“Why /r/ Is So Hard: A Conversation About Speech Sound Disorders with Dr. Kelly Farquharson”

📌 Episode Summary:
In this special episode of Bright Conversations, 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, for an in-depth discussion about speech sound disorders—and why the /r/ sound continues to challenge SLPs everywhere.

Kelly unpacks the science behind articulatory placement, motor planning, and phonetic variation while offering practical, evidence-based strategies to support real-world therapy. Listeners will gain clarity on the difference between developmental errors and disordered patterns, why early intervention matters, and how implementation science bridges research and classroom practice.

👤 Guest Bio:
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. A frequent conference presenter and educator, Kelly is also known for her popular Phonetics Friday series on social media, where she blends humor and evidence to make speech science accessible and fun for clinicians.

🗣️ Topics We Cover in This Episode:

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

• The science behind articulatory placement and motor planning

• Distinguishing between developmental patterns and true speech sound disorders

• Understanding dialectal variation versus disorder

• Contextualized and functional approaches to targeting speech sounds

• Why “waiting until age 8” is too late for intervention

• Using implementation science to strengthen classroom carryover and collaboration

• How SLPs can practice confidently at the top of their license

📚 Learning Objectives: By listening to this episode, you’ll be able to:
✅ Describe the factors that make /r/ and other speech sounds difficult to remediate
✅ Identify evidence-based strategies for contextualized, functional speech sound intervention
✅ Explain how implementation science principles can improve collaboration and carryover in schools

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Children’s Literacy and Speech Sound (CLaSS) Lab

• Speech Sound Disorders Series

• Facilitative Context Deck – Rock the R

• Coarticulation Deck – Rock the R

• Learn more about motor chaining and other strategies mentioned in this episode