the orange m&m

We've been working very hard at some certain sounds Aiden has difficulty with - such as /w/, /f/, /n/, /p/ and /sh/. He's using them, a lot of times pretty clearly, but still has some challenges as they can sound weak or jumbled depending on placement (beginning, middle, end) and/or with certain sounds combined with them (especially if /oo/ or /ow/ follow the consonant) - oh, and he's three.

The one that is SO difficult for him is that dreaded /f/. FUdge. It's so funny too, since his one tooth was pulled, he walks around with the other tooth over his bottom lip all.the.time, which you think would be great for producing that hard yucky /f/ sound, but nope, he blows out of his nose instead of his mouth and it comes out as a nasally, lot of air through nose /p/. He had it for awhile, and sometimes still does, so either we're trying too hard, or it's time for another mapping. (which we have in a few days since he's started dropping endings and sounding a little more slurry than usual).

We always start with the sound alone (for ex. /w/), do some syllable play with it (wa, wo, we, wi, woo, wow, wa-wo, we-wa, wi-woo etc. which btw is GREAT for his minor apraxia/motor planning challenges too), use the sound in isolated words (wagon, white, witch), two words together (white witch, where's Waldo), and then in short sentences (which has been GREAT for helping him expand his sentence, voice control, and clarity of speech in sentences). Each step depends on the success of the previous step in order to move on so he doesn't get frustrated and always feels successful. 

So of course, I've been video taping to watch his progress. 

(OH, 

if you're like me, when you're trying to come up with words on your own that begin with a certain letter, you can never think of more than TWO. ok, maybe three. But then to think of words where the sound is in the middle or end - whatever - I spend more time thinking than Aiden does practicing. Plus, who doesn't like easy, new, and FREE ideas, especially when it comes to something boring like practicing articulation. So of course I'm sharing ...

THIS site, with all kinds of WORKSHEETS, that I stumbled across the other day. she even posts tips on how to work with a certain sound. 

love it. and so does Aiden.

better yet, just saw this post. IT'S ON THE ipad! speech therapy on the go. 

oh, and m&ms are always helpful too.
(gotta say, he's silly throughout - especially in the end with that dang orange m&m near the end. love this kid.)