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If your child is working on the SHH sound in speech therapy, you may be wondering how to help them at home. Here are some tips and tricks from a speech therapist at Better Speech that can make learning this sound easier for kids. Keep in mind that each child is different, so don't be afraid to try different things until you find what works best for your child.
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Saying the Shh sound may be difficult for children whose cheek and lip muscles are not yet developed.
Usually after the age of about 3, your child will be developing more cheek muscles to help them make more sophisticated speech sounds. The Shh sound is one of those sounds that requires some development of those facial muscles. Before your child knows how to do it, they may substitute the sound for the Shhh with another sound, or omit it altogether. Shhh is one of those s variants often seen in speech therapy. But you can help your child practice the movements.
Let us help your child produce the SH sound!
The key to making the Shh sound is the lip pucker.
There's a classic movie from 1944 called To Have and Have Not, where Lauren Bacall's character says that famous line:
"You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow"
Saying the Shh sound starts in the same way. The Shh sound is essentially a lip pucker:
Think about giving Mommy or Daddy a kiss. Besides being a loving gesture, you can start to train and develop the cheek muscles. This is good practice for other sounds as well.
Then, practice blowing the air forward through the kiss in a narrow stream. To test this, hold your hand in front of your child's face. You should be able to feel the airflow and determine that it's going forward in a narrow stream and not spread out to the sides.
Help your child practice words with the Shh sound.
Once you get the sounds fairly accurate, you can move on to words.
Keep in mind that the Shh sound appears in the beginning, middle and end of words.
For example, Ship has the Shh sound in front, eyelashes has it in the center and bush uses it at the end.
SHip
eyelaSHes
buSH
Determine which position is easier for your child to say. For some kids, the Shh sound is easier in the beginning of words and for some at the end of words. When you determine what is easier for your child, start with those words first. Then move on to words that use the Shh sound in different positions in the word.
Here are some examples to get you started:
Start Position Words | Middle Position Words | End Position Words |
Ship | Eyelashes | Bush |
Share | Cashew | Smash |
Shout | Dasher | Leash |
Shirt | Marshal | Trash |
Shelf | Fishing | Fish |
Shoe | Brushed | Brush |
Shin | Eggshell | Smush |
Help is available if your child needs to work on the Shh or other speech sounds.
At Better Speech, we offer online speech therapy services convenient for you and tailored to your child's individual needs. Our services are affordable and effective - get Better Speech now.
About the Author
Svetlana Atenzon
With over 10 years of professional experience, I have been working with children and adults of all ages throughout my career. I have worked in a variety of settings such as home care, clinics, schools, and now teletherapy. I have worked with clients who had articulation disorders, language disorders, cognitive impairments, developmental delays, Autism, literacy delays, Apraxia, Dyslexia, fluency disorders, Down Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Progressive Degenerative Disorders, Aphasia, and much more. I also work with clients seeking Accent Reduction services.
