My teeth are buzzing after working for an hour on the “Z” sound in the middle and end of words. I had no idea, after all these years, that the letter “S” sounds like a “Z” in a lot of instances. Has, is, eyes, bills, visitors, figures, and so on. I knew words like was, Thursday, and Louisiana had the “Z” sound. “Is” is a hard habit to break.
I’m also struggling with “R” as mine comes out nasally. I feel silly trying to practice “R” while putting my fingers on my nose (note I said “on” not “in!”) to see whether or not it’s coming through nasally. I can “R” correctly when I start by making “L” sound with my tongue by my front teeth and then slowly move the tongue further back. But to say a word? Forget it.
The therapist gave me practice sheets to do at home and my teeth are gonna tickle for days as I keep practicing (“days” and “as” are also “Z” sounds). I hope I make progress soon.
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My 8-year old daughter Keisha, who is hard of hearing, came home from school yesterday, talking about her speech therapy. She has problems with “s”, “z”, “th”, “sh”, and so forth, similar to what you’re doing.
Just before dinner she was saying these sentences her speech teacher had made her repeat. They would go along the lines of this:
“I saw chairs outside by the street. They were everywhere!”
I don’t remember the other specific ones; what I DO remember is that last sentence: “they were everywhere!”
It’s probably a good thing to get your “as” sound right, huh? 😉
Take care and keep in touch!