Deaffrication; Nationality Rooms

Deaffrication, to put it most simply, is when the "ch" sound (/tʃ/) is changed to the "sh" sound (/ʃ/) or the "juh" sound (/dʒ/) is changed to the "zh" sound (/ʒ/).  An example of this error would be saying "sheese" instead of "cheese" or "zham" instead of "jam."  It is important to note that a child can produce all the sounds in the word so this is not an articulation problem per se.  Rather, this what experts call a "phonological process" whereby a child produces a different "rule" when saying sounds/words.  In this case, it is the elimination of the first sound in the "affricate."  When the "ch" sound is produced, it is made by first making the "t" sound then making the "sh" sound; with deaffrication, the "t" sound is eliminated.  When the "juh" sound is produced, it is made first by making the "d" sound then making the "zh" sound; with deaffrication, the "d" sound is eliminated.

To practice eliminating deaffrication, I suggest going to Pitt's Nationality rooms in the Cathedral of Learning.  The rooms that include the target sounds are the:

"Chinese" room

 

 "Czechoslovak" room

 

 "French" room

"Japanese" room

"German" room

 

"Israel Heritage" room

"Norwegian" room

I suggest that you take your child to see the rooms, and have her practice saying the names of the room before she enters the room, once she is in the room, and right after she has left the room.  To practice at the sentence level, ask her to tell you what she saw or liked best about the room; prompt her to use the nationality room name in order to hit the target.  To practice at the conversation level, ask her to go into more detail about what she enjoyed or learned.

To cue your child, start with what we call "auditory bombardment."  What this means is that your child will hear a target sound produced accurately many times in a short period of time.  So, I recommend some pre-teaching at home, or in the car on the drive over.  Tell your child about the rooms she will visit, including the Chinese room, Czechoslovak room, French room, etc.  It is important for her to hear the correct sound (in this case it is "ch") over and over in the correct place.  Once you are at the Cathedral of Learning, remind your child to "say all the sounds in the word" and giver her an example, like "French" or "Chinese."  Have her repeat after you.  If she makes an error, then draw her attention to it..  Tell her, "I heard 'Shinese,' but you need to say 'Chinese.'"  Then, have her repeat "Chinese" several times.

If she is still producing an error, then have her make the "ch" sound all by itself.  This will show her that she is able to produce the sound.  It will also remind her of the target sound.  Next, cue her to make the "ch" sound, then pause.  Then, follow it by having her say the rest of the word "-inese."  This is known as "forward chaining."  Gradually shorten the pause until she can produce "Chinese" without error.  Here is an example:
Ch..........inese
Ch........inese
Ch......inese
Ch....inese
Ch..inese
Chinese.

All images obtain from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationality_Rooms.

/dʒ/ in the final position (/dʒ/ as in "juice," "joke" and "jam"; the letter "J" makes the /dʒ/ sound)

Practice the /dʒ/ sound with these words....

"fudge" and...

"orange."

To practice /dʒ/ at the phrase level, ask your child what kind of fudge is for sale.  Targets may include "chocolate fudge," "peanut butter fudge" and "vanilla fudge."

To practice /dʒ/ at the sentence level, ask your child what she knows about oranges.  Targets may include, "An orange comes from Florida,"  "An orange is sweet," and   "An orange is orange!"

To practice /dʒ/ at the conversation level, ask your child what she can do with an orange.  Targets may include, "I can eat an orange.  I can peel an orange.  I can make orange juice."

The /dʒ/ sound can be hard to explain to someone how to produce.  It is really a combination of two sounds, /d/ as in "dog" and /ʒ/ as in "genre" or "treasure."  It might be easiest to practice making the /d/ sound, then the /ʒ/ sound; then, make one after the other until they flow seamlessly together.  Touch cues are helpful for the /d/ sound.  Show your child how one's tongue taps the roof of the mouth behind the teeth.  This may require some pre-teaching at home before you go to the store.  You two can practice in front of a mirror.  You can also use your finger to tap the ridge behind her teeth (known as the alveolar ridge) where her tongue should be.  /ʒ/ is a little more complicated of a sound to explain, generally because it is not a common sound in English.  A friend from graduate school, LH, provided me with these tips based on an adaptation she made from a publication (see reference below): Round your lips; flatten your cheeks; then, "slush" air out between your teeth; then turn your voice "on."  I was very skeptical about these instructions, but they really work! 

If this technique doesn't work, try instructing your child to make the /dʒ/ sound in this way: Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, round your lips, let air blow out, turn on your voice.

Secord, W.  (1981).  Eliciting Sounds, Techniques for Clinicians.  Charles E Merrill Publishing Co.: Columbus.

/dʒ/ in the initial position (/dʒ/ as in "juice," "joke" and "jam"; the letter "J" makes the /dʒ/ sound)

Practice the /dʒ/ sound with these words....

"juice,"...

 "jug" and ...

"jelly" or "jam"...and also "jar."

To practice phrases, have your child name what kinds of juice she sees while walking down the aisle.  Giant Eagle Market District has an entire aisle dedicated to juice, so there is a lot of opportunity for practice.  Labels can include kinds of juice like "apple juice" and "grape juice," or name brands like "Juicy Juice" and "Welch's juice."

To practice sentences, you can ask your child questions about juice.  For example, "Which juice is in the biggest bottle?"  The target may be, "The apple juice is in the biggest bottle."  "Which juice is the reddest?"  The target may be, "Tomato juice is the reddest."  For older children, you may ask "Which juice is the most expensive?"  Another task is to ask your child what foods go well with jelly.  Targets may include "peanut butter and jelly," "toast and jelly," and "jelly donuts."  To extend practice on /dʒ/, have your child point out which jars are jam, and which are jelly.  This will likely work best for child that can read, or who are familiar with sight words (you can pre-teach sight words at home). 

To practice conversation, try asking your child what other items come in jugs besides juice.  Targets may include, "Milk comes in jugs.  The big milk jugs are so heavy!  Water comes in jugs."  To extend practice on /dʒ/ look for jugs and have your child say "jug" every time she sees one.  If you look carefully, you will likely find jugs of ice tea, shampoo, rock salt, etc.

The /dʒ/ sound can be hard to explain to someone how to produce.  It is really a combination of two sounds, /d/ as in "dog" and /ʒ/ as in "genre" or "treasure."  It might be easiest to practice making the /d/ sound, then the /ʒ/ sound; then, make one after the other until they flow seamlessly together.  Touch cues are helpful for the /d/ sound.  Show your child how one's tongue taps the roof of the mouth behind the teeth.  This may require some pre-teaching at home before you go to the store.  You two can practice in front of a mirror.  You can also use your finger to tap the ridge behind her teeth (known as the alveolar ridge) where her tongue should be.  /ʒ/ is a little more complicated of a sound to explain, generally because it is not a common sound in English.  A friend from graduate school, LH, provided me with these tips based on an adaptation she made from a publication (see reference below): Round your lips; flatten your cheeks; then, "slush" air out between your teeth; then turn your voice "on."  I was very skeptical about these instructions, but they really work! 

If this technique doesn't work, try instructing your child to make the /dʒ/ sound in this way: Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, round your lips, let air blow out, turn on your voice.

Secord, W.  (1981).  Eliciting Sounds, Techniques for Clinicians.  Charles E Merrill Publishing Co.: Columbus.