Hyponasality is caused when too little air passes through the nose on nasal sounds like /m/, /n/ and /ng/ as in "sing." Children often sound hyponasal when they experience a cold or allergies; this is temporary and does not require treatment. Other children may experience persisting hyponasality. This may be due to obstructions in the nasal cavity, enlargement of the tonsils and adenoids, or a deviated septum; in such cases, medical intervention may be required and one should consult an ear, nose and throat doctor.
There are behavioral treatments, though, to decrease hyponasality. The first involves using a visual aid. Place a tissue or mirror under your child's nose so that she can see appropriate nasal airflow while speaking. The tissue should move and the mirror should fog up during nasal airflow. An alternate method is for her to put her finger under her nose while she is speaking so that she can feel the air coming out of her nose. You may demonstrate proper nasal air flow for her by letting her feel the air coming out of your nose, or by seeing the tissue moving/mirror fogging while you are speaking. Nasal airflow is best taught with nasal sounds. Practice saying the sounds /m/, /n/ and /ng/ in isolation. Then, practice them in syllables. Words with nasal sounds should then be practiced, such as "mom," "no" and "none." Finally, move onto phrases, then sentences and finally conversation. Humming can also help children reach the target amount of nasality, and therefore help them understand what their voice should sound like. Children may start with a hum, then change the hum into a word. For example, "Hmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm, mom."
Another treatment is known as nasal-glide stimulation. Children are prompted to say words with many nasal sounds and many "glide" sounds (/w/ and the "yuh" sound) in varying combinations. This helps to direct airflow into the nasal cavity. Some words with nasal sounds include, "meal," "knee," and "sing." Words with glide sounds include "water," "yogurt" and "wheel." Words that contain nasal and glide sounds include "swing," "yummy," "yam," and "lawnmower."
The final treatment option is known by a few different names, including "focusing," "masking" and "resonant voice therapy." The idea is that one should increase vibration of the nasal and facial bones in order to facilitate increased resonance. Prompt your child to exaggerate production of nasal sounds, and to feel the vibrations in her face/nasal area. Once this is accomplished and you have identified an appropriate amount of resonance, use this strategy to practice nasality in words, phrases, sentences then conversation. This treatment may be hard to conceptualize. Here is a link for more specific instruction: http://www.everythingspeech.com/articles/resonant-voice-therapy/. It also may be helpful to view YouTube videos so that one can see and hear exactly what this therapy is all about. Please post below if you find an especially helpful video. (I did a quick search and haven't found the perfect one yet.)
You may practice the above treatments anywhere. A good starting point may be at Soergel Orchards (a family farm and country store) in Wexford. It is a fun place in the springtime, and there are plenty of words with nasal sounds.
Image retrieved from http://www.topworkplaces.com/frontend.php/regional-list/company/post-gazette/soergel-orchards
Nasal words to practice include:
country
home
garden
barn
family
farm
plant
planting
business
market
manage
growing
picking
plum
run
greenhouse
natural
landscape
indoor
Amish
corn
pumpkin
menu
tomatoes
lamb
riding
rent
furniture.
To practice nasal resonance at the phrase level, ask your child to describe some of the scenery or items at the orchard. Targets may include, "big greenhouse," "red barn," and "pretty farm." Another task is to ask your child what she would like to see more of, since "more" has a nasal sound. Targets may include, "more horses," "more apples," and "more gardens."
To practice nasal resonance at the sentence level, ask your child what she wants to do at the orchard. The target word "want" also has a nasal sound in it, so this will provide extra practice. Targets may include, "I want to see the horses," "I want to smell the tomatoes," and "I want to shop at the gift barn."
To practice conversation, ask your child what she enjoyed doing at the orchard. Any verb ending with "ing" provides practice since it has a nasal sound in it. Targets may include, "I liked picking apples. I also liked seeing the horses. The barn was neat. It was so giant. Can we come back again?"
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