Jj is for Jottings 139. Speech Sound Problems:/s/.
Probably one of the first sounds that springs to mind when one thinks of speech sound problems would be /s/ and, more specifically, a lisp. (Remember that the slashes / / mean that we pronounce the sound; ‘s‘ or s means to say the letter name. I think I may have done both at some point. Certainly it is underlined in Aa is for Alpacas.)
The word “lisp” generally refers to the tongue tip protruding between the teeth for /s,z/. (Note that /s,z/ are minimal pairs, and therefore have the same error. For the sake of ease I shall refer to just /s/ from now on, but remember that what refers to /s/ also refers to /z/.) Some definitions of a lisp are much broader, and refer to any speech sound problem involving any or all sibilant sounds. Since this is cause for confusion, I am not going to use the term “lisp” at all. This particular /s/ problem is called an interdental /s/. “Inter” means “between”, and of course “dental” means “teeth”, so there can be no confusion about what it is. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 138. Brain Gym.
WHAT IS BRAIN GYM?
Brain gym is a series of movements which claim to enhance whole-brain learning. An alternative term is “educational kinesiology”. The word “education” comes from the Latin educare, which means “to draw out”. “Kinesiology” is from the Greek root kinesis, which means “motion” and is the study of the movement of the human body. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 137. Auditory Processing Disorders.
Following on from auditory skills and developing auditory processing skills, we now turn our attention to auditory processing disorders. There are so many conflicting ideas in the literature as to exactly what constitutes auditory skills. One could really become bogged down by this and therefore any resulting disorders. There is even disagreement as to whether it should be “auditory processing disorders” or “central auditory processing disorders.” I’ve decided to go with the thinking that “central” implies problems only at the brain level and consequently limits the definition.
Auditory processing disorders – attempting to prevent them is a good policy.
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Jj is for Jottings 136. Developing Auditory Processing Skills.
Following on from the article on auditory skills, we turn to the topic of developing auditory processing skills. An article on communication milestones from 12 months to 5 years can be found here. But now we will explore the development of auditory processing skills in a little more detail.
One general way of developing auditory processing skills is to read to your children.
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Jj is for Jottings 131. Learning Vocabulary.
Learning vocabulary – the words a person knows and uses – is a lifelong process. Talking to and reading with your child right from the start is a good recipe for a child to develop a rich vocabulary. I have talked about vocabulary in previous articles, mainly in the context of reading with children and children reading for themselves. But, given that vocabulary is so important, I thought it was worth going into a little further.
Learning Vocabulary. The User Guide in “Aa is for Alpacas” explains how to use the book to enhance vocabulary skills.
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Jj is for Jottings 130. Auditory Skills.
Auditory skills underpin the development of speech, language and literacy. Therefore it is vitally important to be aware of these skills and, wherever possible, assist our children to develop them.
WHAT ARE AUDITORY SKILLS?
Auditory skills include the following: Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 116. Children Who Own Books Read More.
OWNING BOOKS BENEFITS READING.
Children who own books are six times more likely to read. And they are more likely to read above the expected level for their age. The UK-based charity, The National Literacy Trust, did a survey of more than 56,000 children from all over the UK, ranging from ages 9 to 18. The survey revealed that 22 % of children who own books read above the expected level for their age. But only 3.6% of children who did not own a book read above the expected age level. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 102. Effect of Vowel Shapes on Consonant Sounds.
Following on from the previous article on Vowel Shapes, we will talk about the effect of vowel shapes on consonant sounds. This is especially important in sound production for speech therapy and also useful when learning sound-letter links. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you read the previous article first, to make sense of what follows.
Effects of vowel shapes on consonant sounds. This vowel is /ah/. It doesn’t have much effect on any consonant sounds because it is quite neutral in shape.
Here are some common examples of how the vowel shape can influence the production of a consonant. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are major examples which crop up all the time. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 90. The Effects of Screen Time on Children.
Avoiding the effects of screen time on children – Zara, Amy, Seth and Zack reading “Aa is for Alpacas” AND outside.
By now, there have been many studies done on the effects of screen time on children. My own observations on this subject are here and here. And here is an article on parental concerns about screen time. So, let’s have a look at some of the recent research. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 68. Communication Milestones.
Here is a chart put together by a group from Queensland and the National Office of Speech Pathology Australia which you may find useful.
Here is the link if you want to print copies.
www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/milestones