Quarter Note Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Hello Hive. My 8-year-old son (rising third grader) seems to have a lot of trouble distinguishing between “th” and “f”, and “sh” and “s” in his spelling work. For instance, “Beth” is often spelled “Bef”, or “stiff” is spelled “stith”. “Shell” and “sell” often get mixed up. The word “dishcloth” is particularly hard! I’ve tried to enunciate these words as clearly as I can. I’ve asked him to say the sounds as clearly as he can. He’s not really getting it. His reading seems to be fine. He just finished reading “The Hobbit” unabridged. At his last physical his hearing checked out fine. We use All About Spelling, and he is in the middle of Level 2. Any tips to help him figure this out? Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 How was his hearing checked at his last physical? Was it a simple tone test where he had to say whether or not he heard the sound or was it an actual hearing test with an audiologist? My oldest son could pass a simple tone test with flying colors but he had so much trouble with hearing sounds that it was affecting his speech and of course reading and spelling as well. When I finally got him in with an audiologist, it took 5 minutes for him to figure out that ds could hear but he could't decipher sounds because he had so much fluid in his middle ear that it was impossible for his ear drum to reverberate correctly. It was clear fluid, not infected fluid like an ear infection which is why the pediatrician kept saying his ears were fine. The ped didn't know what he was looking for as this isn't super common. It's not uncommon, but it's just not as common as say too many ear infections affecting hearing. The silly tone test they do in most peds offices are borderline useless in my opinion. It may help for identifying children who have hearing loss or are profoundly deaf but for speech and sound identification problems, the tone test tells you nothing. I would honestly say that you need to have him seen by a pediatric audiologist. They will be able to tell you why he is still having trouble differentiating similar sounding phonemes because an 8 year old should not be struggling with that the way you are describing your ds' struggles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Note Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 Thank you, Sweet2ndchance! It was just the simple tone test that was done in his last physical at his pediatrician's office. What you described about your son may very well be what's going on with mine as well. I will definitely look up a pediatric audiologist. That wasn't even on my radar. I really appreciate your suggestion! I'll make sure to update with what we find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 @Quarter NoteSomething you can do with him in the mean time is add visual cues. Have him watch your mouth as you review the phonogram cards for F and TH. Have him make the same sound that you do for each one and have him note how his mouth and lips are formed. (IE, for /th/, the tongue is between the teeth, but for /f/, the tongue stays in. The upper teeth rest on the lower lip.) Work on one at a time and help him consistently associate the correct visual of the sound with the right sound. Once he's got that down, let him try the words again, but have him face you and watch your mouth as you say the sounds. The added visual can help him get the right letters, plus it can make the sounds crisper and clearer. For /s/ and /sh/, have him notice that for /s/, the lips are very relaxed and just parted a little. For /sh/, the lips are tensed into a circular shape. You can get in front of a mirror together and have fun just being silly as you work on making the sounds and seeing what the face looks like if you want--keep it light and fun! This article on Auditory Processing has tips you may find helpful as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Note Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 Thank you, MerryAtHope! I will try your tips for adding in the visual cues with him. The article that you linked was very helpful. I think that you and Sweet2ndchance are right - it seems that there is some sort of auditory issue going on. I had not been thinking along those lines, but he definitely fits some of the signs of APD that the article mentioned. The audiologist that I contacted this afternoon prefers to have a referral from the pediatrician, so I set up an appointment with his pediatrician for next week. Hopefully this will get the ball rolling. This makes me feel so hopeful that there may be help out there available for my son. Thank you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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