This school year, I have a good number of students who come to work with me on improving articulation skills. Many of these students are working specifically on the /s/ sound. A common error pattern for a child who has difficulty producing S correctly is making the sound with his/her tongue protruding through his teeth. This results in the sound coming out more like a "th" sound as opposed to a good, clear SSSSS. Try it! Say "snake"...and now say "snake" while sticking your tongue out while you say the "s." Sounds kind of messy, does it?!
Verbal reminders to "keep your tongue inside your teeth" can be helpful, as can using a mirror so the child can WATCH for his/her tongue to "sneak" out in an errant fashion.
Here's some blog posts I've found with more tips for working on clear production of the /s/ sound:
http://communicationstationspeechtx.blogspot.com/2013/01/articulation-tip-simple-cues-for-s-sound.html
http://2galsspeechproducts.blogspot.com/2011/03/eliciting-sounds-s.html
http://www.chicagospeechandmore.com/2013/01/04/speechtherapy-tips-for-producing-the-s-sound/
As always, feel free to post questions or e-mail me at rlwells1 AT ilstu DOT edu with questions regarding this post, articulation skills...or anything speech/language-related!
Happy speaking!
~Mrs. Wells
