Clarity Accent Modification

For more information, please visit https://www.clarityaccent.com The English language is notorious for being inconsistent with spelling and pronunciation. Learn how to pronounce these tricky words correctly in Standard American English (western states).

PROSODY: It's not always what you say, but how you say it! Learn how to use the proper speed, pitch, volume and word stress to get your message across.

For more information, please visit https://www.clarityaccent.com

How to pronounce various health care vocab words and the importance of correct syllable stress and final consonants.

The 'Y' sound  in 'year' vs 'ear'.  Listening to the difference between 'R' and 'L' words.  The 'OR' sound.

VOWELS:  Examples of how to produce vowels in American Standard English (western US).

In this 10-minute video, I’m going to teach you how to improve your child’s speech and language in just 10 minutes a day!

Many children begin to stutter around 2-3 years old.  Fortunately, about 75% of those will recover on their own, but currently there is no way to predict who will and who won’t.  We do know that the longer a child continues to stutter, the more resistant to treatment the problem can be.  For this reason, it is better to treat stuttering early, while the child is still in the pre-school age group.

What causes fluency issues?  Although we don’t know exactly, there are several risk factors for persistent stuttering:

• being male

So how can you help your child who stutters? There are a few basic things you can do as a parent:

• Be patient, don’t interrupt.

In addition, check in with a speech-language pathologist (SLP) to get an assessment of the severity of the condition and to learn about treatment methods specific for your child.  In general, research shows that these methods have been the most helpful for preschool children:

1. LIDCOMBE METHOD1 – this is a behavioral approach and requires the parents to provide feedback regarding the child’s speech constantly and consistently, both during structured practice sessions and during everyday conversations.

1. For fluent speech, the parent:

1. Praises. (Good job! You sounded great!)

• Acknowledges the child’s fluent speech matter-of-factly. (That last sentence was smooth with no bumps.)

1. For non-fluent speech, the parent:

1. Acknowledges the child’s non-fluent speech matter-of-factly. (That last sentence was a bit bumpy.)

1. DEMANDS AND CAPACITIES MODEL2– this treatment is based on the theory that stuttering occurs when the language demands placed on a growing child are greater than his current skills or capacities – hence the name ‘Demands and Capacities’. The treatment revolves around reducing the child’s motor, language, emotional and cognitive demands using techniques such as:

1. Decreasing the child’s rate of speech and the motor complexity of words while at the same time practicing exercises to increase motor skills. (Slow down, use shorter words, practice speech skills.)

1. Syllable-Timed Speech3, 4 – This method is one of the simplest to implement, in my opinion. You simply have the child practice ‘robot speech’, where each syllable is separated briefly from the others. So the sentence, “I want macaroni and cheese for dinner”, would be said like this:  “I-want-mac-a-ro-ni-and-cheese-for-din-ner.” Sometimes it helps to have the child clap each syllable as they speak.  This technique slows down their speech while also breaking it up into more manageable segments.

The bottom line is that there is no one quick and easy fix for fluency issues.  It takes time and patience and practice to see improvements in your child’s speech.

I hope this has been helpful to you.  For lots of great information about fluency disorders, visit The Stuttering Foundation at https://www.stutteringhelp.org/.

1hhttps://www.lidcombeprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/lp_treatment_guide_2015.pdf

2See Franken, M.C. & Putker-de Bruijn, D. (2007). Restart-DCM Method. Treatment protocol developed within the scope of the ZonMW project Cost-effectiveness of the Demands and Capacities Model based treatment compared to the Lidcombe programme of early stuttering intervention: Randomised trial. http://www.nedverstottertherapie.nl  Retrieved from: https://nedverstottertherapie.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/RESTART-DCM.Method.-English.pdf

3Trajkovski, N., et al. Using syllable-timed speech to treat preschool children who stutter: A multiple baseline experiment. Journal of Fluency Disorders (2009), doi:10.1016/j.jfludis.2009.01.001.  Retrieved from:  http://www.unm.edu/~atneel/shs531/syll_timed_tx.pdf

4Andrews C, O'Brian S, Harrison E, Onslow M, Packman A, Menzies R. Syllable-timed speech treatment for school-age children who stutter: a phase I trial. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2012 Jul;43(3):359-69. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2012/11-0038). Epub 2012 May 4. PMID: 22562864. Retrieved from:  https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2012/11-0038)

PRACTICE MAKES…PERMANENT

The other day I was talking to my husband about the phrase “Practice makes perfect,” and he said, “No, that’s not true.  It is ‘Perfect practice makes perfect.  Practice makes permanent.”

And I thought about that and how that phrase really does apply to speech.   Think about the child who goes to his speech therapist at school and is taught how to make the ‘R’ sound, putting his tongue in the right place, keeping it back and tight, etc.  Then he goes home and practices it the wrong way each night. Practicing it the wrong way will become a permanent behavior just like the original bad habit was permanent.  If he learns how to say the sound incorrectly, it will take a lot of practicing it the new way to fix that behavior.  That’s why it is so important to make sure your child is practicing his sounds correctly at home, and to do that, you have to know the right way to teach the sound.  If you’re not sure how to practice that sound with your child, you can check out online information or follow my courses at www.clarityspeechandlanguage.com.

Remember, PERFECT practice makes perfect!

DOES MY CHILD HAVE A TONGUE THRUST?

What is it?  A tongue thrust is when the child’s swallow pattern never changes from the ‘reverse swallow’ pattern that babies use.  The tongue continues to push forward toward the front teeth when swallowing.  The child’s tongue may also do this during speech.  This could cause a lisp, but not all lisps are caused by tongue thrust.

How can you tell if your child has a tongue thrust?  Your child may breathe with his mouth open a lot, and his tongue may rest in a forward position.  He may have trouble pronouncing sounds like S and Z because the tongue wants to push forward, creating a lisp.  He may be a messy eater and drinker because the tongue is pushing forward during eating.  And, strangely enough, the child may grimace or lick his lips before swallowing, causing them to become chapped.  A true tongue thrust will likely cause orthodontic problems and the child may develop an open bite or an overbite as a result of the frequent pressure of the tongue pushing against the top teeth.

A simple test to see if it's a true tongue thrust is to have your child put some liquid in his mouth, part his lips, and swallow.  If any liquid escapes out between his teeth, he probably has a tongue thrust (because his tongue is pushing forward causing the liquid to spill out).

If your child does have a tongue thrust, talk to your dentist to see if an orthodontic device is warranted to keep your child’s tongue away from the front teeth.  A speech-language pathologist can help your child practice correct pronunciation of S, Z, and other sounds that may be affected.

To learn more about how to practice the S and Z sounds, please see my online course for parents at www.clarityspeechandlanguage.com.