Habla Cadabra SLP

Habla Cadabra SLP Rooted in culture and built for community, Spanish speech therapy tools that spark connection.

08/23/2026

A quick refresher: what exactly are minimal pairs?

Minimal pairs are words that differ by just ONE sound, making them a powerful tool for helping children notice and learn sound contrasts.

Looking for Spanish minimal pairs?

Our Spanish minimal pair resources are currently 15% off at HablaCadabraSLP.com!

Perfect for your therapy sessions, bilingual assessments, or building your Spanish speech therapy toolkit.

08/22/2026

🥵 There are certain words that I don't use often in Spanish and pulling them out is taxing! But I have to remind myself that avoiding them doesn't help me improve.

Bilingual SLPs, what is a word (could be English or Spanish) that rarely rolls smoothly off your tongue?

08/21/2026

Language influence, transfer and linguistic background play a role in how we use speech and language. We talked about TL clusters in some earlier posts and I wanted to use these as an example of how linguistic background and influence can impact the syllabification of these words. Two native Spanish speakers with two different linguistic backgrounds and environments.

Interested in more on this topic - here are a couple of sources you may find interesting (and check back on our other posts about clusters for more)!

Waltermire, M. (2014). The influence of English on U.S. Spanish: Introduction. Sociolinguistic Studies, 8(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.v8i1.1

Malacara, J. (2024). Phonetic variation in cluster TL. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18937.99686

08/02/2026

Word of the Day: Desarreglado

It’s officially August... and my office definitely got the memo. 😅 Between back-to-school prep and working behind the scenes on something new, things have gotten a little desarreglado.

Sundays are for resetting, organizing, and getting ready for another week. Here’s hoping this office looks a little different by Monday.

👀 P.S. This little flashcard is a sneak peek of something we’ve been working on!

07/29/2026

Summer is winding down, and many of us are heading back to school (or maybe you never got a summer break at all!). ☀️

As we get ready for a new season, we've been reminding ourselves that the things that make us better speech-language pathologists aren't only CEUs, lesson plans, and perfectly worded emails. Those things are important! But so is taking care of ourselves as people.

We have to make time to slow down, be present, and do things that have nothing to do with work. When our whole selves are cared for, we're able to show up with more patience, creativity, focus, and joy for the children and families we serve.

This summer, we've been replenishing our cups by:�
🌿 Making terrariums�
💎 Taking beading classes (adult summer camp on Wed nights)�
🌱 Spending time in the garden�
❤️ Traveling with family and friends�
☀️ Enjoying quiet moments outside�
📚 Reading fiction and watching "reality"

These moments don't take away from our work - they make us better at it.
As we head into the school year, there will be time set aside for CEUs, ordering new resources, organizing therapy spaces, and preparing lesson plans. But we hope you're also making space for the people, hobbies, and little moments that help you feel like you.

Because at the end of the day, our work is important, but it isn't our whole identity.

How did you recharge this summer? We'd love to hear what filled your cup. 💚

Culture is communication and community. Building opportunities to learn Spanish while passing down family traditions thr...
07/20/2026

Culture is communication and community.

Building opportunities to learn Spanish while passing down family traditions through cooking is a two-for-one. Language learning doesn't only happen at a table or desk! It can be woven naturally into everyday routines.

We aim to highlight 4-5 words to give children lots of opportunities to hear, see, and say the vocabulary.

Here’s 5 verbs to practice while making lunch:
🧼 Lavar
🔪 Cortar
👩‍🍳 Cocinar
💨 Soplar
🍽️ Comer

As you move through the routine:
💬 Model the target verb in complete sentences.�
❓ Extend language with thoughtful questions and comments that encourage conversation.

Children learn best when they hear verbs used repeatedly in meaningful, real-life contexts. Everyday routines make it easy to model verb conjugations, expand vocabulary, practice sequencing, and encourage authentic communication.

✨ Which everyday routine would you like to see next?
👇 Tell us in the comments!

Habla Verbos includes 40 high-frequency Spanish verbs designed to help children practice present tense verb conjugation through meaningful activities.

🛒 Check out Habla Verbos here: https://www.hablacadabraslp.com/shop-resources/p/habla-verbos

Happy Birthday to Pilar! Creative, pragmatic, and self-assured. Pilar is the steady force that keeps us on track, balanc...
07/15/2026

Happy Birthday to Pilar!

Creative, pragmatic, and self-assured. Pilar is the steady force that keeps us on track, balanced, and always knows when it’s time to take a moment 🍷

Wishing you a happy birthday and another great year! 🎊

Could this be linguistic transfer instead of a speech sound disorder?One common example is epenthesis in Spanish-influen...
07/09/2026

Could this be linguistic transfer instead of a speech sound disorder?

One common example is epenthesis in Spanish-influenced English.

Because Spanish doesn't allow a word or syllable to begin with /s/ followed by another consonant, speakers may add a vowel before English s-clusters (e.g., school → eschool). They're applying the phonological rules of Spanish.

Dialect matters, too. Once an English s-cluster is adapted to fit Spanish syllable structure (e.g., school → es-kool), the /s/ becomes syllable-final. In many Spanish dialects, syllable-final /s/ is weakened or aspirated. As a result, productions may vary even further, creating pronunciation patterns that can easily be mistaken for speech errors if we evaluate them through an English-only lens.

That's why bilingual assessment analysis should ask:
- Is this consistent with Spanish phonology?�
- Could dialect explain this production?�
- Does this pattern occur in both languages?

Understanding these patterns helps us distinguish language difference from speech sound disorder.

References:
Kester, Ellen. Difference or Disorder? Understanding Speech and Language Patterns in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Austin, Tx., Bilinguistics, Inc, 2014.

Every language has rules for how sounds can be combined into syllables. English allows many initial s-clusters (stop, sc...
07/08/2026

Every language has rules for how sounds can be combined into syllables. English allows many initial s-clusters (stop, school, spring). Spanish doesn't.

Instead, Spanish follows predictable syllable structure rules that shape both native Spanish words and borrowed words.

Understanding these patterns gives us a much better appreciation of how Spanish phonology works and sets the stage for understanding Spanish-influenced English. Come back tomorrow for an example of how this might impact bilingual assessment!

References:

Schwegler, Armin, and Juergen Kempff. Fonética Y Fonología Españolas. Wiley, 1 Sept. 2006.

Spanish plurals made simpleIf you support Spanish-speaking or bilingual learners, teaching predictable grammar patterns ...
04/29/2026

Spanish plurals made simple

If you support Spanish-speaking or bilingual learners, teaching predictable grammar patterns like plurals can strengthen vocabulary, morphology, literacy, and expressive language skills.

Here are 3 basic rules:
1️⃣ Ends with a vowel → add -s
2️⃣ Ends with a consonant → add -es
3️⃣ Ends with -z → change z to c + add -es

This is a great skill to target during:
✔️ vocabulary activities
✔️ literacy tasks
✔️ sentence expansion
✔️ bilingual language therapy
✔️ home practice carryover

📌 Save for future sessions
📤 Share with another SLP or educator
💬 What Spanish grammar topic should I cover next?

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