Forming the right speech is part of education. Sometimes some factors impede this process, and then defects appear. One of the most common problems for preschoolers is the sounds “c”, “w”. How to overcome difficulties?
Speech development in children
No child has learned to speak immediately. However, the formation of speech is a process that begins almost from birth. Talking with the baby, parents help him understand how people communicate, how different intonations and sounds differ. Then the child begins to try to repeat the words for adults, forms his own language, based on the mother. Finally, there is a turning point - a small person begins to communicate using phrases that are understandable to parents and others. But the development process does not end there. Vocabulary, improving articulation, the differentiation of sounds and words both by ear and in conversation - all this must be given due attention. Often all these processes occur on their own, but sometimes children need help. And in this case, the main thing is to notice errors in time and not allow the wrong model to gain a foothold in memory. Otherwise, there is a risk of transferring all problems to writing, and getting rid of it will be much more difficult.
Whistling and hissing sounds
In the process of becoming speech and expanding vocabulary, it often happens that the speech apparatus does not allow the baby to pronounce everything correctly. The fact is that the active assimilation of the phonetic system begins at 1.5 and ends by about 5 years. At the same time, several stages are distinguished.
The child grows, and with it his capabilities. At first, some sounds are mixed or replaced with simpler ones in education. In fact, the lingual, hissing, and trembling [p] and [p '] present the greatest difficulty for children. Their development occurs almost in the last turn - by 5-6 years. Prior to this, there is a tendency to soften, stun and simplify. So, whistling sounds quite successfully replace hissing. However, having mastered the correct pronunciation of the most difficult phonemes for himself, the child can begin to use them even where it is not required. And then you need to help him fix everything before a habit appears.
To a speech therapist: when and why
Underdeveloped speech is a common problem, for example, in children brought up in a bilingual family. In addition, the features of the formation of each child are individual, but there are certain signs, having noticed which, you can begin to think about visiting a specialist. Having diagnosed, a speech therapist will identify problems that need correction. So, often it is necessary to differentiate the sounds [w] - [s], [p] - [l], [h] - [s] and some others. The specialist will develop a suitable program that includes integrated work on problem pairs.
It is worth remembering that although correction is possible even in adulthood, it is much simpler and more effective in the period up to 12 years. Noticing that for a long time errors do not disappear, do not close your eyes to this. This can be caused by anatomical causes or psychological problems.
Improving and correcting articulation
While talking, people do not think that by pronouncing these or those sounds, they use a huge amount of muscles. And on how the child developed at an early age, it may depend on whether he will encounter problems in the future.
There is a special articulation gymnastics, which must be carried out several times a day. It will allow you to develop and strengthen the facial muscles, which will positively affect the child’s ability to correctly pronounce certain sounds, including hissing with whistles.
Differentiation
[C] - [w] - a pair that is quite common in speech therapists, requiring differentiation. Game methods, finger gymnastics, even dancing and physical exercises, colorful pictures and illustrative examples, all these are the weapons of specialists in the fight against speech defects, because classes should not be boring.
Neglecting the correct pronunciation of vowels can be a mistake, because it is they who bind the words together. If necessary, work should be done to relax the facial muscles and the formation of the skills of proper movements. For this, the speech therapist pronounces all phonemes exaggeratedly and slowly, explaining where the organs involved in sound formation should be.
Mechanism and steps
The solution to the problem should be comprehensive. In this case, it is necessary to use several channels of perception at once: auditory, visual, tactile, etc. So, usually the preliminary correction takes place according to the following scheme:
- Refinement of articulation of sounds. With the help of a mirror or a teacher, a child can see how facial muscles should work, hear how a particular phonetic unit is pronounced correctly, feel the flow of exhaled air and the position of the tongue, lips, etc.
- Highlighting sound in a syllable. Exercises include imitation of speech, the child must recognize phonemes by ear and be able to repeat them.
- Highlighting sound in a word. The task is becoming more complicated as polysyllabic language units come into play . It is necessary to exclude examples with phonemes similar in acoustic properties.
- Linking to other sounds. At this stage, the child determines in which part of the word the phoneme is located, what goes before or after it.
- Highlighting sound in a sentence. This is the final stage.
The main part of the work, that is, the direct differentiation of the sounds [w] - [s], is done by comparing them. An important role in this case is played by the skills of phonetic analysis acquired at the preliminary stage.
A standard lesson with children under 8 years old lasts up to half an hour, depending on perseverance and performance in each case.
Self study
The effectiveness of work on the correct speech will certainly increase if, in addition to the specialist, the parents exercise with the child. Ask about a speech therapist’s homework methodology or develop it yourself. After the auditory differentiation is made [c] - [w], sounds should be distinguished in the sense of pronunciation. In order to teach a child to correctly stack phonemes with each other, regular exercises should be carried out to imitate the following syllables: sa, so, su, sha, sho, shu. To continue the process, that is, in order to integrate the received units into words and sentences, the so-called clean-words are used. Ultimately, the correct pronunciation of sounds in each case will not cause any difficulties and will be automatic. Then we can assume that the differentiation of sounds [w] - [s] is complete.
The importance of the right attitude
Of course, many mothers are very worried, discovering that the child is imperfect in their development. Too much psychological stress can affect children, including how it manifests itself in the form of speech defects. First of all, it is necessary to moderate perfectionism somewhat, reduce the requirements (yes, this is a person, but small!), Make the child understand that he will be loved at all costs.
The differentiation of sounds [w] - [c] or any other should take place in a friendly atmosphere, you should not scold or punish children for unintentional mistakes, but you can only correct and insist on the correct pronunciation. This requires love and patience.