Super Star Speech

You may have heard of  “apraxia,” but are unsure exactly what it is. Perhaps you have wondered whether your child’s speech problem falls under this category.  The official term for apraxia, approved by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), is “childhood apraxia of speech.”  Adults can also be diagnosed with “apraxia of speech,” but this generally refers to an acquired disorder.

Most children with articulation disorders have errors that follow  a predictable developmental pattern. Certain sounds, like /p/, /b/, /m/, /n/, /w/ are mastered first and are consistently produced correctly. More difficult sounds, such as /th/, /r/, and /ch/ are usually mastered later. Most children with articulation delays have no trouble with vowels or the rhythm of speech.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a deficit in the motor planning and programming of speech.  It is a neurologically-based disorder. Children with CAS have severe speech problems that don’t follow developmental patterns. Some of the indicators of Childhood Apraxia of Speech are:

-Inconsistent errors–A child may produce a sound in one context, but not in another. The child may make different errors when repeating the same word or phrase several times.

-Pauses between the sounds and syllables of a word

-Abnormal rhythm of speech

-Difficulty producing vowels

-More errors in longer and more complex utterances

-Unusual errors

Treatment of apraxia requires different therapy techniques from standard articulation therapy. If you suspect that your child may have apraxia, it is important to seek assessment and treatment from a speech-language-pathologist with experience in this area.

F and V are fairly easy sounds to teach because they are produced at the front of the mouth, making it easy for the child to watch and imitate. Children who have trouble with these sounds commonly substitute P for F and B for V, although other errors may also be made.  The F  and V sounds should be mastered by age four.
F and V are produced by touching the upper teeth to the lower lip. F is produced by passing the breath between the teeth and lip. V is produced in the same way with the voice “turned on.”
Teaching Tips:
1. F and V are easy sounds to teach because the placement is so easy to see. Instruct the child to “bite his lip and blow” to produce F. After the F is produced, instruct him to “turn his voice on” to produce the V.  Use of a mirror may be helpful.
2. Work on auditory discrimination between the error sound and F or V. (“Is this a pig or a fig?”)
3. If V is not being vocalized, thereby sounding like an F, have the child feel the vibrations on his neck while saying the sound. Produce V before or after a vowel (“Va, Vee, uh-V”).

Super Star Speech: Speech Therapy Made Simple includes more tips and instructions, word lists, picture cards and practice activities to help parents teach /f/ and /v/, as well as most other speech sounds to their children.

What causes an articulation disorder? Why do some children have perfect speech at age three while others are difficult to understand at age seven?

There are many causes of articulation disorders. Some children have a hearing loss, either permanent or intermittent loss caused by frequent ear infections. When children go through the critical language learning period of birth to three years, it is very important that they be able to clearly hear those around them. Even a mild loss may make it difficult for the child to differentiate sounds, making it harder for him to master those sounds in his own speech. Hearing deficits account for over 10% of all speech defects.

Other children have physical disabilities that hinder them from producing accurate articulation. Certainly, structural differences, such as cleft palate can cause difficulties with nasality or articulation. Other children have a tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) that may be undiagnosed, yet prevent them from raising the tongue enough to produce the tongue-tip sounds, although this is seldom a significant factor.

Neuromuscular problems, such as cerebral palsy, can affect the control of the speech mechanism. These include dysarthria and apraxia. Dysarthria is a problem with the motor control of the speech mechanism while apraxia is a problem with the coordination of speech.

Children with overall developmental delays often have corresponding delays in the development of both language and articulation skills. It is always advisable to consider a child’s mental age when assessing his speech and language skills.

In most cases, however, there is no known cause for the articulation delay. Most children with articulation delays have no other disabilities. Their language skills are normal. Their home environments are loving and stimulating, and they are of normal intelligence. While it is wise for parents to obtain advice and assistance dealing with their children’s speech errors, they are in no way at fault.

When a speech-language pathologist evaluates a child, he or she will consider the possible causes of a disorder.  These contributing factors will often need to be addressed or at least considered in the treatment decisions. Ultimately, however,  the primary focus  will be on remediation, whether or not any cause is apparent.

I am sometimes asked about tongue thrust–what it is,  how it impacts speech, and what to do about it.

All babies have a tongue thrust or reverse swallow. When the baby swallows, his tongue pushes forward toward his gums or front teeth, if he has them. Think about feeding a baby pureed food. The baby’s tongue pushes forward, pushing some of the food back out of his mouth. The adult scoops the food off his lips and face with the spoon and puts it back in his mouth and the cycle continues.  As babies mature, they learn, not only to keep their lips closed when they swallow, but to effectively move the food back toward the throat with a more mature swallow.

In the mature swallow, the tongue tip is held on the alveolar (gum) ridge behind the top front teeth and the tongue efficiently moves the food backward with a rolling motion. Children should have a normal, adult swallow by the time they are 7.

Sometimes, however, a child continues to tongue thrust or reverse swallow. When this occurs, generally his teeth are slightly separated, the tongue presses forward against or between the front teeth, and the lips are tightly closed to prevent the tongue from protruding. Many children who have a tongue thrust are mouth breathers, often due to either allergies or enlarged tonsils/ adenoids, causing the tongue to sit between or against the front teeth at rest. Then, when they swallow, the tongue pushes forward against the teeth.

How can I know if my child has a tongue thrust?

-The most obvious answer is to have him evaluated by a speech pathologist. But you may be able to diagnose this yourself.

-Is he a mouth breather? Does he keep his tongue between his front teeth when at rest? These are signs that he likely has a tongue thrust.

-Have him take a sip of water and observe his swallow. Try to pry his lips apart during the swallow. There should not be any forward movement of the tongue. Generally, children with a tongue thrust are unable to swallow with their lips parted.

What are the results of a tongue thrust?

-The tongue is a very strong muscle. If it is pressing against the front teeth during thousands of  swallows a day, it will most likely cause the teeth to protrude. If this happens, the tongue thrust must be corrected before orthodontic work is done or the the teeth will quickly move out of place again.

-The strong habit of tongue protrusion often affects the speech patterns. The most typical speech errors seen with a tongue thrust  are a “th” for “s” or “z” substitution. In more severe cases, all of the tongue tip sounds (t, d, n, ch, sh, j) can be affected. It can be difficult to correct these speech errors when there is an uncorrected tongue thrust.

What should be done?

-If your child is under seven, give the issue more time.  If your child is seven or older, find a speech pathologist who is experienced in tongue thrust therapy. Be prepared to supervise your child with tongue exercises one or more times a day. It will take a lot of practice to change this ingrained habit.

-If your child is a mouth breather, try to find the cause. If he cannot comfortably breathe through his nose due to allergies or enlarged tonsils and adenoids, this problem needs to be corrected first.

-Encourage your child to keep his lips and back teeth together and his tongue at rest on the upper gum ridge. Having him hold a Tic-Tac or orthodontic rubber band in place with his tongue for 10-20 minutes a day can encourage this habit.

As with all speech and language issues, I encourage you to be alert to your child’s development and to seek professional advice and take action when necessary.

Super Star Speech (R&L is the program we used) is excellently titled. This gem of a program not only captivated Precious Jewel and kept a smile on her face, but I could see her slowly (and happily) correcting herself in every day situations once we started this program.

My little girl can enunciate most of her words very clearly. Two years ago at the public library (she was 5), she asked one of the librarians if there was a particular DVD available to borrow. The librarian told her it was out at the moment. Precious Jewel was truly looking forward to that DVD, and out of her mouth came, “This is a calamity!”clear as day. The librarian looked surprised and asked me if Precious Jewel had indeed just said that word and used it in context. I told her yes.

So, Precious Jewel can say most things correctly, but she has always had trouble with her R’s. B used to say when she was 1 1/2 years old that she needed speech therapy, but I knew that would do more damage than good and I prolonged it as long as possible, and finally sat down with him and told him when she was 3 that if he made her go it would not be advantageous for her or for us. I gave him information I found about appropriate ages for sounds, etc. Some people just need to see a professionally paid person to tell them how to do something correctly.

Thankfully, Deborah Lott, creator of Super Star R&L, whom has a Master’s degree in education and speech pathology, understands that a parent can teach their own child from the comfort of home, assisting parents to encourage their children. She has designed the lessons and games in such an appealing, family-friendly way. She also wants to take it nice and easy with teaching a child to correctly enunciate their words.

The best thing about this program for me was that it did not make feel compelled to squish it into our weekly schedule. I want to pull it out, and each time has been a lot of fun for both Precious Jewel and I. She still needs some assistance, but this is doing a lot of good for her.

Super Star Speech: R&L costs $18.95, and is worthy every penny. If you have a child you suspect has speech delays or impediments, this is a worth-while investment!

Want to learn more about this program from other homeschooling families? Check out a plethora of reviews at The Crew’s blog!

I received this product for free in exchange for a written account of my personal opinions. No financial compensation was given, and I am allowed to keep this awesome book!

This review was written by “God’s Dancing Child” at D.A.I.L.Y.