Many 4-5-year-olds are characterized by the incorrect pronunciation of the so-called hissing sounds: Sh, F, Ch, Shch. The matter is quite fixable if the baby has no disturbances in the structure of the articulatory apparatus and healthy physical hearing, there are no disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system. Regular special exercises under the guidance of a speech therapist will help get rid of this defect quickly enough and achieve automation of sounds W, F in sentences.
Articulating Sound
The ability to distinguish the sounds of native speech by ear (phonemic perception), as well as the correct sound pronunciation in a child, is normally completely formed by about four years.
The pronunciation of any sound requires the correct position and unity of action of all organs of speech. This is called his articulation. It is organized by the speech centers of the brain and its subcortical formations. The pronunciation is subject to auditory control.
Three organs are involved in the articulation of the “Sh” sound:
- Lips - open (visible teeth), slightly elongated.
- Teeth - slightly open.
- The tongue is wide, hanging between the teeth and the sky. The middle is concave (“spoon”), the edges touch the upper teeth.
There is no voice, exhale is strong. With this arrangement of the organs of speech, the passage of the exhaled stream of air is provided, warm and wide, in the center of the tongue, as a result of which a characteristic hiss forms.
Causes of Sound Disorders
The inability to utter a sound (in this case ) is not necessarily the result of an incorrect speech pattern in the people around the child. Often it has roots in pathologies or anatomical defects, which limits or makes it impossible to correct articulation:
- a short hyoid ligament (bridle) does not allow the tip of the tongue to rise up;
- hard sky is too high;
- disproportionately large or small tongue, forked tip;
- deformation of jaws, teeth, malocclusion;
- cleft lips, soft palate;
- hearing impairment, up to deafness;
- impaired perception of sounds due to dysfunction of the central nervous system;
- mental retardation.
These defects can be congenital or acquired as a result of injuries. They can not be overcome only by the efforts of a speech therapist. In such cases, consultation and treatment with specialists is required.
Types of pronunciation violations
In the absence of anatomical defects and normal intelligence in the child, the speech therapist will determine the cause of the absence, distortion of the sound, which is called sigmatism, or its replacement with another sound (parasigmatism).
Kind of sigmatism of hissing sounds | Reason and as expressed |
Interdental | Tongue between teeth. Lisp |
Dental | The lower lip is raised, forming a small gap for exhalation; tip of tongue down. Fuzzy pronunciation, illegible sound |
Side (single or double sided) | The tongue touches the alveoli, the lateral part is rotated, air passes along its sides. Squelching is heard |
Nasal | The tongue is raised behind, the sky is lowered, a stream of air is directed to the nose. A fuzzy “X” forms with a nasal shade. |
Elite | The tip of the tongue is adjacent to the edges of the lower and upper teeth, W is replaced by T: “tube” (fur coat) |
can be replaced by (parasigmatism) or other sounds (“sarf”, “porcelain” instead of “scarf”).
Sound pronunciation correction sequence
The accumulated experience requires the following sequence of setting the pronunciation of sound (as well as any other):
- Make sure that there are no defects in the structure of the articulation apparatus. If available, recommend that parents consult a specialist.
- If there are no defects, but the child incorrectly or hesitantly performs the movements necessary for the pronunciation of the sound, articulatory exercises are mandatory for him.
- Check the state of auditory attention and sound perception. If their development is insufficient, carry out special corrective exercises (gymnastics).
- Sound setting.
- Its automation.
As for another defective sound, the staging of the sound “W” in words and sentences first goes by imitating an adult's speech, and then they ask the child to recall or invent and pronounce them.
Sound Automation Rules
A clear multiple pronunciation of sound after setting it is an indicator that you can proceed to its automation. Its result will be clear sound in any position in a word, sentence, connected text, or directly in communication.
If the child has a defective pronunciation of other sounds, then they should not be used in speech material when automating the sound "" in phrases and sentences. This will help to avoid their consolidation in the speech of the child.
The transition from a simple stage of automation of sound to the next, more complex, should be carried out if the child is already confident in his pronunciation:
- in syllables (direct, reverse), with a combination of consonants;
- in words in different positions of sounds;
- in phrases;
- in sentences, first in simple ones;
- in pure phrases, short verses and prose, saturated with W and other sounds that the child needs automation.
From the slow repetition of pronunciation patterns for adults, one should gradually proceed to an increase in the rate of pronunciation of syllables, words, sentences, tongue twisters. Under this condition, the automation of sound in sentences and free speech proceeds faster, since at the same time the skills of self-control over it also improve.
Learning to distinguish (differentiate) sounds
It is replaced by other sounds a lot (parasigmatism), but more often the child pronounces S. instead.
Learning to distinguish between mixed sounds must begin by explaining and showing the differences in their articulation. Further, the child receives more complicated tasks to repeatedly pronounce these sounds, alternating in different versions and with a gradual increase in pace: Sh-S, S-Sh; Sh-Sh - S-S; S-S - Sh-Sh. Onomatopoeia: a snake hisses, oozing water from a tap, air coming out of a ball.
Sounds in direct and reverse syllables, in words and sentences are differentiated differently.
Effective differentiation and automation of sound in sentences occurs with the obligatory connection of other analyzers. For example, you can put pictures with objects in the name of which there are sounds C - W, in envelopes: in the first - with the sound C, in the second - with the sound S. Or else: the teacher calls the words (reads a short story), and the children clap hands, having heard a given sound, then they call or draw pictures from memory.
The child’s inventing sentences, short stories based on visual material can be supplemented by the task of using words with differentiable sounds. Preliminarily consider the picture and determine what these words are (pure sky, clear sun, girl Sonya, boy Shura, etc.).
Lesson preparation
The teacher should think over the methods of maintaining interest in the lesson, since repeated monotonous tasks, for example, on the automation of sound in sentences, cause rapid fatigue in children.
Handout and demonstration visual material (toys, pictures and pictures, objects), texts, sentences should be understandable for the child, and preferably of a cognitive nature.
You can invite all children to control the correctness of the assignment with one child or, conversely, one of them to help the teacher monitor how other children act.
Encourages in the form of prizes, drawing stars in a notebook, sticking pictures for correctly and quickly completed tasks stimulate the activities of children in the classroom. You can pre-prepare letterhead forms for parents with information on how well their child worked in class (at the end, the name of the child is entered in it and given to him for transmission to the parents in the evening).
Consultations for parents and carers
This is one of the essential elements of a speech therapist. At general or individual consultations for educators, he will tell you what practical help he expects from them, what are the difficulties in working on children's speech; what exercises, tasks for children, for example, on the automation of sound in sentences, he considers it possible to include in other classes in kindergarten. Such work can be carried out outside of classes, on walks, individually or with small subgroups of children.
Other teachers can include assignments for children to automate sound in sentences and texts in music lessons, in fine arts activities, in acquaintance with literature, in physical exercises, etc.
For example, children will be given the task of drawing three objects in the name of which there is this sound, and they will come up with sentences with them.
Introducing children to literature, the teacher will choose a suitable passage from the work and invite the children to retell it in order to automate the sound in sentences.
In a music lesson, a music worker will turn on a singing exercise at a different pace and with a different volume of a pure-speech with the sound of Sh.
Consultations for parents can be individual and group. The specialist will bring to their attention the techniques and rules for working with the child, recommends exercises, texts, games, the purpose of which is to automate the sound in words and sentences.
The success of this work with children, like any other, largely depends on how purposefully and in a coordinated manner all adults will act.
A few tips for parents
Violations of sound pronunciation can be independent, and part of more serious hidden defects in the psychophysiological development of the child. When identifying them, it is necessary to conduct a thorough examination and get advice from specialists.
The help of a speech therapist-defectologist should not be neglected: organized systematic classes for the development of speech with a child in most cases lead to good results.
Parents who are not specialists in speech therapy should engage in self-education: read methodical literature, take the initiative in obtaining advice, master the methods and techniques of working on a child’s speech. The presence in the classroom in the office of a speech therapist will allow you to see its subtleties.
Do not force the speech therapy process, striving for the earliest possible results. For example, “stepping over” through sound automation in simple sentences will delay its appearance in complex speech constructions.
Learning the correct sound perception and sound pronunciation begins at an early age, provided that he hears the correct speech pattern from the adults around him.