Causes of impaired pronunciation of the sound sh
The absence or distortion of the “sh” sound in speech is called sigmatism. If it is replaced by other sounds, for example, from the word “cap” you get “slipper”, this is called parasigmatism. There are 7 reasons why the sound “sh” is not automated:
- Interdental sigmatism, in which words with the sound “sh” are produced with a hint of lisp. This is explained by a shortened sublingual frenulum, due to which the tongue does not reach the palate, or by the narrowness of this very palate.
- Lateral sigmatism: instead of a hard “sh” sound, it turns out to be a flapping sound. Difficulties with pronunciation arise from an open lateral bite, a weakness on one side of the tongue muscles that occurs with dysarthria in children.
- Nasal sigmatism: it is difficult for a child to pronounce it due to tension in the back of the tongue muscle, so it turns out “x” with a nasal pronunciation.
- Labial-dental parasysmatism: “w” is replaced by “f”. Children with malocclusion have difficulty pronouncing the sound “sh”. Also, distortion occurs due to a violation of phonemic hearing and reduced tone of the tongue.
- Dental parasigmatism: substitution of the letter “w” for “t”. The reasons are the same as for labiodental parasigmatism.
- Hissing and whistling parasigmatism - hard sounds change to soft ones or instead of “sh”, “s”, “z” are pronounced.
Words with the syllable SHA
Game "Divide"
Look at the pictures. Name them. Divide the pictures into two groups.
Game "On the contrary"
Read the words backwards. What word did you get? Match the resulting word with the picture.
Game "Count the syllables"
Read the word, determine how many syllables it has. Don't forget about the correct pronunciation of the sound [Ш].
Game "Insert the letter"
Read the words by inserting the missing letter Ш.
Game "Fourth wheel"
Name the objects, clearly pronouncing the sound [Ш]. Find the extra picture. Hint: extra picture without sound [Ш].
Fourth wheel
Game "Labyrinth"
Collect pictures in the maze that have the sound [Ш] in their names. Name what you take.
Game "Airplane"
Fly the plane and collect pictures that have the sound [Ш] in their names. Name what you take.
Setting the sound sh
The production of the “sh” sound, namely the correction of the “sh” sound profile, depends on the reasons for which this occurs. Sometimes the correct articulation of the sound Ш occurs after a visit to the orthodontist, who, with the help of orthodontic structures, expands the upper palate and corrects the bite. If the teeth are normal or pronunciation does not improve after the dentist’s intervention, speech therapy exercises are needed. They are based on the development of the correct articulatory structure of the sound “sh”.
Correct articulation
To make the sound Ш, it is important to understand how the tongue should be placed:
- it should be wide with a raised leading edge towards the top;
- a gap should form between the tongue and palate at the upper incisors;
- at the same time, the lateral edges are in close contact with the molars of the upper jaw.
An important condition is the absolute symmetry of the language. The position of the lips is also important: they should be folded into a funnel.
Articulation gymnastics
An individual speech therapy session begins with articulation gymnastics for the sound “sh”. Articulation exercises delight children. We make the sound sh while playing:
- “Hippopotamus”: open your mouth wide, count to five, then close it.
- “Frog”: stretch your mouth into a smile without changing the position of your teeth.
- “Tube”: stretch your lips with a tube, hold them.
- “Pancake”: place a wide, relaxed tongue on the lower lip.
- “Jam”: lick your upper lip with a wide, cup-shaped tongue.
- “Brush”: move your tongue across the roof of your mouth, from your teeth to your throat.
Breathing exercises
After a set of articulation exercises, the child is asked to perform breathing exercises in a playful way:
- “Air football”: put a cotton ball on the table and offer to score a goal with an air stream from your mouth. To do this, the lips are folded into a tube, and the cheeks are not involved. Before teaching your child this exercise, you need to hold his cheeks with your fingers so that he does it with one even exhalation.
- “A butterfly sat on a flower”: cut out flowers and butterflies from colored cardboard and connect them with thread. Blow butterflies off flowers with a stream of air.
Sound automation
An individual lesson on automating the sound Ш begins with the child being asked to say what the letter Ш looks like, and pictures with its images will help with this.
Further, automation classes are built in the following sequence: put the sound in isolation, then automate the sound Ш in syllables, then pronounce words, sentences with the sound Ш, and at the end they teach speech therapy poems, tongue twisters.
Automation of sound in syllables, words, phrases, sentences
For preschoolers, sound production classes become interesting and expected if speech therapy sessions begin in a playful way. For example, offer to find the letter “sh” in the picture, tell a funny poem about the letter “sh”.
- Automation in syllables begins with pronouncing those combinations where “sh” comes first: sha, sho, shu.
- After mastering, the reverse syllables come - ash, ush, etc.
- Then syllables, closed and open, associated with other sounds: what, jester, staff.
- Words starting with the letter “sh” are the next stage. You need to train the pronunciation of words with the sound “sh” at the end and in the middle.
- The sound sh in phrases.
- Sh sound in sentences: start with short ones and move on to more complex ones.
If the child is already reading, a summary of an individual lesson can serve as working material, namely, a fragment of it with syllables and words so that he can read them independently.
Automation in poems, proverbs, tongue twisters, riddles
There are many funny poems, nursery rhymes, proverbs and tongue twisters that will help you automate this sound.
- Poetry:
- Pure sayings:
Sound reinforcement games
Speech therapists have a special tactic in their approach to classes: the child is offered those tasks that he likes. Children who play are much easier to teach than those who are bored.
We offer a number of games to automate the sound “sh”:
- “Snake”: the picture shows a snake that wants to get into the house. It is on the other side of the maze. The baby’s task is to help the snake crawl home by moving his finger through the maze and pronouncing the sound “sh”.
- “Help the mouse”: the plot of the game is a mouse running away from a cat. The child needs to read syllables sequentially, and then words with the letter w, so that the rodent can escape from the cat. The first time, focus on correct pronunciation, and then you can suggest increasing the speed of the mouse, reading syllables and words faster.
- “Speech therapy fairy tales with pictures”: come up with or take a ready-made fairy tale from the Internet, where there are many words with the sound “sh”. The child’s task is to read the fairy tale, pronouncing the sounds correctly.
Automation of the sound [Ш] in words with open syllables at the beginning of the word
Game “Change the word” for children who DO NOT READ
Replace the first sound in words with the sound [Ш]. Sample: slippers - ... (hats). What words did you come up with?
Game “Change the word” for READING children
Replace the first sound in words with the sound [Ш]. Sample: slippers - ... (hats). What words did you come up with?
Game "Find the Sound"
Divide the pictures: where there is a sound [Ш] - drag it to the left, where it is not - drag it to the right.
Game "Change the word"
Replace the first sound in words with the sound [Ш]. Sample: slippers - ... (hats). What words did you come up with?
Game "Find the word"
Read the words that are written on the right. Pronounce the sound [Ш] clearly. Find these words in the table. They can be horizontal and vertical. Hold down the left mouse button and drag over the word. Read these words again.
Structure of an individual speech therapy session
- Articulatory gymnastics should begin every lesson. This will help prepare the muscles of the tongue, cheeks, and lips. The duration of this part is about 5 minutes.
- Repetition of what was covered in the previous lesson. If your child has difficulties, you should stop at this stage and go through it again.
- If the child completes the tasks easily, you can move on to mastering more complex stages.
- Games for consolidation of material.
The total duration of classes should not exceed 20-25 minutes so that the baby does not lose interest in them.
