By Pam Marshalla
Q: My 4-year-old client has no strident sounds and I was thinking about starting with S. Is this right? And how should I teach it? Whether or not to start with S as your first strident sound depends entirely on the client. Here is advice to get you going: Expand Your Horizons Don’t just look at the strident sounds (S, Z, Sh, Zh, CH, and J). Look at all 11 fricatives and affricates together—Th, Th, F, V, S, Z, Sh,…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client has no back sounds, and he substitutes Sh and Ch for S. I cannot get a good S out of him. I have tried straws and the Ts technique you talk about, but he always makes a Sh or Ch. What do you think I should try next? I think you should try putting more attention on his tongue-tip to stimulate S and Z. The following excerpt about improving awareness and control of the tongue-tip is from…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My 2-year-old daughter has to get her four front teeth extracted because of decay. The doctor told me that there could be speech disorders. She doesn’t speak as much as other kids of her age and she started walking a little late. After these teeth are extracted I am worried that she is going to stop trying to talk and become even more timid. What can I do? You have two things going on that have different impacts on…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Can you advise me as to how to treat prevocalic devoicing of stops? This is what I have found works for me- Voice It’s all about “voice on” vs. “voice off” so begin by teaching the client about his voice. Have him place his fingers on his neck to feel the vibration or lack thereof when he turns his voice on and when he turns it off. Vowels Use “Ah” and whispered “Ah” to teach him to turn his…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Can I expect correct articulation on S, Z, Sh, ZH, CH, J, T, D, N, and L when my client has a tongue crib that fills the entire alveolar ridge? The orthodontist is recommending SL therapy for the phonemes and to fix the swallow. In my experience clients usually cannot produce any of their lingua-alveolar and/or sibilant sounds correctly as long as an appliance like that is in the mouth. The appliance distorts sound, especially stridency. I usually do…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: How do you teach Sh and Ch when a client has a lateral lisp? Start with Sh–– Have the client smile and produce an exaggerated Long E–– Eeeee. Then tell him to hold his tongue in the E position and pant. He will be making a gross Sh at that point. Now have him keep panting in that way and round the lips. He will be saying Sh. Then go to Ch–– Have the client prolong Sh–– Shhhhhhhhhhh. While prolonging…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client can do S and Sh correctly, but I cannot get him to do Ch. Ideas? Van Riper used a term that applies here. He said the “association method” was the process of using a phoneme the client already can produce to teach him to say a phoneme he cannot produce. In this case, the easiest way to do this is to use Sh to teach Ch. Think about how we transcribe Ch. It is /t∫/. This means…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My student is unable to produce the Sh sound and it sounds very slushy. When he tries to say the sound, I noticed that he puffs up his cheeks with air. How can I get him to not do this and make that air flow come out the front? Here is what Nemoy and Davis (1937) would have done–– Have him make a Long E–– “Eeeeeeeee.” Make it be a strong, exaggerated, very smiley, and prolonged E. Super-exaggerate it….
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have been using your cornerstone approach from Frontal Lisp, Lateral Lisp successfully with my students for /s/ and /z/. It has been very helpful! Thank you! However I have a couple of students who are left with a lateral Sh (“shoe”), Ch (“chop”), J (“jump”) and Zh (“beige”). I have been combing your book and working very hard doing oral motor for lateral margins and the bowl shape, but I am still having difficulty with sound production. Help!…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I finally have a boy saying his “Sh” and “Ch” sounds using your techniques. But he is having a hard time transitioning to words like “pinched” or “benched.” I would appreciate your suggestions as to how to help him. I would have him pause between the “Ch” and the “T” like this: Pinched = Pinch…(pause)…T! Benched = Bench…(pause)…T! Then shorten the pause between the Ch and the T until they sound like the cluster they are.
