How to teach a child to say the letter K

Does your child speak so quickly that even you have difficulty understanding his speech? If this happens from time to time, for example, at a moment of excitement, then there is no need to worry. But when rapid, slurred speech becomes permanent, you need to seek help from specialists. In this article, speech therapists explain why a child says this and whether it can be prevented.

Features of articulation of the posterior lingual and types of disorders

When pronouncing K, the lips take the form of the subsequent vowel or half-smile, the teeth are open. The tip of the tongue is located at the bottom, and itself is shaped like a slide. The back of the backrest should touch the back of the roof of your mouth.

The lateral edges of the tongue should be pressed against the upper lateral teeth. When you say K, the vocal cords are not working, they are not closed. The exhalation must be strong in order to open the closure that forms between the back of the tongue and the palate.

The incorrect pronunciation of this sound is called cappacism, and its replacement with another is called paracappacism. There are several types of these violations:

Instead of K, a guttural click is obtained. It is formed as a result of the fact that the vocal cords close, and during breathing there is additional pressure on them. When the child says K, the air comes out with a noise, which adds a guttural click.
In speech there is a replacement with T.
Replaces with X.

If there are any of these disturbances in speech, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis and correct the sound pronunciation.

In what cases do you need to consult a speech therapist?

The child does not develop phrasal speech; his vocabulary contains only a small set of babbling or distorted words.
The baby does not use speech as a means of communication with others. He can speak some words, but they are pronounced inappropriately to the subject, object or situation.
You are alarmed by the timbre of the child's voice (squeaky, rough or nasal tone of voice).
The baby stutters.
You notice an uncharacteristic pronunciation of a number of sounds - during a conversation, the tip of the tongue protrudes between the teeth, the cheeks swell, causing speech to take on a lisping or “squelching” character.

Reasons for violations

Children usually learn to pronounce correctly through onomatopoeia. But if there are deviations in the structure and operation of the articulatory apparatus, then the pronunciation of a certain sound group (or several) will be impaired. In the case of cappacism, this is an irregular shape of the hard palate, which causes difficulty in forming the bow necessary for correct articulation.

In addition, the cause may be weak or increased muscle tone of the tongue. Then the tongue cannot occupy or hold the desired position, which also affects pronunciation. The reason for the appearance of paracappacisms is the insufficient formation of phonetic-phonemic processes.

These types of sound pronunciation disorders may be signs of the following speech disorders:

dyslalia - simple and complex forms;
dysarthria;
rhinolalia;
alalia.

If there is a complex speech disorder, then it is necessary to provide comprehensive assistance, which includes not only sessions with a speech therapist, but also with a speech pathologist, and a consultation with a neurologist.

Diagnostics of sound pronunciation

The speech therapist evaluates sound pronunciation, looks at the state of the articulatory apparatus and phonemic processes. First, the specialist studies the anatomical structure of the articulation organs, then evaluates their work. To do this, the speech therapist asks to perform exercises to maintain a certain position, gives tasks for motor skills (raise and lower the tongue, show the horse, etc.).

Then the specialist asks the child to say the desired sound. First, he pronounces it without combination with other sounds, in syllables with vowels and other consonants. Then in words, phrases, sentences, coherent speech. In tasks for assessing coherent speech, you need to compose a story based on a picture, talk about your favorite toy or cartoon, or on any other topic.

The purpose of tasks for phonetic-phonemic perception is whether the child distinguishes K in the speech stream and does not confuse it with sounds similar in acoustic characteristics. The speech therapist pronounces different sounds, the child needs to select the one he needs. Then the material is complicated - they pronounce it in words, syllables. An adult can ask you to name all the objects that contain K. A good task is to distribute the pictures into groups for a specific sound.

The specialist pays attention to the speech environment in which the child grows up. If one of the adults around him has kappacism or parakappacism, then either he also needs to correct his pronunciation, or try to use fewer words with the sound K when communicating with the baby.

Why can't my child pronounce the letter "k"?

A common reason that a child does not say the letter “k” is that parents and other close relatives coo with him, that is, they imitate his undeveloped speech skills. An adult's speech drops to the level of a child's speech. A child, without hearing normally pronounced sounds and letters around him, cannot learn how to pronounce them correctly. In order for the baby to learn to speak correctly, the parents’ speech must be clear and understandable.

Other reasons that prevent a child from correctly pronouncing a particular sound, in particular “k,” are as follows:

Pathologies of the hearing aid or visual organs.
Too big or small tongue.
A short ligament located under the tongue.
Paresis of the root of the tongue.
Thin or thick lips that interfere with normal articulation.
Irregular structure of teeth or jaw.
Hypotonicity of the root of the tongue.
Rhinolalia (splitting of the hard and soft palate).
Gothic, slit-like or narrow structure of the palate.

Staging methods

The easiest way to stage it at home is by onomatopoeia. To do this, ask your child to cough (cough). You should open your mouth wide so that your baby can see the correct articulation. You need to cough with a small exhalation so that there is no pronounced X between K and E.

Then offer to cough in a whisper. This will help remove the X sound, the result should be the syllable KE. Practice this syllable, then invite your child to combine it with other vowels. Try speaking the sound in isolation.

But the onomatopoeic method does not always help in cases of complex speech disorders. For such options, there are other ways to set the back-lingual group of sounds:

Staging while inhaling. The adult asks to hide the tongue as far as possible. Be sure to show your child how to do this. With this inhalation, you need to pronounce syllables like KA. After practicing, make the task more difficult: inhale like this, and say this syllable as you exhale. When the back-lingual sound becomes clear, practice its pronunciation in isolation.
Mechanical method. For this you need a speech therapy spatula. Ask your baby to pronounce the syllables TA-TA-TA. You press the tip of your tongue with the spatula and gently push it deep into your mouth. Before doing this, be sure to warn your child about what you will do and ask him not to remove his tongue. When you hear a clear K, focus your baby’s attention on its sound. Let the child try to pronounce it without the help of an adult. Of course, he may not be able to immediately pronounce it on his own, and an adult will need to help him. When the child learns to say it on his own, begin to consolidate it in syllables.

These were ways to make the K sound yourself at home. Most often, it can be delivered using onomatopoeia, because the articulation of the back-linguals has the same base. And if a child has one of the sounds of this group, then he will quite easily learn the articulation of other back-lingual sounds.

Parents ask a speech therapist: “The child cannot pronounce the letter K, how can he quickly learn correct articulation?” First, the speech therapist sets up sounds and letters are taught in literacy classes. Secondly, the duration of correctional work depends on the speech disorder and the individual characteristics of the child.

Is it possible to prevent the development of dyslalia?

Speech therapists give the following advice.

When learning a language, a child imitates those around him. Make sure he only hears correct, clear speech. If among your loved ones there is someone with a “fiction defect,” then explain to the child why it is necessary to speak like a person who clearly pronounces all sounds. Don’t lisp, don’t use distorted words like “komalika” instead of “komarika”.
Do everything to ensure that your child has the correct bite. Excessive consumption of soft foods, pacifiers, prolonged breastfeeding - all this is harmful for the proper development of teeth and jaw, and muscles of the speech apparatus.
Develop fine motor skills. As you know, the motor and speech centers are located nearby, and small movements of the fingers and stimulation of the nerve endings on the inside of the palm contribute to better blood supply to the necessary parts of the brain.

Recommendations for parents on automation and differentiation

Once you have established the correct pronunciation, you need to reinforce it in your speech. You need to start working on automation with something simple - with syllables, gradually complicating the speech material to compiling stories and retellings. If, in addition to cappacism, the child has paracappacism, then when choosing words for reinforcement, be careful: the words should not contain sounds that are similar in acoustic characteristics.

The child says T instead of K - this is one of the most common forms of paracapacism. In general, replacing one sound with another may be due to the absence of one of them. At the differentiation stage, be sure to talk through the articulation of mixed sounds with your child and focus on their differences.

To differentiate, start with isolated pronunciation. When the child can accurately identify the desired sound, complicate the speech material. But the mixed sounds must be in a strong position so that the child can hear them clearly. This stage needs to be worked out only when the child’s sound pronunciation is corrected and the stage of automation in syllables and words is underway, then the correction work will be effective.

Dislalia

With functional dyslalia, speech is also unintelligible due to the tempo being too fast, but the child has normal hearing and no pathologies of the speech organs. Usually the child pronounces only a few sounds incorrectly. Children with functional dyslalia cannot fully assimilate the characteristics of individual sounds, do not distinguish them, mix them up and pronounce them incorrectly.

With mechanical dyslalia, distortion of a group of sounds and an increase in the speed of speech occurs due to the structural features of the organs involved in the articulation of sounds - jaws, palate, teeth, tongue. This form is often diagnosed in adults.

Speech therapists note that a child with dyslalia masters the sound structure of his native language in the same sequence as a child with normal pronunciation, but is delayed at some stage.

Each group of sounds is formed at a certain age, as the articulatory organs develop:

at three years - vowels, [p], [m], [b], [v], [f], [k], [g], [x], [t], [d], [n];
at four years old - [c], [z], [ts];
at five years old - [w], [sch], [f], [h];
at six years old - [r], [l], [th].

If sounds do not appear before “their” age, then this is considered normal and goes away without the intervention of a speech therapist. Dyslalia is characterized by the following:

The sounds are distorted, then the child can miss them, pronounce them incorrectly, and replace the problematic sounds with simpler ones.
By ear, the child correctly perceives sounds and distinguishes them.
He understands that he is speaking incorrectly and knows the standard of the word.

For example, instead of “sausage” he says “cowbasa”, instead of “cow” he says “kolova”. If you imitate a child, he will definitely correct the adult: “Not a cowbass, but a cowbass.”

In terms of external signs, dyslalia is similar to dysarthric disorders, therefore, when making a diagnosis, it is important to carry out functional tests and studies, and assess the state of phonemic hearing. Attention, dyslalia does not go away on its own with age , so all classes must be carried out under the supervision of a specialist.