Parent question

How long does speech therapy take to fix the R sound?

Published 21 October 2026 · Updated 21 October 2026

The short answer

There’s no typical number. Progress on R varies widely and is hard to predict. In a large 2026 trial, about 20 intensive sessions took the typical 9 to 15-year-old from almost no correct R in untreated words to around half correct, so many children keep working on R beyond that. More frequent practice tends to help, and some R errors improve with time, which is why your speech-language pathologist’s (SLP’s) plan matters.

When R usually arrives

R is one of the last sounds children learn: in a review of US studies, 90% of children had acquired it by age 5;0 to 5;11 (Crowe & McLeod, 2020). See when kids learn each sound and the R sound guide.

What research shows about timing

A 2020 tutorial by R researchers describes response to R therapy as difficult to predict. It reports a classic study in which 70% of children produced R within one session, 10% in a second, and 20% not by the end of the study (Shriberg, 1975, as reported in Preston et al., 2020).
In a 2026 randomized trial with 108 children aged 9 to 15, treatment ran to 20 sessions. Median accuracy on untreated R words rose from about 6% to 49% with visual biofeedback, and from about 9% to 43% with motor-based treatment (McAllister et al., 2026; Preston et al., 2026).
The trial’s authors say the effects of longer treatment are unclear, and these were intensive research sessions, not typical school schedules.

What affects how long it takes

Whether your child can make R yet. Therapy usually starts by establishing the sound; practice at home comes after (see carryover).
How often practice happens. Research suggests more frequent sessions and practice tend to lead to better progress (see practice at home).
Listening skills. In a trial of 38 children aged 8 to 16, finer ability to hear differences between sounds predicted greater progress (Preston, Hitchcock & Leece, 2020).
The type of therapy. In the 2026 trial, children progressed faster at first with biofeedback than with motor-based treatment.
Time. A review estimated that up to 75% of residual speech errors may resolve on their own between age 9 and the end of high school, though therapy may still be worthwhile for social reasons (Flipsen, 2015).

Making the most of therapy

Ask your SLP what the goal is for the next few months and how they’ll measure progress.
Do the short practice your SLP suggests between sessions, and keep a simple practice log.
Celebrate effort. Progress on R often comes in steps, with plateaus in between.

Questions parents ask

Will my child grow out of an R problem?

Some do: most children say R by about 5½, and a review estimated many residual errors resolve by the end of high school. But some persist, so ask an SLP whether to wait or start therapy.

Why does progress seem to stall?

Using R in everyday conversation is usually the last and hardest step, after a child can say it in practice words. See why a sound works in therapy before it shows up at home.

How often should R therapy be?

ASHA leaves frequency to the SLP’s judgment for each child. Research suggests more frequent practice tends to help, so ask about practice between sessions too.