Relaxation and Breathing for Fluency
Diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation exercises.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Do the tense-and-release exercises before the breathing ones. Most students cannot feel tension until they have deliberately created and dropped it, and the contrast is what makes relaxation something they can produce rather than a word. The last two cards are the point — three breaths before a hard moment, practised at a desk, is a portable tool and the rest is preparation. Ten minutes covers the sequence.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentThe student uses relaxed breathing on their own. Listen without reminding.Log as correct
- Visual reminderPoint to the picture or card that stands for the technique.Log as cued
- Verbal reminderSay a short reminder, such as 'Breathe first, then talk.'Log as cued
- ModelSay it yourself using the technique; the student copies, then tries the card again.Log as cued
Adjust it
Go back to shorter turns: single words or two-word phrases.
Move to longer turns, a new listener, or a little time pressure.
Matching IEP goal
Student will use relaxed breathing in sentences in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual reminder.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve exercises building from breathing to speech: breathe in through your nose for four counts, hold for two, out through your mouth for six; tense your shoulders hard for five seconds then let go; tense your jaw, then let it hang loose; yawn wide then sigh out on ahhh; breathe in, then say your name on the way out with no push; take three slow breaths before you speak in a hard situation.
What to listen for
Watch where the student holds tension. The card asking whether it is jaw, throat or chest usually produces an answer the student has never articulated before, and knowing their own location makes the release targeted rather than general. Notice whether the breathing raises the shoulders, which means it is happening high in the chest and is not the diaphragmatic pattern intended.
Carrying it home
Three slow breaths before a hard moment is the whole home programme. It needs no equipment, no time and no privacy, which is why it is the one that actually gets used.
What's in this activity
- Sit comfortably. Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts.
- Hold for 2 counts. Breathe out through your mouth for 6.
- Repeat 5 times. Notice your shoulders drop.
- Tense your shoulders hard for 5 seconds, then let go.
- Squeeze your hands into fists, then let go. Notice the difference.
- Tense your jaw, then let it hang loose. Lips barely touching.
- Breathe out slowly on a soft /s/ for 8 seconds.
- Yawn-sigh: yawn wide, then sigh out on 'ahhh'.
- Breathe in, then say your name on the way out — no push.
- Where do you hold tension when you talk: jaw, throat, or chest?
- Take 3 slow breaths before you speak in a hard situation.
- Practice this at your desk before you raise your hand.
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Second through eighth, alongside fluency technique work.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve exercises are free to use here.
- Does relaxation reduce stuttering?
- It reduces the physical tension that accompanies it, which makes techniques easier to apply. It is a support for the rest of the work rather than something that changes fluency on its own.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.