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Articulation Therapy : The ‘z’ sound Some people call ‘z’ the buzzing sound because it sounds like the bees buzzing. This sound is developed later than other sounds, around the age of 4. The child masters around the age of 8. Some children may have trouble producing this sound beyond eight years of age. It is completely okay! Some sounds are challenging due to the complex tongue and mouth positions it takes to produce them. However, it is highly recommended to consult a speech-language pathologist to help remediate it. Every sound is peculiar in its own way. Take the sound ‘K’, for example. Your tongue moves backwards to touch the roof of your mouth while you lower your jaw. Similarly, the sound “z” uses the same mouth position as ‘s’. However, the ‘z’ is voiced, whereas the ‘s’ is unvoiced. To produce the ‘z’ sound, place the tip of your tongue behind your teeth, and raise it to the roof of your mouth without touching it. Now, try pushing the air between your tongue and the roof of the mouth while vibrating your vocal folds. There are many ways to teach a child to produce the ‘z’ sound: Show the child how to produce it, teach him the correct placement of the tongue and point your index finger towards your teeth. Tell him to spread his teeth out while producing the sound. Remember that your child should be watching your mouth when you teach him. Produce the sound two to three times and then ask him to say it with you. Repeat this activity five to six times until he can produce the ‘z’ accurately and independently In addition to visual cues, you can make him feel the vibrations of your vocal folds by placing the palm of his hand on the centre of your neck. Kids love this sensation, and it reminds them that they are saying the sound correctly. It will also help your child understand the difference between ‘s’ and ‘z’ sound. These two activities can be done simultaneously as it would teach him how the ‘z’ looks, feels and sounds! Now, your child has to practice the sound. Show him this picture and make him touch each image of the mouth while he produces the sound. As your child masters the individual sound. Try to make simple syllables by adding a vowel to the sound – “zoo”, “zaa”, and “zee”. With time and practice, your little one will be able to produce the ‘z’ sound in words and sentences without any difficulty. Read a detail blog on routine helps kids If you notice that your child is finding it difficult to differentiate between ‘s’ and ‘z’. You can help him out by playing a game where he must stack the blocks only when he hears the ‘z’ and put balls in the box when he hears the ‘s’. Your child might not be able to do it on the first try. But you can teach him by making him feel the vibrations on the neck while producing ‘z’ and making him feel a still neck when producing the sound ‘s’ I hope this article was helpful for you. Don’t you worry! With adequate practice and time, your child will be able to produce this buzzing sound with no difficulty.

Indian Sign Language is a well-structured and coded gesture language used primarily by the Deaf community in India. Every gesture has a fixed meaning to it, and these gestures collectively form a complete linguistic system, enabling effective communication without the use of spoken words. Sign Language is the only means of communication for deaf people, and in the context of India, ISL plays a critical role in ensuring inclusive education, employment opportunities, and social interaction for individuals with hearing impairments. In the past years, there has been an increased interest among researchers in the field of sign language recognition systems, gesture recognition technologies, and AI-based sign language translation. The Rise of Technology in ISL Recognition One of which is to introduce means of interaction from human to computer using machine learning models for sign language and human-computer interaction (HCI) technologies. Finding experienced and qualified ISL interpreters in India for their daily communication throughout life is a very difficult task and also unaffordable for many. Hence, a human-to-computer interaction system for sign language recognition will prove to be a reliable and consistent solution in the future for deaf and hard of hearing people. Many types of research took place in this area that have been carried out for more than twenty years, especially in the fields of assistive technology for disabled people, deaf accessibility tools, and speech-to-sign and sign-to-text conversion systems. Sign Language: A Fully Accessible Language Sign Language is the only fully accessible language for deaf persons. It provides equal access to language and information, just as spoken language does for hearing individuals. Learning Indian Sign Language helps a deaf person connect with other deaf individuals and the larger Deaf community in India. It promotes identity, self-esteem, and cultural belonging among deaf individuals. For a hearing person, learning Sign Language is an entirely different experience. But it is still a great process that results in learning a new language and developing empathy. It enables one to communicate with deaf and hard-of-hearing people in one’s community, promoting inclusion and accessibility. Sign Language & Orientation: Learning Indian Sign Language (ISL) is a necessity for a deaf person. This helps him/her connect with other Deaf persons and the larger Deaf community. However, for a hearing person, learning Sign Language can be a useful tool: To communicate with the Deaf Community and, To bridge the gap between hearing and deaf people. There is a growing need for sign language services in India at various public places such as: Hospitals  (for medical consultations and emergencies), Railway stations  (for travel assistance), Police stations  (for FIRs and legal help), and The courts  during proceedings that involve a deaf person. There is an increasing number of corporate houses and companies hiring deaf employees to promote diversity and equal opportunity. Deaf Enabled Foundation, among others, provides an orientation for the Human Resources (HR) personnel of companies that are willing to employ deaf persons. These workshops help bridge the communication gap by familiarizing employers with basic indian sign language for deaf etiquette. This orientation helps them understand Sign Language culture, removing social stigma and improving workplace inclusion. Teaching Indian Sign Language (ISL) These ISL courses in India correspond closely to and are officially recognized in a syllabus for sign language interpreter training programs and were approved by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) in 2002. ISL Teaching Materials: The complete set of ISL teaching materials consists of three courses at: The Basic level, Advanced, and Professional levels (Level A, B, and C). The first two courses are completed and have been published in (19, 20), and the third level is currently under development. The team involved in the development of the teaching materials consists of: A hearing linguist responsible for the development of the course contents, A deaf research assistant responsible for giving the course content in ISL on the teaching video, and Several ISL models contributing scripted signed dialogues and freely signed texts to the courses. All teaching materials are bilingual and are available in ISL and English. That is, all explanations, instructions, and examples are signed by the deaf assistant, with voiceover and written text added in English for accessibility. Each course consists of a teaching video and a related workbook. The units in levels A and B are built around grammatical topics so that all the main grammatical structures of ISL are covered. It starts from easier and more basic structures to the more difficult ones. For example: Wh-questions, negation, and the expression of possession are part of the basic level course. Whereas if-clauses and auxiliaries are part of the advanced level course. The table below provides a few examples of the structure of the course materials. It is based on some of the units in the level A and the level B courses. Implementation of Indian Sign Language in educational settings The course content is a part of the officially recognized syllabus for the Sign Language Interpreter Training Program in India. Apart from learning actual ISL communication , one of the major achievements of the training program is to change students’ attitudes about sign language and deaf people. The basic level course starts with a general introduction to sign language. This introduction consists of a 45-minute signed lecture with an English voiceover and a related printed text in the workbook. It explains the nature of sign language, its evolution, and the status of Indian Sign Language in India. Debunking Common Myths about Sign Language Thus, before students learn their first signs, the most common myths against sign languages are addressed, and the students learn that: Sign languages are not the same all over the world. They are not just gestures and pantomime but have their own grammar. It is not dependent on spoken languages. It does not resemble spoken languages used in the same region. The sign languages are not “languages of the hands” only but use non-manual expressions such as facial expressions, head tilts, and body posture. It is important to know that Western sign languages (e.g., American Sign Language) are not superior to Indian Sign Language, and that Signed English or other codes are not better than natural sign languages like ISL. Real-World Impact & Awareness More important than this theoretical knowledge is the hearing students’ direct contact with an educated deaf person who is their teacher. For many hearing students: This is the first time they will encounter a deaf person who is professionally qualified, confident, and “in charge” of the situation. The slogan that “Deaf people can do it” is practically illustrated in these training sessions. This practical example of deaf empowerment is more powerful than any theoretical instruction. If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at  info@1specialplace.com . For more ideas check out our other related blogs .

Articulation Therapy: Teaching K and G sounds Articulation Therapy- The sounds /k/ and /g/ are velar stops. Velars refer to place where the air is constricted and momentarily blocked to say the sound – which is the back of the mouth. The sounds require air to be shortly ‘stopped’ and then released by producing a burst of air. Therefore, they are called ‘stops’. If these sounds are misarticulated, a speech therapist can assist in bringing an understanding of how the sounds are made and then establish them, followed by strengthening and generalizing them at different levels (such as sounds, words, sentences). How are the sounds produced? The sounds /k/ and /g/ are both produced by blocking air briefly by the back of the tongue. The back of the tongue touches the upper palate and stops air. The release of the tongue comes with an explosive flow of air and the sound of the letter. The lips are held gently apart when saying these sounds. The sound /g/ differs from the sound /k/ only that it is voiced. These sounds are learnt by the age of 4 years. Before the age of 3, several children will substitute the k and g sounds with others sounds. Such as use th for k. How is the sound /k/ established? The sound /k/ is not one of the easiest sounds to teach or learn since the tongue placement is right at the back of the mouth. Here are a few activities to help establish the sound: The child can be encouraged to pretend to cough. Imitation of a cough in front of the mirror can be helpful. The child must also be told to feel how the back of the tongue touches upwards each time s/he coughs. Use a toy camera and let the child take many pretend photos. S/he must make the /k/ sound every time the shot is taken! Head tilt. The head may be tilted back and then the sound can be encouraged to be said. The child should ‘feel’ and sense where the tongue is placed. Guidance by a speech therapist may be required here. The correct placement of the tongue must be assisted, and the child should be aware of it also. A speech therapist may use a tongue depressor to assist the correct placement of the tongue. Auditory, visual and sensory feedback are used to allow the child to learn the sound better. * Note: A speech therapist may assist a child to listen and identifying (i.e. by differentiating) the sound from others, such as /g/ and /b/. This will be taken up before working on establishing the sound. Take guidance from your speech therapist about the need for this and how to work on the same! How to establish the sound /g/? The sound, /g/ is produced using the same tongue placement as the sound /k/. The difference, however, is in voicing. Voicing must be turned ‘on’ for the sound /g/. Get ideas on how to teach ‘voicing’ here (link is here-http://1specialplace.com/?p=4211 ). A fun activity to get the sound /g/ sound going is by pretending to gargle . Show the child how to (dry) gargle. The sound is the most enjoyable part to do with kids. Let the child feel the throat when gargling. S/he must try to imitate the same. Articulation Therapy How to build the sound at syllable, word, sentence and conversational level. Once the sounds /k/ and /g/ are established in isolation, join them to vowels and other consonants (to form syllables and then words). Forming syllables (i.e. the sound along with other a vowel) are the first steps towards using the sounds in longer utterances. Articulation training requires practice of the sounds at syllable-, word-, sentence- and paragraph-level as well as within conversations. Articulation Therapy In Syllables. Practice the sound with a vowel placed either before or after it. Using a visual, such as through a syllable wheel (see here to read more about the syllable wheel) is encouraging for the learner. Games are always a fun way to teach syllables. One such can be- ‘ Rolling the dice ’ . Stick different vowel -consonant combination (using the target sound e.g. ga/ko/ki) to the different sides of the dice. Let the child or adult roll the dice. Once the dice lands on a side, the child must say the syllable. In Words. Build a word list and practice imitation of the words with the child. Read about how to build a word list in a previous article here. Practice a word list through fun activities. Another game idea to work on the sounds in word level is – Naming items with the sound. First, you can ask the child to name two ‘animals’ (e.g. kangaroo, koala). This can be followed by two ‘ things’  with the sounds (e.g. kite). In a similar manner, other topics can be used.  Photos/pictures can be used to encourage the production of the word or to give clues to the child. In Sentences. If the child can use the sounds well within words, then move on to practicing sentences. At first, short sentences should be used – two to three-word sentences. Follow this with longer sentences and paragraphs/stories . Create a list of sentences with the sounds for the child to practice. For example, when practicing the sounds /k/ or /g/ – (1) Cows moo. (2) The green cow ate grass. (3) The goose gaggled through the green grass. Make practice fun. Play games when strengthening articulation at a sentence level. Here is one such game. Catch the fish .  Paper cut outs of fish can be used. Write sentences on each paper (related to the target sound). The paper can have a paper clip attached to it. By using a magnet attached to the end of a stick, the child can take turns with the adult to ‘fish’ one out at a time. As the fish are taken out, the sentences must be said out loud. Books are a great way to practice words and sentences. If a child cannot read, they can repeat what the parent or therapist read out. The pictures can be encouraging for the child. A few books available in bookstores that can encourage the /k/ and /g/ sounds are – The Cow Who Clucked (Denise Fleming), I’m going on a bear hunt (Michael Rosen, Helen Oxenbury), Goodnight moon, Gooey gummy Geese (Angela Holzer) In Conversation . Once the child is comfortable using the target sound within practiced sentences, it is crucial to move towards more independent and spontaneous utterances- that is conversations. During the daily life conversations, you would like the child to be aware of his/her articulation. Provide guidance to the child when s/he falters. If there are too many mistakes in conversations, it is prudent to move a step back and practice sentences and paragraphs once again. Here are a few ideas to work on the sounds in conversational level: Create your own stories.  For creating a story, use two characters that have the target sound in their name e.g. Target sound /k/ and the characters are ‘kangaroo’ and ‘nikhil’. With the child, create a story with these characters. E.g. Nikhil and the Kangaroo were good friends. Nikhil loved jumping so did the kangaroo…And so forth. Describe the shape.  Use lego bricks for this game. Take two sets, one for the child and one for the adult. Take turns to play this activity out. Let the child first create a simple structure with his/her own Lego bricks. Once ready, s/he must describe how to imitate making the same structure, step by step to the adult. The adult and child should converse about how the structure should be made e.g. Child: First, put red bricks at the bottom. Adult: Should they be placed one above the other or next to each other?….And so forth. Articulation Therapy *** There are several ways to build on these sounds. Hope this article provides guidance to begin improving sounds /k/ and /g/. *** Subscribe with us to receive the latest articles on articulation therapy.

Articulation Therapy: Teaching M and N sounds Teaching M and N sounds- The sounds /m/ and /n/ are voiced nasals . Nasals refer to the way the sounds are produced with air flowing through the nose. If these sounds are misarticulated, a speech therapist can assist in bringing an understanding of how the sounds are made and then establish them, followed by strengthening and generalizing them at different levels (such as sounds, words, sentences). 1. How are the sounds produced? The sounds /m/ and /n/ are both voiced sounds. This means they require movement of the vocal cords (our voice box that is situated in our neck). This can be felt as vibrations at the neck when both sounds are produced. When saying the /m/ sound , both lips need to be lightly pressed and air flows through the nose. The tongue is relaxed at the bottom of the mouth. While producing the sound /n/ , the lips are lightly separated while the tongue tip touches the back of the (upper) front teeth. The air flows through the nose, as in the sound /m/, and there is vibration at the throat. The sound /m/ is one of the first few sounds for a child to produce with words such as ‘mama’ being said earlier on. However, the sound /n/ may take a little longer to establish. Therefore, the sound /m/ can be focused on earlier with the sounds /p/ and /b/. The sound /n/ can be taught thereafter. How is the sound /m/ established? This is a fun sound to work on with children especially since the sound is quite visible.  Teaching M and N sounds A few activities that can help establish the sound are as follows: Use a mirror to let the child see how the lips move when the sound /m/ is said. You can use a simple touch of the lips (touch cue) to help press the lips together lightly to produce the sound. Enact humming . Take a simple song or just a continuous tone and let the child hear and feel it (on the throat and nose). Play a game of – back and forth . Here you and the child will take turns to hum /m/ sound. It can be by imitation of the same length of the sound e.g. mmm . Additionally, it can be a competitive game of humming the sound longer than the other. For example -Adult: mm Child: mmmm Adult: mmmmm. Continue to assist the child to use voicing as well as have lips closed lightly * Note: Before establishing the production of this sound, a speech therapist may work on getting the child to listen and identifying (or differentiating) the sound from others, such as /p/ and /b/. Take guidance from your speech therapist about the need for this and how to work on the same. 3. How to establish the sound /n/? Like the /m/ sound, the /n/ sound needs voicing. Get ideas on how to teach ‘voicing’ here (link is here). The sound can be established using these activities: Teach the child to place the tongue behind the upper front teeth. Use some food that can stick and place it at the appropriate place. Assist the child to use the tongue to remove the item with the tongue. Let the child get aware of the placement through this activity. Once the child knows the placement (from the activity above), encourage the child to let air through the nose. Let the child feel the air coming out by placing a finger under the nose. This can be tricky at times and requires visual feedback (using a mirror) as well as tactile feedback (using the finger at the nose) consistently. * Note: Before establishing the production of this sound, a speech therapist may work on getting the child to listen and identifying (or differentiate) the sound from others, such as /m/ and /th/. Take guidance from your speech therapist about the need for this and how to work on the same. 4. How to build the sound at syllable, word, sentence and conversational level. Once the sounds /m/ and /n/ are established in isolation, there is a need to join them to vowels and then consonants (to form syllables). Forming syllables (i.e. the sound along with other a vowel) are the first steps towards using the sounds in longer utterances. Articulation training requires training with syllables, at words,  Teaching M and N sounds in sentences and paragraphs and lastly within running speech/ conversation. In Syllables. Practice the sound with a vowel placed either before or after it. Using a visual, such as through a syllable wheel (see here to read more about the syllable wheel) is encouraging for the learner. Games are always a fun way to teach syllables. Build meaningful syllables with the sound /m/ or /n/ by associating them with picture Such as the sound /m/ with /o/ can become /mooo/ and associated with a picture of a ‘cow’. Similarly /n/ and /e/ sounds like the words ‘knee’. Similarly, the vowel /i/ with /n/ can be the action ‘in’. Fun meaningless sounds can also be made. Use a microphone and pretend to sing different syllables. Let the child imitate them e.g. mi, im, am etc. Teaching M and N sounds In Words. Build a word list and practice imitation of the words with the child. Read about how to build a word list in a previous article here . Practice a word list through fun games. Here are a couple of game ideas: Lay 2 to 3 hoola hoops horizontally in front of the child. Place words (from the words list) with the target sound /m/ or /n/ in each. Throw a ball or bean bag into the hoola hoops by taking turns. The person throwing has to say the words in which the bean bag or ball falls. Binocular game. Paste words on a wall on one end of the room. The words can be taken from the word list with the target word (m or n). By using a binocular, the child has to find words on the wall and say them out loud. If the child can not read, use pictures or allow the child to imitate after you. In Sentences. If the child can use the sounds well within words, then move on to practicing sentences. At first, short sentences should be used – two to three-word sentences. Follow this with longer sentences and paragraphs/stories . Create a list of sentences with the sounds for the child to practice. For example, when practicing the sound /n/ – (1) Nine noses. (2) My niece has seen many menus. (3) New neighbors are nice to know and meet. Make practice fun. Play games when strengthening articulation at the sentence level. Here are two such games: Hopscotch with a twist . Draw hopscotch boxes on the floor. Number them. Keep a list aside with sentences coinciding to the numbers. When the player hops on a specific number, they have to read the sentence. The sentences should be those with the target sound. For children who cannot read, they may imitate an adult reading it out. Draw it out. Specific to a target phrase, a drawing can be made. The child will make sentences using the same. For instance, for the sound /m/ ‘monkey-eating mangoes’ can be the phrase that is drawn out. The phrase can be used to make more sentences with the child. For instance – The many monkeys were eating mangoes. The monkeys were eating their mangoes and moving around…etc. Books are a great way to practice words and sentences. If a child cannot read, they can repeat what the parent or therapist read out. The pictures can be encouraging for the child. A few books available in bookstores that can encourage the /m/ and /n/ sounds are – Hand hand finger thumb (Al Perkins), Goodnight Moon ( Margaret Wise Brown) , Five little monkeys sitting in a tree ( Eileen Christelow ) In Conversation . Once the child is comfortable using the target sound within practiced sentences, it is crucial to move towards more independent and spontaneous utterances- that is conversations. During the daily life conversations, you would like the child to be aware of his/her articulation. Provide guidance to the child when s/he falters. If there are too many mistakes in conversations, it is prudent to move a step back and practice sentences and paragraphs once again. A fun way to talk spontaneously can be through a maze game . Prepare a maze from a starting point to a house. You can also use ready-made mazes for this. Here, you want to child to ‘talk’ and tell you how to get to the house. The child will use directional cues as well as descriptions. This should be done in a conversational style, wherein the adult can ask for clarifications (e.g. ‘I didn’t get that, can you repeat yourself.’) or even question the child further (e.g. ‘where next?’ ‘ are you sure?’).  The adult can also create opportunities for the child to extend his conversation – by making mistakes.

Articulation Therapy- Teaching ch and j sounds The articulation therapy for /ch/ and /j/ sounds involves teaching the correct placement of the articulators (i.e, the oral structures and other structures involved in speech production) through various techniques and stages. Children usually develop the /ch/ and /j/ sounds a bit later, starting at around age four. However, if your child struggles to produce these 2 sounds beyond seven years of age, seek the help of a licensed speech-language pathologist for articulation therapy. Let’s now discuss some simple and easy ways in articulation therapy for teaching the ch and j sounds. Production of ch and j sounds The ch and j consonants come under the group known as the affricates. The affricates are produced by a combination of complete obstruction of the airway and then forcing the air through a narrow opening of the mouth. This means that the /ch/ and /j/ sounds are produced with a complete obstruction formed by the tongue tip touching the area called the alveolar ridge, which is right behind the upper front teeth. Then the release of air occurs quickly with friction. The /ch/ and/ j/ sounds have the same mouth and tongue positionings and differ only in terms of the voicing feature. This means that the sound produced comes from the vibration of the vocal cords. Steps for teaching ch and j sounds 1) Eliciting the sounds This is the first step in articulation therapy. We can use innovative and interesting ways to make the child produce the sounds. Elicitation of /ch/ sound Spontaneous production can happen by saying to your child that it is the sound a train makes (choo-choo), or the sound of a sneeze (ah-choo!). Teach the sound the multisensory way Teach the sound in a holistic way by combining the sense of listening, seeing, and feeling. Teaching this way makes the learning process fun-filled, faster and helps in remembering it better. An example of the multisensory style of teaching Teach the tongue tip position for the production of /ch/, which is behind the upper front teeth. Have your child hold it there tightly and then ask to quickly release the air like a burst. As you say the /ch/ sound you can hold the corners of your lips with your thumb and index finger and draw the fingers towards the center of the mouth. Teach your child to do the same while attempting to produce the sound. This is a helpful visual and tactile cue for rounding the lips. After a few attempts, you can hold your thumb and index finger near your mouth as a visual cue whenever you want to remind your child while practicing the sound. Using a mirror as visual feedback is also very helpful. Elicitation of /j/ sound The /j/ sound differs from /ch/ only in terms of the voicing (vibration of the vocal cords). So providing the tactile cue of feeling the vibration on the throat is an effective tactile cue to jump-start the production of /j/ sound. First, have your child feel your throat while saying the/j/ sound and then their own. To get more ideas for articulation therapy click here. It’s not over yet. Once your child masters to say the 2 sounds, then it is crucial to do the following steps too. 2) Syllable level When your child can say the sounds correctly, combine them with the vowels by adding before the sound or after. Syllable bag activity A fun way to do this step is to write down different vowel combinations of the sound (aj, oj,ji) in pieces of paper and then put all of them in a small bag. By taking turns, your child and you can pick up the little pieces and say the syllables. You can come up with creative ideas to make this step interesting. 3) Word level Once your little one feels confident about the newly learned sounds, you want them to say words that contain those sounds. To get this going, make a list of words that contain the (/ch/, /j/) sound in the beginning, medial, and/or at the end position starting with simple words and slowly increasing the complexity. Instead of just repeating the words or reading, make it fun-filled by practicing the words through fun games. Involve your little one using worksheets or coloring activities. 4) Sentence level At this stage, the child needs to start using the target words in sentences. Begin with 2-3 worded sentences and slowly increase the length of the sentence and complexity of the sentence by including more than one target word in the sentence. For example 1) Birds chirp. 2)We went to the beach in a jeep. 3) The magician made the gingerbread man jump in the jelly. 5) Conversation level Using books is an interesting and encouraging way to practice the newly learned sounds through words and sentences. To begin with the conversation level, ask your child to retell the story in their own words. You can also take up a picture description task that targets the newly learned sounds. Here is the link to a picture description task that targets the /ch/ sound. Tips It is important to begin the sound by saying slowly and clearly to your child so that they can understand which sound you are trying to focus on and it would also aid in easy imitation. If you notice errors, you can gently correct your child or give him reminders to say the sound correctly.  If there are too many errors you will have to practice at word level and sentence level once again. I hope you got some ideas of how to work on the /ch/ and /j/ sounds. When your child struggles to get it right even after several attempts, consult a speech-language therapist to solve the problem. Book you appointment now For more ideas check out our other blogs

Articulation Therapy: Teaching P and B sounds Articulation therapy : The sounds P and B are bilabial plosives . The name ‘plosives’ comes from the way the sounds expel air when being said. ‘ Bilabials’ refers to the fact that the lips are used when the sounds are said. If these sounds are misarticulated, a speech therapist will assist in bringing an understanding of how the sounds are made and sound, then establishing them, followed by strengthening and generalizing them. 1. How are the sounds produced? The sound /p/ is produced by closing the lips firmly together and then releasing air from the mouth in an ‘explosion’ or with a burst of air. The sound /b/ is produced with the same position and movement of the lips and air, with an addition of voicing (i.e. vibration at the throat level). 2. How to establish the sound /p/? Several speech therapists work on establishing the sound /p/ before moving to the sound /b/. The child will be taught to make the correct lip and mouth action while blowing air correctly from the mouth. To establish the sound, a few fun games can be: Move the mouth like a fish: The child can be taught the action of closing and opening the mouth like a fish (see the image) . This helps establish the position of the lips and mouth to produce the /p/ sound. Slowly begin to get the child to say /pa/ when making the mouth action. Blowing raspberries: If the child can blow raspberries, get them to do the same to begin to form the /p/ sound. Initially, the sound would be a long /ppppppppppp/. Slowly let them reduce the duration of the raspberry to form /pa/ sound. Blowing a napkin: Take a thin napkin sheet or paper tissue. Hold it close to the mouth and produce the /p/ sound. Show the child how the air moves the napkin. Let the child imitate. Blow a flying kiss: Show the child how to press the lips tightly with the tips of the fingers and then remove fingers while swiftly releasing air from the mouth. This would be like the action of blowing a flying kiss. The child should be encouraged to listen to the sound that is being made when releasing the fingers. * Note: Before working on producing the sound, several times a therapist will work on listening to and identifying the /p/ from a /b/ sound. Take guidance from your speech therapist about this and how to work on the same. 3. How can voicing be achieved ? Voicing differentiates the sound /p/ and /b/. Once the child can produce the /p/ sound thereafter voicing can be worked upon. To get the child to learn ‘voicing’, a couple of ideas are: Let the child try to grunt and say the /b/ sound for a longer duration, as in- /bbbbbbbbaaaaaaa/. Slowly get them to shorten the sound. Contrast this with short bursts of /pa/. They need to feel the difference at their own throat . Get the child to see and feel voicing when the sound /b/ is said by the therapist/adult. Say the sounds /p/ and /b/ alternately so that the child can feel the difference of voiced sound (b) versus unvoiced sound (p). 4.  How to build the sound at syllable, word, sentence and conversational level. Once a sound is established by itself, it must be encouraged in longer utterances. Syllables : The beginning of which is at the syllable level. A syllable wheel , which is popular amongst therapists, can be used to encourage a child to say the sound with different vowels. This must be played in fun ways. The sound and the syllable can be exchanged, and different syllables can be produced and practiced such as ap, op, up etc. In Words: A word list is a great way to get the right words in the practice or session. How to build word lists (for parents), can be read in a previous article here (Articulation therapy – Four go to materials). The words from the word list must be practiced in a fun manner and not only through drills. In Sentences: If the child can use sounds in words, then sentences should be targeted. The child should be encouraged to use words with the sound in short sentences, at first. Beginning with two to three-word sentences is great. Later moving on to longer sentences and even paragraphs or stories ones should be encouraged. For example  – These are sentences using words that start with the /b/ sound.   Blow bubbles. The bee took a bath in the bucket. The …… (a word that the child fills in starting with /b/) took a bath in the bucket. * Words and sentences can be practiced through books . If a child can not read, they can repeat what the parent or therapist read. The pictures can be encouraging for the child. A few books that can encourage the /b/ sound are – Brown bear, brown bear; Big bear and small bear, Polar bear, polar bear. In Conversation: Once the child uses the sound(s) well in sentences, then it must be strengthened within conversations. During a conversation, the pronunciation of the sounds must be listened to carefully. If the sounds are misarticulated, gentle reminders can be given to the child to correct himself/herself. If there are too many errors being made, practice in sentence and paragraph level may be required once again.

Articulation Therapy: Teaching /R/ blends The /r/ speech sound is one of the late sounds that develop in children. Children usually acquire the /r/ blends by 8-9 years of age. Often, children with speech sound disorders have difficulty in producing the sound correctly. The /r/ sound alone can be a difficult sound to learn, let alone the /r/ blends. With time, patience and practice, you can make very good progress in teaching the /r/ blends. What are the different types of /r/ blends? Here’s a list: BR blends such as brown, bread CR blends such as crow, crane DR blends such as drink, dream FR blends such as frost, fridge GR blends such as grapes, great PR blends such as proud, print STR blends such as strawberry, stranger TR blends such as train, track THR blends such as through, throw SHR blends such as shrink, shred SCR blends such as scream, scroll SPR blends such as spring, spread How to teach the /r/ blends? First, you will need to teach your child the correct /r/ sound. If they can do it then read on to learn more. If not, try to identify whether the bunched or retroflexed tongue position is best for your child. Pick up the easiest of these positions. Read more on how to achieve the /r/ sound here. To practice the /r/ blends you will need to ask your child to prolong the /r/ sound like / rrrrrrrr/. Start with the easiest blend that your child can produce. If it’s /br/ for instance, try producing it like /rrrrrrrbrrrrrrbrrrr/. Then practice the other sounds such as /pr, cr, gr,cr/ using this strategy. Next move on to the blends such as /spr, str, scr/ once your child learns the above blends. If your child is able to prolong the /s/ sound then you can go for this practice. Ask your child to prolong the /s/ sound and then prolong the /r/ sound. For example / ssssssprrrrr/. Practice on a daily basis! Be consistent. Try to have at least 15-20 minutes of practice every day. Practice at different levels starting from the simplest (isolation) to the most complex (conversation level). Move to the next level once you have achieved at least 90% accuracy. Following is the order of practice that you can use: Isolation level:  Practise the /r/ blends on its own / rrrrrprrrr / Syllable level:  Combining the /r/ blends with a vowel ( rrrrrprrro….rrrrrrprrrro) Word level: Use the /r/ blends in the initial, medial, and final positions of words ( proud, Cyprus, etc) Phrase level: Use two or three-word combinations with the /r/ blends ( proud prince) Sentence level:  Use the blends in sentences ( The proud prince met his fate) Conversation level:  Use the blends in connected speech in conversation with different persons. Some Speech exercises for the /r/ blends Here are some fun activities to teach your child the /r/ blends! Do activities where you say the /r/ blends correctly and incorrectly. Ask your child to spot the difference. Give them rewards such as points for correct responses. When you read books with your child, point out each /r/ blends that they read or hear you say. You can ask your child to repeat these after you. Or you can even ask them some questions. Saying the sounds with /r/ frequently will help them learn it quicker. Practice target /r/ blends while playing games such as bingo, memory games, tic-tac-toe, etc. Choose any game that your child loves and use it. Look through books or magazines with your child. Ask them to find pictures of items that have the /r/ blends. Have a “/r/ blends book”. You can then cut out the pictures and paste them into a book. Here are some ideas: Br blend: Brush – Use this in different contexts such as brushing your child’s hair, pet’s fur, or doll’s hair. Cr blend: Crayon – Practice “cr” while playing or coloring with crayons. You can name the crayons like red crayons, bleu crayons, etc. Dr blend: Drive  – You can drive cars around and use the word while playing. Fr blend: Frog  – You can play a hopping game where you hop like a frog or you can also use a paper frog. Gr blend: Green  – You can find all the green things in a room. Pr blend: Price – You can use pretend play games where you ask for prices of different items. Str blend: Street  – You can push cars or trucks on a self-drawn street with chalk. Tr blend: Train  – Similar to the Dr and Str blends, you can also use a train. Thr blend: Throw  – You can throw a ball in a basket while saying ‘throw’ every time. Shr blend: Shred  – Here, you can rip up some craft paper and use the word ‘shred’  Scr blend: Scribble  – Can be used similar to the Cr activity where you can scribble with crayons.  Spr blend: Spray  – You can fill a bottle with water and spray plants etc.

Aritculation Therapy : Teaching S and SH sounds Teaching S and SH sounds, Is your child finding it hard to get his/her /s/ and /sh/ speech sounds right? Did you know it is one of the most mispronounced speech sounds in all languages? Typically children learn to produce /s/ and /sh/ by 4 years of age and master it as they grow older. For a young child with co-occurring speech sound errors, producing /s/ and /sh/ poses an even bigger challenge. Click here to read the Articulation a beginners guide How do we produce /s/ and /sh/? The /s/ sound is produced by placing the tongue tip behind the front teeth, close to the roof of the mouth but not touching the palate. Then, the sides of the tongue are raised to touch the back teeth, leaving some space in the middle of the tongue for the air to pass smoothly. Lastly, the lips are parted slightly with the corners of the lips drawn upward. /s/ sound is unvoiced (does not involve vocal cord vibration) and is produced only due to the air travelling through the passages created in the oral cavity as stated above. The /sh/ sound is produced by raising the tongue high inside the mouth and pulled back so that the sides of the tongue contact the back teeth. The lips are slightly protruded like making an /o/ sound. A shallow groove is created in the mid-line of the tongue for the air to pass through. /sh/ is unvoiced and belongs to the fricative group of speech sounds. What kind of errors do children make? The following lists some errors children make while producing /s/ and /sh/: /s/ is often substituted as /t/ (eg: tee instead of see) /s/ sound omitted or unable to say at all /s/ sound unable to say only in word level or sentence level /s/ is produced but distorted in word or sentence level /sh/ is often substituted by /ch/ or /t/ (eg: soes instead of shoes, tip instead of ship) /sh/ sound is omitted altogether /sh/ is produced but distorted /sh/ unable to produce in word or sentence level “If your child is 4 years old or above and is making any of the above speech sound errors then you should be concerned.” Teaching S and SH sounds Read here about Articulation disorders How do I teach my child? Practicing the techniques listed below to teach /s/ and /sh/ speech sounds at home can be a very interesting activity for any child. Schedule specific time everyday to work on articulation of speech sounds. You can also try practicing during leisure time (while walking to a park, while watching television etc,). Practicing often will facilitate faster learning. Make sure to generously reward and encourage the child for his/her efforts. Every child is different and progress may be noted in a few days to weeks. It all depends on how well the child is able to follow oral instructions, understands correct tongue positioning and frequency of practice. Keep in mind that, if your child has trouble producing /s/ and /sh/, the longer you wait the more difficult it will be to treat. “If your child demonstrates a lateral lisp or additional speech sound errors, first consult with a Speech-Language Therapist.” Read a detailed blog on Typical development of speech sounds. Remediation of /s/: 1. Imitation Demonstrate and model production of /s/ as described above for your child to visualize. Encourage him/her to imitate your movements and try saying /s/ /s/ /s/. Keep practicing and eventually add different vowels to /s/ as in “so..so..so” “see..see..see” “sa..sa..sa”. You can then move on to practicing words when your child is able to produce at sound level. 2. Cueing Provide visual cues to your child while training for /s/. Visual cues will help the child to recollect the sound better. You can point your finger to your lips while saying /s/. Teaching S and SH sounds 3. Shaping If a child is able to say /t/ then you can shape /t/ production to elicit /s/ sound. Tell your child, “We are going to practice saying t…t..t..t..t..t” first. Then, “We are going to try to make /t/ a little longer t..t..t…ts”. When the child is able to say this you can proceed further. Tell your child, “We are going to make the ts..ts.. little longer as in tsss…..tssss…tsssssssss”. Continue to practice by gradually make the /t/ disappear in /ts/ until it becomes only /s/. 4. Hissing like a snake If your child is able to say /s/ in word level but its distorted or unclear, you can try this. Tell your child to pretend the tongue is like a snake inside the mouth which is a cage. Tell him/her, “We will try hissing like a snake /sssssss/ but don’t let the snake outside”. Model tongue placement and lip position inside the mouth as mentioned above and carry the activity. You can use a mirror during this activity to enable your child to self-correct and follow correct tongue and lip placement. Some tools for teaching articulation. 5. Blowing through a straw Practice blowing air through a straw. Hold the straw in the center of the lower lip, but do not allow the air to escape from the sides of the mouth. Now have your child make the /s/ sound and you will hear the air passing through the straw. Model and practice this activity with your child. Remediation of /sh/: 1. Shaping If a child is able to say /e/ then you can shape /e/ production to elicit /sh/ sound. Tell your child, “We are going to practice saying e…e..e..e..t..e” first. Then, “We are going to try to make /e/ a little round by rounding the lips as in /e/ with lips rounded. When the child is able to say this, it will sound like /sh/. Continue to practice by gradually make the /e/ disappear until it becomes only /sh/. 2. Sequencing If your child is able to say /s/ then ask your child to gently say /s/ transitioning to a voiceless /y/. Now tell your child to round his/her lips while saying voiceless /y/. It will start sounding like a /sh/. Train your child to hear the /sh/ sound as he/her transitions between /s/ and /y/. Continue to practice until your child masters /sh/. 3. Like a butterfly Model your child to push his/her tongue sides to the upper teeth, smile widely and blow air smoothly. You will hear a /sh/ sound. Keep holding the position and try rounding your lips. You will hear a clear /sh/ now. Continue to practice this until a clear /sh/ is mastered. 4. Phonetic placement Demonstrate to your child what /sh/ looks and sounds like. Place the sides of your tongue against the teeth at the back and round your lips and blow some air gently. Make the child feel the air blowing and the sound produced. Now, ask your child to imitate your movements to achieve a clear /sh/. 5. “Miss you” technique Demonstrate practicing “Miss you” rapidly. It will begin to sound like “Miss Shoe” and eventually when you increase your speed it will start to sound like /sh/. Have your child imitate your movements. This can be practiced for children who are able to produce other speech sounds correctly. “If your child shows no progress even after following the above stated techniques, it high time you consult a Speech-Language Therapist for guidance.” If you wish to know more about Speech Therapy, kindly contact us at  info@1specialplace.com Book a session now

Articulation Therapy: Teaching T and D sounds The sounds /t/ (as in tomato) and /d/ (as in dig) are lingua-alveolar plosives . The name ‘plosives’ comes from the way the sounds expel air when being said. And ‘lingua-alveolar’ is descriptive of the position of the tongue when the sounds are produced. A plan for therapy is drawn out based on the assessment results and thereafter Articulation therapy is undertaken. When saying each slowly, think about where your lips and tongue are positioned and what they are doing. Also, try to feel where the air from your throat is going while saying each sound. How are the sounds produced? The sound /t/ is produced by touching the tip of the tongue on the ridge, just behind the upper front teeth – while the lips stay gently apart. Each time the sound is to be produced the tongue quickly touches its position and then is released with a burst of air or ‘explosion’ of air from the mouth. The sound /d/ is produced with the same position and movement of the tongue, lips, and air, with an addition of voicing (i.e. vibration at the throat level). How is the /t/ sound established? First, check if the child can lift the tongue. If not, then there is a need to work on tongue strengthening . It may include simple games to learn to raise the tongue. Initially, it will be with the support of a tongue depressor, spoon etc.. Thereafter learning to raise the tongue and remain raised for some time without support.  Repeated and regular exercise is needed for the tongue to be raised independently. Get more ideas about this from your speech therapist. (Read about tongue tip elevation in our article) If the child can raise the tongue, however placement is incorrect during the production of the /t/ sound, then begin by playing these games to Establish it. 1. Taste it . Place a very small piece of a favorite food item (something gooey in texture) on the ridge, near the palate just behind the upper front teeth. Get the child to use his / her tongue to take it out. This helps a child understand the correct placement. This game does not encourage making sounds but only exploration of correct placement of the tongue. 2. Touch and release. Show where the child needs to touch the tongue. Once familiar, play a game of pretend. Pretend to be mice or squirrels. Use cut outs of nuts or cheese and pretend to eat them while making the /tatatatata/ sound and action of the tongue. Hide the nuts in different parts of the room and move together. Correct the child for correct placement, when needed. 3. I’m a clock. Pretend to be a clock with the child and say the /t//t//t/ sound repeatedly as the sound of a clock. Use the hands of a clock and move it as the child makes the sound. * Note: Before working on producing the sound, listening to and identifying the /t/ from the /d/ sound may be taken up by the speech therapist. Take guidance from your speech therapist about the need for this and how to work on the same. How to work on the sound /d/? Voicing differentiates the sound /t/ and /d/ (as was the case for /p/ and /b/ sounds).  Let the child learn the /t/ sound, thereafter work on voicing. Take tips from the previous article in this series (link is here). Always keep the learning multisensorial (i.e. use multiple senses together such as those of touch, and hearing). Some children may take more time to learn this skill than others. Be patient and repeat several times, without putting too much pressure on the child. When the child learns voicing, get him/her to understand to ‘ turn on’ voicing for the /d/ sound. How to build the sound at syllable, word, sentence and conversational level. Achieving the sounds /t/ and /d/ in isolation is the beginning. Hereafter, there is a need to engage the sound in syllables (i.e. the sound along with other a vowel) and several longer utterances. In Syllables. Practice the sound with a vowel placed either before or after it. Having a visual by using a syllable wheel is encouraging for the learner. Get the child involved when playing games of saying syllables. Play it as a game (e.g. spin the wheel to land on a vowel to say along with the /t/ sound – a variation of wheel of fortune) or say it along taps (e.g. tap a beat on the table or using a xylophone or drum). In Words. Read about how to build a work list in a previous article here Articulation Therapy: Teaching P and B sounds. Practice a work list through fun. Here are a couple of game ideas: Walk the bridge On a page draw out a bridge with planks. Each plank has words (of the sound to be targeted). Each player has a peg. Take turns to say the sound. If said correctly the players peg moves ahead else moves a step back. First one to cross the bridge wins. Connect 4 with a twist This variation requires the adult/therapist to prepare the discs in advance. Written words are to be stuck on the discs (see the image). The child and adult will take turns playing the game. Each person has one color. They need to take one disc at a time and read the word aloud. If said correctly, they get to place the disc in the connect 4. If the word is said incorrectly, the player must forgo his / her turn. The objective of the game is to be the first to form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of four of one’s own discs. In Sentences If the child can use the sounds well within words, then move on to practicing sentences. At first, short sentences should be used – two to three-word sentences. Follow this with longer sentences and paragraphs/stories . Create a list of sentences with the sounds for the child to practice. For example – (1) Tick tock. (2) The turtle turned away. (3) Tina’s tiger tickled eight cats! Make practice fun. Use the sentences to make and play fun games . For instance, a game of ‘ Roll the dice’ . Form a list of 6 sentences numbered one to six. The adult and the child will take turns to roll a dice. Get a point or sticker for each sentence spoken correctly. Having a fun big dice is wonderful for this game. Books are a great way to practice words and sentences. If a child can not read, they can repeat what the parent or therapist read out. The pictures can be encouraging for the child. A few books available in book stores that can encourage the /t/ and /d/ sounds are – The cat in the hat, Pete the Cat – train trip, Dazzling digger, Harry the dirty dog. In Conversation. Using the sounds correctly within a conversation is quite important. This can be worked upon once the child does well in practicing the sounds in sentences and paragraphs. Within a conversation, you would want the child to use the sounds correctly without having a prapred script. Daily life conversations must be used mostly. Apart from this, play games wherein the child may have to use conversations. An interactive and creative manner to do this is to use Pictures with Speech Bubbles .  You can download scenes from the internet or draw your own in advance. Additionally, you will need to prepare little cards with the target words on them (such as tomato or turtle) which may be somewhat relevant to the scene of the picture. Each person (the adult and the child) will get two cards for themselves, in advance. The game requires each one to fill out conversations for the pictures using the words from the cards. It gets the players to create conversations in a fun way. Older children in articulation therapy may engage in drills more often, since it is the fastest and best way to get the child to practice a sound often in a limited amount of time. However, it should not be the largest chunk of the session but maybe a recap at the end of the session or a drill in the mid of the session. Practice of the sounds makes the child better in producing them. However, if the child is making mistakes while using the sound in conversation, then move back to practicing sentences.

Apps to Promote Speech for Babies Speech development is a very important part of a child’s development. Nowadays, there are various apps that you can use at home to promote speech for babies. The apps can be downloaded either from Google Play or from the Play Store. Following are some of these apps listed: First Words for Baby This app is one of the best when it comes to teaching first words to babies and toddlers. It has games with over 120 common words. The app makes use of flashcards for more than 11 categories like clothes, vehicles, animals, toys, pets, food, eating time, bath time, at the park etc. The high-quality pictures keep babies engaged in the games. The games contain colourful pictures and realistic animations and sounds for various categories. Every picture includes a professional pronunciation of the picture on the flashcard. Parents and children, can enjoy these games and play together. Baby Talk App The Babytalk app helps babies learn about animals, people, and things that they see in their daily life. You can personalise this app as per your child’s requirements. You can personalise any objects such as animals, toys, people, characters etc. This feature makes this app unique. You can even record your own voice to accompany the photos. Another added feature of the app is that when you touch a photo, it responds with the name. Children love rewards and this app comes with some. The Baby Talk App is available in English as well as Spanish. The app also allows you to save your data and share it with other family and friends for use. It is certainly an app that grows with your child! Learn & Play by Fischer-Price The Learn & Play by Fischer-Price is a play-based app. It has games and activities about alphabets, colours, shapes and a lot more. Researchers and academic scholars have designed these games and activities. . Each game and activity is tested for ‘Fun’ by children. The app does what it says. It is recommended for children between 0-3 years of age. It helps your child learn through play. The app is Kid-safe and Ad-free. There are two modes of play: Let them Play and Play Together. Learn & Play by Fischer-Price is enjoyed by both parents and children. It can help promote speech for babies. Sesame Street The Sesame Street App has hundreds of fun videos and educational games. The app is Kid-safe and Ad-Free to use. The videos and games are designed to teach children various skills. It has the following learning areas: Arts, Emotional Development, Health, Math, Logic & Reasoning, Literacy, Science and Social Development. The Sesame Street App has various features. All the games and videos are free and unlimitedly accessible. Not only is it Kid-Safe, but Kid-Friendly as well. You can create your own account and save your favourite videos for later. You can filter the games and videos by selecting a specific learning area. The added advantage is that you can access your watch and play history any time. Have fun using the app!       5. Speech Blubs Speech Blubs is a fun app that can be used to target language skills. The app is recommended for children between 1-8 years of age. You can introduce children to various categories like numbers, colours, shapes, animals and much more. It also focuses on building sentences with attractive animated characters. The app keeps children engaged and interested in the activities. You can make use of these activities as they are used are fun and educational. There are various advantages of using this app such as it contains video models of a child saying the words. Photo/video recordings of your child with fun filters/stickers are an additional feature that you can use. 6. Baby Sign & Learn This app helps to teach your baby to communicate using signs. You can promote speech in babies using signs and gestures. Using this app, you can choose your preferred sign language such as American Sign Language (ASL), Australian Sign Language (Auslan), British Sign Language (BSL), Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). The app is free to use and try a few signs. You can later choose to buy a full version of the app. You can easily search for a sign. Create a favourite list for the signs. The app uses interactive flashcards and you can also add your own pictures. You can also test your child’s signing skills using the quiz section. The app is quite simple to use. It is also Kid-safe and Ad-Free to use. It is important to remember that any app that you use with your child must be done by consulting a qualified speech-language pathologist. We at 1SpecialPlace have a team of trained speech-language pathologists who help children communicate. Consult with us today!!

Apps for Speech Fluency Fluency is a very important aspect of speech production. When stutterers want to improve on speech fluency, often the younger individuals seek for apps to help with speech fluency. There are many apps for speech fluency available on Google Play and the Apple iTunes store. Some of these apps will be discussed below. It is important to remember to use these Speech Fluency apps with guidance from a qualified Speech-Language Pathologist. Speech4Good You can use the Speech4Good app to improve speech fluency. You can record and monitor your speech as you practice. The app is available for iOS users. This app can be used by stutterers and speech-language pathologists. It uses the concept of Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF). The features of the Speech4Good app include: A speech center: This is a visual dashboard that you can use for practice A speech graph (oscilloscope) that displays in real-time You can record, make notes, and playback recorded speech samples It has a custom-built library to save and organize files by date You can also email recordings and session notes Fluency SIS You can use the Fluency SIS (Smart Intervention Strategy) app with school-age children between 8-12 years who stutter. It is designed for speech therapists and students. There are four components under the SIS which include: Think Smart, Feel Smart Cool Speech Challenge the Dragons Into the ‘Real’ World The Fluency SIS app has various features. Some of them are listed below: Fun-filled exercises Encouraging and motivating displays Uses humor and creativity Enhances your creativity skills Breaks your speaking boundaries and improve your confidence You can also track your progress from time to time. DAF Professional The DAF Pro app is designed and tested by a certified speech-language pathologist. It uses the Delayed Auditory Feedback (DAF) technique. You can use this app on android and iOS devices. The app is easy to use. You can use it majorly with stutterers and even individuals with Parkinson’s disease. You can slow down the speed at which you speak using this app. This makes your speech sound clearer to others. FluencyCoach The FluencyCoach app uses the concept of “choral speech effect”. In simple words, it means people speaking in unison. The app allows for a slight delay and a change in pitch. You can observe a change in speech fluency using this principle. You can use it with stutterers who struggle with speech clarity. The speech fluency apps has several features: It is user friendly Has a recording function to record your speech Automatic saving of recorded files You can send recorded files using e-mail Ernest Stuttering App The app is designed and developed by a Speech-Language Pathologist. You can use it for stutterers. You can use a multimedia book and four games to improve speech fluency. The book contains stories about a boy named Ernest who has stuttering. He explains how he and his family cope with stuttering. You will also understand what stuttering really is. You can use this speech fluency app as a great resource while counseling parents of stutterers. The app has the following games: Speaking & Explores. This game will explain the speech mechanism, articulation, techniques such as easy starts and light contacts, and self-regulation. Identifying & Explores. This game is mainly used for creating awareness of smooth and harsh articulatory contacts. Memorizing. This is a practice game. Your child will listen, memorize words and record themselves pronouncing those words. Drawing. This game will help your child cope with their feelings towards stuttering by drawing what stuttering represents to them. MyLynel You can use the MyLynel app to practice fluency shaping and stuttering modification techniques. The app also helps with transfer and generalization skills of speech fluency. It has five free unlimited packs to help practice various techniques. The app has the following features: Record your audio in any real-life speech activity for up to 5 minutes Real-time bio-feedback display of gentle onsets and speech loudness Use the techniques in real-life speech activities You can save your data for an offline analysis Tracking of secondary behaviors You can also email the summary of the sessions The app MyLynel is researched and supported by The Department of Education and National Science Foundation (NSF). A team of speech-language pathologists and speech research scientists has developed the app.

Why Clarity in Speech Matters Misarticulation or the lack of correct pronunciation of sounds can hinder good communication. Sounds are learnt developmentally and hence as the child grows, sounds would typically become clearer and more adult-like. However, at times, such clarity is not reached. [Click here to read more about typical development of articulation] If you’re looking for articulation therapy for children, this guide can help you understand where to begin and what to expect. How Mispronunciation Affects Children Mispronouncing words can affect not only clarity but also a child's self-esteem, especially in school or social settings. Early support through speech therapy for kids can make a significant difference. The sounds we produce use different positions of the tongue, lips, palate and other articulatory or speech sound structures. This coordination of speech sound structures forms the foundation of how we pronounce words clearly. Understanding how these elements work together is key to treating speech sound disorders effectively. Correct articulation, for many of us, is taken for granted and suspected to be quite simple. However, it requires precision of placement, good coordination and movement of articulators. Let’s understand the complexity of correct sound production through a simple exercise! Let’s say the sound /p/ slowly. Now, the sound /n/. When saying each slowly, think about where your lips and tongue are positioned and what they are doing. Also, try to feel where the air from your throat is going while saying each sound. If noticed carefully – the sounds use different positions of the tongue and lips and the air moves through different airways in the mouth and nose! The Role of a Speech Therapist in Articulation Therapy A speech therapist assists and guides an individual with misarticulation to help them produce the sound correctly. For everyone in articulation therapy, an assessment is carefully done to note the sounds that are mispronounced. A plan for therapy is drawn out based on the assessment results and thereafter therapy is undertaken. There are a variety of methods and philosophies that would guide a therapist along the path of therapy. Speech-language pathologists play a critical role in identifying and managing articulation issues. Whether your child is just starting or already attending sessions, understanding these core methods will help you support them better at home. Articulation therapy should incorporate the following five basic aspects: Keeping it multisensory. The best way to practice and learn articulation, in my opinion, is by making sure the learning is holistic! It should involve as many senses as possible. The hearing/ listening, seeing, feeling should all be combined in the learning process. It enables the child to learn and even remember better. For example, to teach the sound /m/, I would love to get the child to feel my lips and then his own. Listen to the sound when eyes are open and closed. Also, feel the vibrations at the neck. I would also like to use a small mirror and show how it fogs when it’s kept near the nose while saying the sound. Multisensory learning is highly effective in early speech therapy for toddlers and children with sensory needs or developmental delays. Parents of children in therapy can learn these strategies to reinforce the learning at home. A speech therapist, typically, would build the correct articulation within the session so that the parent can just follow up and ensure the child continues to use the same at home. Help the child to ‘listen, see, feel’ & practice. Teaching correct articulatory placement . Teaching the right position of the tongue on the palate or teeth can be a good way to get the child to learn correct articulation. Once again, use different ways to make the child understand. Show and listen– letting the child see and hear correct articulation when you (the parent / therapist) make it. Use a mirror or even a drawing of the tongue position can be useful. However, not all children will be able to follow this method. And therefore, other strategies must be employed to teach them to learn. Parents of children in articulation therapy must also be aware of correct placement. Showing the child correctly, at home, when s/he forgets, can help the child to learn the skill faster. Discuss and ask the therapist about correct positions and placements when in doubt. Children with speech articulation disorders often need visual and tactile cues in addition to verbal instructions to master correct placements. Encouraging fun and play while learning. Articulation therapy has at times been considered quite boring. This may be attributed to the fact that it may incorporate the use of a lot of drills (i.e. the repetition of a task several times such as repeating the production of /s/ sound). As I see it, this becomes uninteresting for the child and the therapist after a few sessions. Therefore, I would encourage the use of fun games, stories, toys to help the child to learn to produce the sound minus the frequent use of drills. Older children in articulation therapy may engage in drills more often, since it is the fastest and best way to get the child to practice a sound often in a limited amount of time. However, it should not be the largest chunk of the session but maybe a recap at the end of the session or a drill in the mid of the session. Have you ever wondered why some children have difficulties forming sounds, or what can be done to help them communicate more clearly? Source: study.com The recap and practice at home with a parent should also be a combination of fun as well as practice through drills. Replicate the games in the session or think out of the box! Turning articulation exercises into speech therapy games can boost motivation, consistency, and faster results. 4. Sounds taught first Generally, sounds that are ‘visible’ are taught first. These are sounds wherein articulators are easily seen and hence become easier to replicate. This would help a child to learn the sounds easily, at first, and therefore encourage them to continue with the learning. For example, the sounds /p/ would probably be taught before /k/. Parents should keep this in mind. If they have a pair of sounds to work with, they can always encourage the one that is easier to teach at first and then move to the tougher one (i.e. the one that is not as visible). This progression is particularly useful when working with younger children or kids with developmental language delay. Practicing the sound for generalization. A sound taught correctly such as /l/, would be later even encouraged in syllables, words, sentences and then conversations. The sound must be practiced in a variety of ways – it must be generalized! Using the /l/ sound example. It is first taught by itself. Once the sound is achieved, then it would be taught with different vowels e.g. /la/, /li/, /lu/, /lo/. Next, in words such as /low/ or /allow/ or /all/. This would be followed by use of /l/ in sentences (e.g. Lions roar loudly). This may be followed by use of /l/ sound in different conversations. If your child has not yet started therapy, consider booking an online speech therapy session  for a customized assessment and early intervention. Parents can easily get involved in generalization of sound in words, sentences and in conversation. A therapist would be able to gain a lot more if you work alongside the therapist and at his/her pace with your child. For instance, if the therapist is working on a particular sound at word level – get the child to practice that, using word lists or fun games, as often as possible. Remember, articulation therapy for children is most effective when reinforced consistently in real-life situations at home and school. Please note that these are basic guidelines for articulation therapy. A child’s individual assessment results would guide a speech therapist for specific inputs which may include working on listening to sound and sound pairs or practicing specific sounds before the other (different from above) etc.