/k/ Archives - North Shore Pediatric Therapy

5 Tips on How to Respond to Articulation Errors

A child who is still developing his or her articulation skills may need some feedback in order to fix speech errors and improve intelligibility.

The following tips will help you respond to a child who produces articulation errors:

Repeat the misarticulated word in your response with a slight emphasis on the target word. For example, if the student says, “I want the wed pencil,” you can respond, “Okay—here is the red”
Describe features about the misarticulated sound. For example, “The /s/ is a hissy sound. The air goes sssss like a snake hissing” or “The /v/ is made when our teeth bite down on our lip.”
Give the child a consistent visual cue for the target sound, such as dragging a finger across the lips for /m/ or putting a thumb under the chin for /k/ or /g/.
For a child who can read, contrast sounds that contain the correct sound and the incorrect sound by writing them out. For example, you can write out thin fin and show the child that one is made with a th and the other with an f.
If you know that the child is able to produce the target sound, give him or her feedback on what you heard. You can say, “I heard you say doe, did you mean doe or go?” or feign difficulty understanding, such as, “You want to doe home? What do you mean, doe home?”

If you are unable to determine what word the child is trying to say, refer to this article for more tips: https://nspt4kids.wpengine.com/parenting/helping-your-child-with-articulation-difficulties/.

As a parent or a teacher, it is important to acknowledge attempts at communication while providing feedback on speech sound production. If your child continues to demonstrate speech sound errors or is frustrated with his or her speech, seek out the advice of a speech-language pathologist.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!

Pronunciation Library /k/

in Speech Language Pathology

How do you say a /k/?

A /k/ is produced with the back of the tongue raised, creating a complete blockage of the outward airflow in the back of the mouth. The build-up of air pressure occurs until the tongue moves away from the top of the mouth and releases the air.

Types of Misarticulations & Pronunciation Suggestions

The most common misarticulation of a /k/ is substituting it for a /t/. Ex: “tat” for “cat”

To try and elicit a /k/ you can use a tongue depressor to hold down the front half of the tongue during production or try gargling with the head tilted backward before trying to produce the /k/ sound.
Once you have achieved /k/ in isolation, try pronouncing it by combining the /k/ with back vowels. These vowels best facilitate the pronunciation of /k/.

Did you know?

/k/ is among the top 10 most frequently occurring consonants!
/k/ can occur at the beginning or end of a word.
Consonant clusters with /ks/ at the end can signal plurality

References:

Bauman-Waengler, J. (2012). Articulatory and phonological impairments: A clinical focus. (4^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

Help Your Child Pronounce /k/ and /g/

in Parenting, Speech and Language

/k/ sounds, like in “car,” and /g/ sounds, like in “go,” are among the earlier developing sounds in a child’s repertoire. These sounds tend to emerge after bilabial sounds (/p, b, m/) are mastered, and most children will be consistently using /t, d, n/ sounds as well. While there is always a range for development, most children will master /k/ and /g/ sounds before 4 years old.

Understanding Pronunciation of /k/ and /g/:

Place of production: /k/ and /g/ sounds are produced in the same place – the back of the mouth. Formally classified as “velars,” these sounds are often referred to as “back sounds.” The tongue is elevated in the back, making contact with the velum or “soft palate.” Typically errors in place of production are most common for these sounds.
Manner of production: These sounds are classified as “stops” or “plosives,” meaning that the sound does not get continuously pushed out, like it would with an /s/, for example. There is a burst of sound when producing a /k/ or /g/ sound alone.
Voicing: /k/ and /g/ place and manner of production are identical, however these two sounds differ when it comes to voicing. /k/ is the voiceless pair to /g/’s voiced sound. For example, when producing a /k/ sound, our vocal chords are off (not vibrating), however when producing a /g/ sound, our vocal chords are on and vibrating. Try it – put your hand on your throat and feel the vibration when producing a /g/, and feel the difference when producing an /k/! Many children will understand the difference between the two sounds but may substitute one for the other.

These sounds are integral for a child’s overall speech intelligibility, however there are common errors that are often seen for /k/ and /g/ sounds. These sounds are produced in the “back” of the mouth, and children who error will tend to substitute “front” sounds for /k/ and /g/. For example, a child who is demonstrating fronting may ask for “teas” when intending to play with keys, or may ask for “tate” rather than cake! When fronting /g/ sounds, children may explain “frod” for frog, or even “dorilla” for gorilla. These errors are common, however, may warrant remediation if they persist past 3 years old.

Click here to understand why pronouncing /r/ is so hard!

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates today!

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