pgh-slp: Gliding

Friday, January 31, 2014

Gliding

The phonological process of gliding is a pattern of errors. Gliding occurs when the /r/ sound is replaced by the /w/ sound, or the /l/ sound is replaced be the /w/ sound or /j/ ("yuh") sound. This is a "phonological process," whereby a child can in fact produce the /r/ sound correctly, but simply substitutes the /r/ with /w/. In the case of /l/, a child can in fact produce the /l/ sound correctly but substitutes it with /w/ or /j/ ("yuh" sound). (If your child cannot produce the /r/ or /l/ sound correctly, then she simply has an articulation disorder. Please click on the /r/ or /l/ on the right sidebar for tips for correct production.)

To work on eliminating gliding, I recommend having your child say the names of areas on Pittsburgh. This can be fun for children to play while passing through a neighborhood in a car, looking at a map, or using the Google Earth feature on your computer.

To practice the /l/ sound, I recommend naming all the famous "hills" in Pittsburgh. Below are a few. Cue your child to "make the "l" sound." If she makes the /w/ or /j/ sound, tell her "That was a good try. But I heard /w/ instead of /l/. Try again." You can even repeat the error back to her, such as, "I heard 'wamp' instead of 'lamp;'" or, "I heard 'yittle' instead of 'little.'" This will build awareness of sounds. Remember, the phonological process of gliding is not an articulation problem of /l/.

"South Hills"

Image retrieved from panoramio.com.

"Polish Hill"

Image retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Hill.

"North Hills"

Image retrieved from simon.com.

"Squirrel Hill"

Image retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_Hill.

"Pig Hill"

Image retrieved from blog.historian4hire.net.

"Hill District"

Image retrieved from city-data.com.

"Troy Hill"

Image retrieved from iheartpgh.tumblr.com.

"Penn Hills"

Image retrieved from city-data.com via dc.streetsblog.org.

"Spring Hill"

Image retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Hill-City_View(Pittsburgh).

To practice the /r/ sound, I recommend naming all the townships in Pittsburgh the have an /r/. Below are a few. Cue your child to "make the "r" sound." If she makes the /w/ sound, tell her "That was a good try. But I heard /w/ instead of /r/. Try again." You can even repeat the error back to her, such as, "I heard 'wing' instead of 'ring;'" or, "I heard 'zewo' instead of 'zero.'" This will build awareness of sounds. Remember, the phonological process of gliding is not an articulation problem with /r/.

"Robinson"