All about the /s/ and how to practice at home

The /s/ sound is prevalent in the initial, middle, and final position of words. When produced correctly, a person's overall speech sounds crisp and clear. When misproduced, a person's speech can sound slushy or wet. A person's speech presentation can also be impacted by a tongue protruding out of the mouth, tension around the lips, or even spit. Individuals who struggle with /s/ often present with a lisp.

When is the /s/ acquired?

Most monolingual English speakers produce the /s/ sound by 3 years of age. Children typically master this sound by 4 or 5 years of age, which means they are using a crisp /s/ in their free speech. If your child is not producing /s/ by 5 years of age, you should target this sound (and potentially others) with the support of a SLP.

Phonetic description of /s/

When talking about the science of sound production, linguists refer to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation developed in the early 19th century to categorize sounds in any language. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) use the following features to describe and teach sounds in the IPA: voicing, placement, and manner of production.

Regarding our /s/ sound, it is firstly, an unvoiced sound. This means that your vocal chords should not vibrate when you produce the sound. The /z/ sound is the voiced counterpart to the /s/ meaning it is made in the same place and manner! When making the /s/ sound, your tongue is placed on the alveolar ridge. This anatomic structure always makes me think of a cliff's edge! Lastly, the /s/ sound is made in the manner of a fricative consonant. I like to think that these sounds require a little "friction" in the mouth in order to sound correct. When making this sound, we push air through a narrow cavity created by our tongue and teeth. 

How to practice at home

Look into a mirror

Depending on maturity level, a person may not know why they need to work on a speech sound or speak more clearly, but they do know it is important to have fun! Games and creative activities are great ways to help them practice! Here are some ideas:

• Look into a mirror and practice together! This is always intriguing for kids and so helpful because they can see what their tongue and lips are doing and what your tongue and lips are doing when making a sound. See if they can copy you when you make the /s/ sound.

• Open wide and show them where you place your tongue when making the /s/ sound. Ask them if they can find and point to their alveolar ridge (or their mouth's cliff)!

• Place a lollipop, yogurt snack, or Cheerio on the alveolar ridge and see if they can hold it in place while making the sound. Don't forget to take a turn too!