"F" 'n "V"!

Since I've been absent the past few weeks; this week we will work on two sounds. Upfront, forgive me if this is mumble jumble, I've been on a 'juice fast' the past two days and may not be "all there" at the moment. So, read at your own risk! 

Okay, as always, let's start by saying the two sounds. Not the letter name, just the sound they make. "ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff". "vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv".

Note any changes in your mouth between the two. Anything? I hope not, otherwise YOU might need speech therapy;)

Both /f/ and /v/ are made the exact same way with your upper front teeth lightly touching the bottom lip. Leave the touch light enough that you can blow air through them.

Luckly for us Speech Pathologists, this is another one of those 'visual' sounds. Meaning, giving the child a mirror and having them watch you can go a long way.

Let's discuss the difference..... say the sounds again, this time touch your throat while saying them: "ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff, vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv". What did you feel? Your voice box should have "buzzed" or vibrated for the /v/ and was still with the /f/!

Excellent! So, the only difference between these two sounds is the voice (on or off).

Tips for the youngins:

1) Difficulty with placement: Again, visual sound, so give the kid a mirror and make sure they are watching you. You may even have them feel your throat if you're comfortable

2)Trouble turning that voice on for /v/:  I like to refer to the /v/ as the "vaccum" sound. This usually get's the kids to turn that voice box on and make it noisy.

3) Trouble turning the voice off for /f/: I like to refer to the /f/ as a fan; quiet and cool. Nice and soft with continual air. You can also have them feel their voice box again...if it's buzzing have them "whisper the sound".

4) Another common error is stopping the airflow: Have the child feel his/her air coming out softly as they make the sound. Let it  f   l  o  w, don't push the air. You may also hold a piece of tissue or paper in front of their mouth so they can see their air moving the tissue.

haVe Fun with these sounds.... and as always, let me know if you have any questions, I'm not going anywhere:)



Sarahv