Speech-Language Pathology Topics: Voicing Pairs

Here's a quick speech lesson of the day. Don't you always want a speech lesson on Mother's Day? (Happy Mother's Day everyone!)

Say, "Ssssssss" out loud like you're making a snake sound. Draw it out as long as you can and while you're doing it place your hand on the front of your throat near your adam's apple. Now say, "Zzzzzzzzz" out loud like you're making a bee sound. Draw that one out as long as you can too while keeping your hand on your throat.

The first thing you should notice is that your throat vibrates while you make the /z/ sound, but it does not while you make the /s/ sound. That is because /s/ is a voiceless sound. You can make the sound without vibrating your vocal chords. The reason you feel your throat vibrating when you make the /z/ sound is because it is a voiced sound. You have to vibrate your vocal chords to make the /z/ sound. Other than that one difference, voicing, the /s/ and /z/ sounds are made in exactly the same way. You raise your tongue tip near the roof of your mouth behind your teeth and blow. So /s/ and /z/ are a voicing pair. They are two sounds made in exactly the same way except that one is voiced and one is not.

There are lots of voicing pairs. /t/ and /d/ are voicing pairs. /t/ is voiceless while /d/ requires vibrating your vocal chords. /p/ and /b/ are voicing pairs. /p/ is voiceless while /b/ requires vibrating your vocal chords. /k/ and /g/ are another example. /k/ is voiceless while /g/ requires vibrating your vocal folds.

What does any of this have to do with apraxia? Well, making a voiced sound is a more complicated motor task. To make a /b/ you have to do everything you have to do to make a /p/ and then coordinate vibrating your vocal chords at the right time for the right duration. So often, children with apraxia will find voiceless sounds easier. /t/ and /p/ are often easier than /d/ and /b/. Just another example of how complicated the motor planning of speech is and why our children sometimes seem to have trouble with a sound or word for no reason when there really is a reason after all.

Friday Night Fun

So many things enter your life with parenthood. Love, tenderness and pride. Fear and worry. Responsibility and fatigue. Many you are prepared for, and some you are not. You get through them all. Sometimes with grace. Sometimes not so much.

And then there's the illness. The neverending illness. I do not exaggerate. I'm pretty sure that we have not gone more than one to two weeks since October with everyone in this household being well. I personally have not gone more than a week and a half since January without being sick. I had heard that having children in daycare often involves them bringing home bugs, but this is getting ridiculous. They are only there two mornings a week.

Last night my husband entertained the children while simultaneously getting a quote to replace our rotting deck, played with the children in the yard, and then fed them dinner. All by himself. I spent 2 and 1/2 hours at my doctor's office walk-in clinic and then waiting for my prescriptions at Walgreens. Diagnosis this time: Bronchitis.

Someone tell me this ends. Please. Tell me that I am not going to spend three out of every four weeks for the next 16 years sick.

Now I'm off to drink more hot tea and to try not to cough too much.

Magic Tree House Progress Chart

Michael and I have been reading the Magic Tree House books. The books are about siblings Jack and Annie who discover a Magic Tree House that travels through space and time to destinations found in books. The series is very well done and Michael is really enjoying them.

There is a companion website for the books where children can track their travels through the series in a virtual passport. They collect a virtual stamp for each book's location by answering questions about the book. Michael is really too young to enjoy collecting virtual stamps and the questions are a little hard for a three year old. I was kind of disappointed because I was hoping that the passport would be a fun enrichment activity that we could do together in addition to reading the books. (They advertise the passport in the back of each book which is how I knew about it.)

As I was wandering the sections of the website for teachers and parents, I discovered a welcome packet that included some bookmarks and a book list that has small images of every book cover.

I decided to make Michael a physical version of their passport. A Magic Tree House Progress Chart, if you will. I printed out the bookmarks and the book list on cardstock. I used the bookmarks and some title art to decorate a cardstock Magic Tree House themed blank progress chart and taped it to his closet door. I then cut out the pictures of the book covers we had already read. He loved sticking the books to the chart and excitedly talked about the books as we put each one on the chart.

He couldn't wait to start reading the new book and is already talking about how we get to put another book on his chart when we finish reading it.