Interdental sigmatism: types and correction

Usually, interdental sigmatism is spoken of in the context of a speech disorder such as dyslalia, but it also occurs in some other cases. This pronunciation disorder manifests itself as a symptom in more complex diseases (dysarthria, alalia, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability).

To help a child correct interdental sigmatism, the causes of its occurrence should be established as accurately as possible. Depending on the nature of the disorder, correctional work is carried out by a speech therapist and, if necessary, rehabilitation, adaptation or compensatory assistance from medical personnel.

How to correct interdental sigmatism in a child, and what is hidden behind such an unusual name?

What is a speech disorder

All articulation deficiencies are systematized depending on the violation of the pronunciation of a certain group of speech sounds. There are seven in total:

rhotacism - distortion of sounds [р] and [р'];
lambdacism - [l] and [l'];
sigmatism - [zh], [w], [h], [sch], as well as [s]-[s'] and [z]-[z'];
iotacism - [th];
kappacism - distortion of the posterior palatal sounds [k]-[k'], [g]-[g'], [x]-[x'];
gammacism - [g] and [g'];
hitism - [x] and [x'].

As can be seen from the above list, sigmatism is the most extensive group. This is due to the proximity of the patterns of the listed sounds during pronunciation. Thus, the patterns of sounds [s]-[z] and [sh]-[zh] are the same (they differ only in the presence of voice in a voiced consonant).

Types of sigmatism

The group of violations under consideration is divided into five subgroups:

Interdental sigmatism - the tongue takes the wrong position between the teeth.
Labial-dental - pronunciation is made using the lips and teeth.
Lateral - a stream of air does not come out through the tip of the tongue, but on the sides.
Dental - the tongue is pressed against the upper teeth.
Hissing - the tongue moves from the front position to the back, which causes distortion of the sound.
Nasal - the tongue tenses and moves back, presses against the larynx, directing the air stream upward.

The names of the species indicate the location of the impaired pronunciation. But despite the variety of disorders, the most common is interdental sigmatism. With it, the characteristics of the sound [s] are distorted (the whistle disappears and an incomprehensible weak noise is heard) due to the position of the tongue between the teeth. If, with correct articulation, air passes through the tip of the tongue along a groove that forms on the back of the tongue, then in a distorted position it is absent, contributing to the appearance of noise overtones.

The presence of such a speech defect in a child or in adults is due to a number of organic and sometimes behavioral reasons. Therefore, the correction of interdental sigmatism should begin with identifying all unfavorable factors.

Defects in the pronunciation of whistling and hissing sounds

Violation of one of the articulation patterns described above leads to incorrect pronunciation of these sounds. In this regard, 6 types of sigmatism are distinguished: labial-dental, interdental, lateral, nasal, subdental, hissing-whistling.

Labial-dental sigmatism manifests itself in the replacement of whistling and hissing sounds with a phoneme close to F. This is explained by the fact that when pronouncing a sound, a closure is formed between the lower lip and the upper incisors.

Dental sigmatism manifests itself in the replacement of whistling and hissing sounds with T - D.

The essence of this defect is that the tip of the tongue rests against the edges of the upper and lower incisors, forming a barrier to the passage of the air stream through the tooth gap. Hissing sigmatism manifests itself in the replacement of whistling sounds with Ш, Ж. In this case, the tip of the tongue is somewhat retracted into the depths of the mouth and raised, the back is sharply arched - instead of a whistle, a somewhat softened Ш or Ж is formed.

With whistling sigmatism, hissing sounds are replaced by whistling sounds.

The replacement of whistling and hissing sounds with other, simpler articulation sounds is called parasigmatism.

Interdental sigmatism occurs when the tip of the tongue occupies a position between the teeth. This explains the appearance of a lisping tone of sound.

Lateral sigmatism is characterized by the fact that the tip of the tongue rests on the upper alveoli; as a result, a closure is not formed between the lateral edges of the tongue and the upper molars - a gap appears there through which an air stream passes. The result of such articulation can be lateral sigmatism (right-sided, left-sided), bilateral.

Nasal sigmatism is characterized by the appearance of a nasal (nasal) tint when pronouncing whistling and hissing sounds, which are replaced by a sound similar to X with a nasal overtone. This defect is caused by the fact that the root of the tongue rises and adjoins the soft palate, as a result of which the soft palate descends and a stream of exhaled air passes through the resulting passage into the nasal cavity.

The importance of timely and correct diagnosis

In modern speech therapy, the problem of speech disorders is considered comprehensively by speech psychology, pathopsychology, defectology, speech therapy, and sociology. This approach is due to the complexity of the manifestation of speech disorders as a symptom or as a syndrome. It is important to identify it and begin correction as early as possible.

With normal development, a child pronounces all vowels and consonants by the age of three (sonorant [r] and [l] may appear by the age of four - this is not critical), does not lose syllables in spoken words, and constructs complex sentences. There are diaries (often in the form of a notebook for filling out) of development, in which the development of all the child’s skills is described step by step, month by month. Parents just need to periodically check with him, and if some skill is not developed in a timely manner, immediately pay close attention to it and find out the reason. Often the child is raised at home, so there is no one to tell the mother the necessary actions in the current situation.

If developmental delays or disturbances in any functions begin to appear, you should contact a specialist (pediatrician, speech therapist, psychologist, and, if necessary, a pediatric neurologist). In 90% of cases, timely correction allows you to forget about the existence of the problem by seven years, and sometimes earlier. But if you miss this period of development, you will have to expend much more effort, and the result may be unsatisfactory.

Possible associated developmental disorders

Interdental sigmatism can be a symptom of such developmental disorders as open bite and other abnormal forms of development of the speech apparatus, enlarged adenoids, hypotonia of the speech muscles (this is how dysarthria manifests itself). In all of these cases, the cause of the speech defect should be eliminated together with correctional work by a speech therapist. If you ignore diseases, you may not see the results of speech therapy work.

If an orthodontist helps correct problems in the development of the dental system (with the help of plates and special simulators), then a psychiatrist deals with the treatment of dysarthria, which often frightens parents. In practice, the identified dysarthria at the age of three does not manifest itself in any way by the age of seven, provided proper treatment and timely correctional assistance are provided to the child.

Interdental sigmatism is often a concomitant developmental disorder in diseases such as cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, deafness, and blindness. In these cases, everything depends on the degree of complexity of the underlying disease (the more complex the form, the less opportunities for correction) and the preservation of intelligence. Speech correction for such children lasts for many years and reaches a satisfactory level as much as possible.

Corrective work

If a child is diagnosed with a speech disorder, if all the results of the appropriate examination are available, correction can and should begin. At the same time, all possible pathogenic factors identified during an appointment with specialists are eliminated. Correction of interdental sigmatism is carried out in three stages:

Preparatory. It involves the formation of positive motivation, the development of sound analysis skills, and the preparation of the muscles of the tongue, jaws and lips for producing sounds.
Formation of correct articulatory structure. This is the production, automation and differentiation of sound in syllables and words of different syllabic composition.
Introduction of sounds into independent speech. Assumes correct pronunciation of sound in all communication situations.

This is what correction of sound pronunciation looks like in case of dyslalia - impaired sound pronunciation against the background of intact hearing and innervation of the speech apparatus. With the right approach, the correction of interdental whistling sigmatism is corrected within three to five months with the correction of 2-3 sounds. But it can last from one to two years if correction of 6-10 sounds is required.

If interdental sigmatism is a concomitant disease, then this work is planned in conjunction with the correction of the underlying disease. For example, correcting sound pronunciation for dysarthria will consist of the following steps:

Preparatory. It takes place against the background of treatment prescribed by doctors, physiotherapy, massage and includes the preparation of the speech apparatus, the development of hearing, the ability to control the voice and breathing, and the formation of a vocabulary.
Formation of pronunciation skills. The stage includes the correction of disorders of the speech apparatus, sound pronunciation, vocal apparatus and breathing, the formation of skills in sound analysis and synthesis, and communication.

In this case, the formation of communication skills occurs in parallel to the first two stages.

Correction of buccal sigmatism. Article on speech therapy

Correction of buccal sigmatism

Buccal sigmatism in most cases is the result of a particular manifestation of multiple muscle tension in the child. Therefore, first of all, you need to remove these clamps. The child, as a rule, is not able to relax voluntarily. Trying to do this, he only strains his muscles even more: he does not lower his shoulders, but pulls them down with pressure, he does not close his eyes, but closes them, etc. Therefore, the speech therapist’s recommendations should be more figurative, for example: the shoulders “fell off”, the “heavy” head “fell” on the hands, etc.

If any of your child's muscles remain tight, encourage your child to increase the tension first. As soon as the child feels his “clamp”, it will be easier for him to reset it.

For example: - Your shoulders are raised. Try to raise them even more, even more. Do you feel how uncomfortable you are in this position? Drop your arms, let your shoulders rest...

A massage that includes special ISOTONIC exercises will help eliminate tightness in the corners of the lips, i.e. exercises with resistance elements:

1. The child’s lips are not tense. Fixing the corners of his lips with your fingers, ask the child to smile forcefully. At the moment of highest tension, remove your fingers.

2. Fix the corners of the lips of a smiling child and invite him to stretch his lips into a “tube”. Take your fingers away from your lips at the moment of greatest tension.

It is advisable to perform sound production against the background of relaxation. For example, when correcting the sound [C], the speech therapist says: “You are sitting with your shoulders tiredly dropped.” Your face is “lazy”... your eyes are sleepily closed. There is a languid smile on the lips. The tip of the tongue stuck to the lower teeth. A calm inhale and a tired noisy exhale...

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LATERAL Sigmaticism and Buccal Sigmaticism?

In both cases, the utterance of a sound is accompanied by swelling of the cheeks.

With LATERAL pronunciation, a stream of air diverges along the back of the tongue from the midline to the right or left, less often in both directions.

Option 1: Bilateral lateral sigmatism. The back of the tongue closes with the palate, without forming a groove in the middle, while the lateral edges are lowered and allow an air stream to pass, which flows around both sides of the tongue and comes out of the mouth with a sloppy noise.

Option 2: Unilateral lateral sigmatism. The tip of the tongue rests against the teeth, and the front part of the back of the tongue tightly closes with the alveoli. The air flows around the obstacle from one side, resulting in a squelching noise. The lips may take on an asymmetrical position.

Option 3: Unilateral lateral sigmatism. The tip of the tongue rests against the teeth not in the center, but slightly to the right or left. The air flows around the emerging obstacle from one of the sides. A smooth, but rough noise with a hissing tinge is heard. The lips can be in an asymmetrical smile.

Any variant of lateral pronunciation can be detected by placing your palm to the child’s mouth. On it you will feel which corner of your mouth the air comes out of.

With BUCCAL pronunciation, the tongue does not take part in articulation. The exhaled stream of air encounters an obstacle not between the tongue and the teeth, but between the teeth that are close together (sometimes pressed together) and the corners of the mouth pressed against them from the sides.

Option 1: The exhaled air stream hits the cheeks so that they swell when pronouncing hissing or whistling sounds, which make a sloppy squelching noise.

Option 2: The exhaled stream of air encounters an obstacle between the teeth that are close together (sometimes pressed together) and the corners of the mouth pressed against them from the sides. A “dull” noise is formed. Pronouncing the sound is accompanied by swelling of the cheeks.

Option 3: Trying to independently improve pronunciation, the child presses his cheeks to his molars so that the air does not escape to the sides. The result is an acoustic effect close to normal. This is achieved, among other things, by excessively protruding lips.

When pronouncing voiced sounds [Z] and [Z], a voice is added to the noise.

Speech therapy gymnastics

Exercises for the development of the speech apparatus involve training the jaws, lips and tongue. An example of articulatory gymnastics for interdental sigmatism may look like this.

“Elephant smile”: smile with your mouth closed, pulling the corners of your lips as far as possible, and then “pull your lips into a tube” and show how the elephant drinks water with its trunk. Repeat everything from the beginning. All exercises are performed 10 times at the same pace (this is very important). You can use a metronome during class.
“Knead the dough”: massage a wide, relaxed tongue along the entire length with your lips, saying “five-five-five”, then you can do the same with your teeth - “ta-ta-ta.”
“Pancake”: lips in a smile, a wide tongue lies on the lower lip “cooling on the window.” It is important to monitor statics and prevent voluntary movements during the exercise.
“Fence”: stretch your lips into a smile, align your upper teeth with your lower teeth, building an even “fence.” It is important to learn to hold your jaws in this position for at least 10 seconds.
“The cat is angry”: lips in a smile, rest the tip of the tongue on the lower teeth and alternately raise (“the cat arched its back”) and lower (“the cat calmed down”) the back of the tongue. In this exercise, it is very important to maintain rhythm and correlate the movements of the tongue with the movements of the metronome pendulum.
“Swing”: the initial position of the lips is a smile, “the tongue rides on a swing” to the count of a metronome. First, the tip of the wide tongue covers the lower lip, and then the upper lip. The movement is repeated, at first at a slow pace, up to ten times.
“Cleaning the lower teeth”: use the tip of your tongue to walk along the outside of your teeth, placing your tongue in the “pocket” between your cheek and teeth. The tongue should “clean” all the teeth in the lower jaw. To strengthen the lateral muscles of the tongue, you can do the exercise “brushing the upper teeth” (the movements are the same as with the lower teeth).
“Tube”: raise the sides of the tongue up, and lower the back down. You will get a groove through which air is blown out for a long time.

Exercises can be varied and others can be added depending on the structure of the child’s speech apparatus. It must be remembered that the elimination of interdental sigmatism always begins with speech therapy gymnastics - this is an axiom.

The preparatory stage lasts as long as it takes to bring the speech apparatus into working condition. This means controllability of the movements of the tongue, jaws, lips, and the ability to hold the tongue in a given position for at least five seconds. Only after reaching this minimum is it possible to move to the next level.

Ways to eliminate lateral sigmatism.

Kudryashova L.N., MBDOU “Kindergarten No. 15 “Buratino”, Vologda region, Kaduy village.

I work as a speech therapist in a general education kindergarten. In recent years, lateral sigmatism has become increasingly common among sound pronunciation defects. That is, the exhaled stream of air does not pass along the midline, but through the lateral gap, one-sided or two-sided, since the lateral edges of the tongue are not adjacent to the molars. The sounds pronounced take on a characteristic squelching tone. In the process of correctional and developmental work, it became clear that traditional methods and techniques for forming a directed exhaled air stream and a standard set of articulation exercises are ineffective. Most often, the cause of lateral sigmatism is pareticism of the lateral muscles of the tongue, much less often - lateral open bite. All children with this pathology were recommended to visit a pediatric neurologist to prescribe medication, and I, as a speech therapist, selected specific articulation exercises aimed at specifically developing the lateral muscles of the tongue. Taking as a basis the language exercises presented in the book by T.V. Budyonny’s “Speech Therapy Gymnastics” (2001) selected several. Having tested the exercises personally and slightly changed some to better suit the tasks, I introduced the resulting complex into daily articulatory gymnastics for children with lateral sigmatism. The exercises are mostly quite complex, requiring a lot of strength, so the introduction into daily practice was carried out gradually, no more than 1-2 exercises at a time, repeated no more than 5 times. After just six months, positive dynamics were noted and by the end of the school year this defect was eliminated in 6 out of 7 children. Below are the exercises used.

Exercises for the lateral muscles of the tongue.

Lips in a smile. Use a wide tongue to bite over the entire surface, gradually sticking it out and retracting it again. The bites should be light.
The wide tongue forcefully squeezes outward between the teeth so that the upper incisors scrape along the back of the tongue, and the molars on the sides of the tongue.
The mouth is wide open, lips stretched - grin. Stick your wide tongue out of your mouth as far as possible, and then pull it as deep into your mouth as possible so that only a muscle lump is formed; the tip of the tongue becomes invisible. Make sure that the lower jaw does not move and that the lips do not stretch over the teeth.
The mouth is open. Lips in a smile. Stick your tongue out of your mouth as much as possible and pull it in turn towards the left and then the right ear. Make sure that the jaw and lips do not move, and that the tongue does not slide over the lower lip and teeth.
The mouth is open. Lips in a smile. The tense tongue's tip rests forcefully on one or the other cheek. Make sure that your jaw and lips do not move.
Turn cubes of dry bread crusts, peas, etc. over in your mouth.
The mouth is open. Lips in a smile. Use the wide tip of your tongue to stroke the roof of your mouth, making back-and-forth movements. The lips and jaw should be motionless.
The mouth is open. Lips in a smile. Raise your narrow tongue to your nose and lower it to your chin. Make sure that your lips do not stretch over your teeth and that your jaw does not move.
The mouth is open, the lips are in a smile. The wide tip of the tongue is brought as far as possible under the upper lip and comes off with a click, being pulled down into the mouth. Make sure that the jaw does not move.
The mouth is open, the lips are in a smile. Place your wide tongue on your upper lip and make movements back and forth (to your nose and back to your mouth) without lifting your tongue from your lip. The tongue should be wide, grasping the lip from below.
Lips in a smile, mouth slightly open. Place your wide tongue on your lower lip. Then raise your wide tongue and stick it to the roof of your mouth. Place it back on your lower lip. Increase the tempo of movements gradually, achieving precision in execution and suction of the maximum area of the tongue to the palate.
The mouth is open. Lips in a smile. The tongue is protruded in a “groove” or “boat”: the lateral edges of the spade-shaped tongue rise, and a depression is formed along the middle longitudinal line of the tongue. If this movement fails for a long time, then you can help lift the edges of the tongue with your lips, gently pressing them on the lateral edges of the tongue. You can also press with a probe or the side edge of a spatula along the midline of the tongue.

Bibliography:

Budennaya T.V. Speech therapy gymnastics: Methodological manual. –SPb.: CHILDREN'S PRESS, 2001.
Vinarskaya E.N. Dysarthria. –M.: AST, 2005.
Speech therapy: Textbook for students of defectology faculties of pedagogical universities / Ed. L.S. Volkova, S.N. Shakhovskaya. –M.: Humanite. ed. VLADOS center, 1999.
Novikovskaya O.A. Development of sound culture of speech in preschool children. Speech therapy games and exercises. –SPb.: CHILDREN'S PRESS, 2002

Sound production

There are not so many ways to induce the desired articulatory pattern in a child. Just three:

imitation - performed as shown by a speech therapist;
mechanical - the structure is formed with the help of speech therapy probes or objects that replace them (usually cotton swabs);
mixed - a combination of the first two methods.

When making the sound [s] with interdental sigmatism, you can hide the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth, put a spatula or a cotton swab in the middle of the tongue (make a groove) and ask the child to close the teeth with a “fence.” In this position, the child blows a stream of air forward and controls with his hearing which sound is pronounced and remembers the correct sound.

This technique is used if simpler ones do not bring success. Exhalation should be repeated 5-6 times to avoid overtiring the child. After a short break (changing the type of activity), you can return to the performance and consolidate the result. In the future, the procedure is carried out both with and without a spatula under constant hearing monitoring.

If the pronunciation of all whistling and hissing sounds is impaired, then correction begins with setting [s] for interdental sigmatism. It is very important to “fill the staging process with images” and conduct the lesson, if possible, in a playful way. As practice shows, the more visual comparisons a child makes in class, the faster the correction takes place.

An effective method is to record the lesson process in MP3 format; if possible, you can make a video recording of an excerpt of the lesson, and then discuss with the child what happened and why.

The performance ends only when the child pronounces the sound correctly in any condition and as many times as desired. After this, the correction of interdental whistling sigmatism moves to a new stage - automation.

Phonetic characteristics of whistling and hissing sounds

Whistling [S], [Z] and hissing [Sh], [Zh], [Sh] - consonants, oral, anterior lingual, fricative. Of these, [Z] and [Zh] are voiced (during phonation, the vocal folds vibrate, producing a voice), the rest are voiceless. Whistling [C] and hissing [Ch] differ only in the method of formation - they are occlusive-fissional. [H] and [Sh] are always soft, [C], [Sh], [F] are always hard, [S], [Z] - have soft pairs [S′] and [Z′]. An important difference between the group of whistlers and hissers is the basic articulatory structure, including:

position of the lips: when pronouncing sibilants, the lips are stretched in a smile, when pronouncing hissing ones, they are rounded and slightly extended forward;
position and shape of the tongue: when articulating sibilants, the tongue is located “mound” behind the lower incisors, when articulating sibilants - at the alveoli in the shape of a “cup”;
characteristics of the air stream: for those who whistle, it is narrow and cold; for the sizzling ones, it is wide and warm.

Stages of introducing sound into speech

Sound automation:

in straight syllables (for example, –sa, -so);
in reverse syllables (–as, -os);
in syllables of intervocalic position (–asa, -oso);
in syllables with a combination of consonants (–stra, -arst);
at the beginning of the word (son, catfish);
at the end of a word (bite, ramp);
in the middle of a word (wasp, mustache);
in words with a combination of consonants (construction, mouth);
in words and sentences (sauce; the plum garden turned blue);
in proverbs and tongue twisters;
in words of complex syllabic construction (nalistniki, accomplice).

It should be noted that the role of parents at this stage is only increasing. To automate sound as quickly as possible, it is very important not to weaken auditory control even for a minute, and this can only be done with the support of significant adults.

Sound correction is carried out at a pace convenient for the child. Some points can take up to ten lessons, and some sound positions can be automated in a couple of lessons.

With interdental sigmatism of hissing sounds, all stages of working with whistling sounds are repeated, with the only difference being that the production of the sound will be carried out based on the anatomical structure of the child’s speech apparatus and the complexity of the manifestation of the disorder.

Message from work experience on the topic “Overcoming interdental sigmatism”

Overcoming interdental sigmatism.

With interdental sigmatism, the tongue occupies the wrong position between the teeth. With it, the characteristics of the sound [s] are distorted (the whistle disappears and an incomprehensible weak noise is heard) due to the position of the tongue between the teeth. If, with correct articulation, air passes through the tip of the tongue along a groove that forms on the back of the tongue, then in a distorted position it is absent, contributing to the appearance of noise overtones. The presence of such a speech defect in a child or in adults is due to a number of organic and sometimes behavioral reasons. Therefore, the correction of interdental sigmatism should begin with identifying all unfavorable factors.

Interdental sigmatism can be a symptom of developmental disorders such as open bite and other abnormal forms of development of the speech apparatus.

Sedentary tongue. With hypotonia, the tongue is thin, spread out in the oral cavity; lips are flaccid and cannot close tightly. Because of this, the mouth is usually half-open, and hypersalivation may be expressed.

Enlarged adenoids.

In all of these cases, the cause of the speech defect should be eliminated together with correctional work by a speech therapist. If you ignore diseases, you may not see the results of speech therapy work. If problems with the development of the dental system are corrected by an orthodontist (with the help of plates and special simulators), and adenoids are treated by an ENT specialist, then a psychiatrist is involved in the treatment of dysarthria. Interdental sigmatism is often a concomitant developmental disorder in diseases such as cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, and deafness.

Let us highlight the stages of correction of interdental sigmatism:

1. attitude towards the lesson and positive motivation

2. articulation and breathing exercises, tongue massage

3.Next sound production

4.automation and sound differentiation

The main goal of the first stage is to include the child in a targeted speech therapy process. One of the tasks is to form an attitude towards classes: the speech therapist must establish a trusting relationship with the child, win him over, adapt him to the environment of the speech therapy room, arouse his interest in classes and the desire to participate in them. The child must learn to follow the speech therapist’s instructions and actively participate in communication. When starting to work, it is imperative to create positive motivation in the child. (The tongue should sit at home, not look out into the yard; the tongue should lie down on the sofa in the apartment and cannot be seen).

Then we begin to perform preparatory exercises

We create phonemic readiness to produce sound.

We develop the ability to distinguish the evoked sound from all those that are not mixed in hearing and pronunciation, from those that are similar in sound and articulation, from distorted versions of a given sound.

Next we give

exercises: to develop the strength and direction of the air stream.

1) Having drawn air into your lungs, forcefully blow (and not just exhale) it through your lips extended forward like a “tube”. Control with the palm of your hand, a piece of paper or cotton wool: you feel a sharply beating cold stream, the paper or cotton wool is deflected to the side. Repeat the exercise.

2) Stick out your tongue so that it rests on your lower lip. Place a thin round stick (match) along the tongue to its middle and press to form a groove. Round your lips, but don’t tense them. The teeth are open. Inhaling, forcefully blow out the air, puffing out your cheeks. Control with the palm of your hand, a piece of paper or cotton wool. Repeat the exercise.

3) Do the previous exercise without using a stick.

Then active articulatory gymnastics exercises aimed at increasing the tone of the lips and tongue. Static, strength exercises are preferable.

“Tube”, “Monkey”, “Bulldog”, “Hamster”, “Circle”, “Bite the tongue”, “Slide”, “Cleaning the lower teeth” (from the inside), “Cleaning the upper teeth” (from the inside) , “Reel”, “Chewing a pancake”, “Cup”, “Painter”, “Drummer”, “Horse”, “Mushroom”, “Accordion”, “Needle”, “Swing”.

Passive articulatory gymnastics exercises are a form of gymnastics in which the child makes movements only with the help of mechanical action: under the pressure of the fingers and hands of a speech therapist or an appropriate probe or spatula. With interdental sigmatism, we observe lethargy and passivity of the longitudinal muscles of the tongue. The tongue makes primitive movements only forward, beyond the front and lower teeth. Passive movements of the organs of articulation contribute to the inclusion of articulatory muscles in the process, which were previously inactive. This creates conditions for the formation of voluntary movements of the speech muscles. The involvement of different muscle groups (longitudinal, transverse, oblique) contributes to the general motor skills of the tongue and the correction of all sounds.

The speech therapist with three fingers (like a coin) grabs the child’s tongue in the front and middle parts and makes slow turns like a “key” clockwise and counterclockwise.

The speech therapist presses the tip and the anterior-middle part of the tongue to the palate with his thumb from below. Hold for 1-2 minutes.

The speech therapist presses the tip and the anterior-middle part of the tongue with his thumb at the point inside the lower jaw. The tongue “sits and waits” statically and obediently for 1-2 minutes.

Isotonic exercises (with resistance elements) are very effective in overcoming interdental sigmatism, as they force the tongue muscles to work and tense.

The child's tongue sticks out. The speech therapist asks the child to put his tongue in his mouth. Using a sterile bandage, he tries to hold the tongue in its original position. Unclenches fingers at the moment of highest tension at the root of the tongue.

The child's tongue is located in the oral cavity near the lower teeth. The speech therapist presses the tip of the tongue with his finger (fixes it). Next, he asks the child to forcefully push out his tongue, pushing out his finger. When the back of the tongue is most tense, the finger should be raised.

“Let’s drive Carlson away.” The speech therapist’s thumb (in a sterile bandage) (“Carlson”) “flies” into the child’s mouth. Task for the baby: drive Carlson away, i.e. push your finger out with force (“until he eats all the jam and sweets”). I recommend pressing your finger both to the middle point and to the lateral points of the tongue, so that the tongue “responds” with force not only directly, but also to the left and right.

With the help of the above-described exercises, the child acquires kinesthetic self-control and begins to better sense the movements being performed, which helps to overcome interdental sigmatism.

Tongue massage is widely used. You can suggest the following massage movements - rubbing, rubbing, kneading, vibration, tapping, firm pressure, acupressure. These active types of speech therapy massage are especially effective.

Sound production

If the pronunciation of all whistling and hissing sounds is impaired, then correction begins with setting [s]

There are three ways to induce the desired articulatory pattern in a child. This is imitation - performed according to the speech therapist's instructions; mechanical - the structure is formed with the help of speech therapy probes or objects that replace them (usually cotton swabs); mixed - a combination of the first two methods.

those. blow for a long time. Or invite the child to bring his teeth together and in this position try to pronounce the long sound S.

2)—When making the sound [s], you can hide the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth, put a spatula or a cotton swab in the middle of the tongue (make a groove) and ask the child to close the teeth in a “fence.” In this position, the child blows a stream of air forward and controls with his hearing which sound is pronounced and remembers the correct sound.

Exhalation should be repeated 5-6 times to avoid overtiring the child. After a short break (change of activity), you can return to the production.

In the future, the procedure is carried out both with and without a spatula under hearing control.

— The child is asked to perform the “Reel” exercise; then, when the child learns to perform this exercise well, it is proposed to remove the “Coil” into the back of the mouth, but keep the tip of the tongue in place - behind the lower teeth. The speech therapist places a cotton swab in the middle of the tongue and asks to blow quietly so that the air stream passes through the middle of the tongue. Then the stick is removed. The sound /S/ is pronounced. If the defect still persists, it is recommended to pronounce the syllables for a while, then the words with a cotton swab in the middle of the tongue or with closed teeth. — If it is not possible to teach the child to hold the tongue behind the lower incisors for a long time, we teach the child to pronounce the sound /S/ with closed teeth.

Having analyzed the textbooks of Volkova, Filicheva and Khvattsev, I propose to refresh your memory of the methods of producing the sound /S/ recommended by them.

Proposed by Filicheva T.B.

First by imitation. In case of interdental sigmatism, the speech therapist suggests that the speech therapist bring the teeth closer together and in this position try to pronounce the long sound C. If the sound c is not pronounced clearly enough, the speech therapist can resort to a mechanical method, i.e., with a special probe or the end of a spatula, press on the tip of the speech therapist’s tongue, lowering it slightly for the lower incisors. Holding the tongue in this position, the speech therapist suggests that the speech pathologist pronounce the sound C, first in isolation, and then in combination with the vowels A, O, U, Y in forward and backward syllables.

If a speech therapist correctly pronounces the sound S, it is not difficult for him to master the correct pronunciation of the sounds Z and Ts

To pronounce the sound Z, turn on the voice while pronouncing the sound C. To pronounce the sound T
, he suggests pronouncing the sounds T and S in a row, first slowly, and then gradually accelerating the tempo, thereby achieving a seamless transition from the sound T to S (ts).
Volkova

The child is asked to smile, pull back the corners of the mouth slightly so that the teeth are visible, and blow on the tip of the tongue to produce a whistling noise typical of S. Mechanical assistance can be used. The child pronounces the syllable TA repeatedly, the speech therapist inserts a probe between the alveoli and the tip (as well as the front part of the back of the tongue) and gently presses it down. A round gap is formed, passing through which the exhaled stream of air produces a whistling noise. By controlling the probe, the speech therapist can change the size of the gap until the desired acoustic effect is obtained.

To avoid associations with a broken whistling sound, you need to pronounce the syllable SA with clenched teeth at the beginning of its pronunciation or slightly lengthen the pronunciation of the consonant, and lower the jaw on the vowel A. Particular attention is paid to visual and auditory control.

Khvattsev

In the case of persistent pressure of the tongue on the teeth or pushing it between the teeth with C and Z, it is useful to resort to the following means: 1) With interdental C, this sound is pronounced with clenched teeth. 2) The match is bitten by the incisors so that the end of the match, about 5 mm and prevents the tongue from protruding or rising to the top of the incisors. 3) Instead of a match, a probe or an ordinary knitting needle is used. 4) At first, it is better to place the tip of the tongue with a toothpick or a thin spatula behind the lower teeth with bared teeth. In the case of interdental C with an anterior open bite, in order to form a narrow gap, it is necessary either to raise the tip of the tongue upward, or to sharply stick out the front part of the back. Interdental sigmatisms persist, require long-term speech therapy work and often give relapses (from 4 months to 2 years). A long check is needed after finishing classes.

It is very important to “fill the staging process with images” and conduct the lesson, if possible, in a playful way. As practice shows, the more visual comparisons a child makes in class, the faster the correction takes place. An effective method is to record the lesson process in audio format; if possible, you can make a video recording of an excerpt of the lesson, and then discuss with the child what happened and why. The performance ends only when the child pronounces the sound correctly in any condition and as many times as desired. After this, the correction of interdental whistling sigmatism moves to a new stage - automation.

Stages of introducing sound into speech

Automation of any sounds follows approximately the same plan, adhering to the principle “from simple to complex.” The introduction of sounds into speech with interdental whistling sigmatism occurs as follows. Automation of sound: in straight syllables (for example, –sa, -so); in reverse syllables (–as, -os); in syllables of intervocalic position (–asa, -oso); in syllables with a combination of consonants (–stra, -arst); at the beginning of the word (son, catfish); at the end of a word (bite, ramp); in the middle of a word (wasp, mustache); in words with a combination of consonants (construction, mouth); in words and sentences (sauce; the plum garden turned blue); in proverbs and tongue twisters; in words of complex syllabic construction (nalistniki, accomplice). The differentiation of sounds occurs in the same sequence.

Speech therapy work to overcome interdental sigmatism requires the mandatory participation of parents in the correction process. Since the defect of interdental sigmatism is persistent and, when improved, often returns in the form of relapses, the joint work of parents and a teacher-speech therapist is undoubtedly necessary.

The timing of correction depends on the severity of the speech defect, age and individual characteristics of the child. Factors such as regularity of classes are of great importance.

Literature:

1. Bogomolova A.I. Pronunciation disorders in children. M., Education, 1971.

2. Speech therapy. Ed. L.S.Volkova. M., 1999.

3. Fomicheva M.F. Teaching children correct pronunciation. M., 1989.

4. Fomicheva T.B., Cheveleva N.A., Chirkina G.V. Fundamentals of speech therapy. – M., 1989. 5. Khvattsev M.E. Speech therapy. – M., 1959.

Speech material

Modern speech therapy has extensive speech material for every age and taste. In addition to collections of tongue twisters, tongue twisters, and proverbs, there are various “speech notebooks” designed to help a child master their native speech. Selecting material for a specific child will not be difficult.

Parents should take note that if a speech therapist advises studying according to a certain manual, you should not, in defiance of the specialist, buy notebooks in “convenient” stores. The determination of mom and dad for the child to achieve certain results is half the success, and joint work with a speech therapist, as a rule, is a success.