, the speech-language pathologist keeps using tactile cues while your child communicates for a real purpose. Instead of saying "go" because they were asked to, they say "go" because they want the car to move, the bubbles to start, or their partner to take a turn.
For children who use AAC, combining it with PROMPT means learning through several channels at once.
PROMPT cues show how to move the mouth.
AAC shows a symbol, picture or word.
They hear the word from the therapist or the device.
They see what the word does for them.
Example: During bubbles, a child sees "more" on their device, hears the therapist say "more," gets PROMPT cues for their own try — and then more bubbles appear.
AAC isn't a last resort. It supports language growth and gives children a reliable voice while speech develops — and using it at home keeps strengthening the link between a word's meaning and how to say it.
Our goal is your child using their skills with parents, siblings, teachers and friends. A word from a turn-taking game can show up on the playground; one from pretend play can become part of daily routines at home.
The goal isn't just clearer speech — it's clearer, more functional, more independent communication.
Reach out and we'll set up a free phone consultation to talk it through.
