| Does your child have difficulty with the F and V | | | | "bite his lip and blow" to produce F. After the F is |
| sounds? F and V are fairly easy sounds to teach | | | | produced, instruct him to "turn his voice on" to |
| because they are produced at the front of the | | | | produce the V. Use of a mirror may be helpful. |
| mouth, making it easy for the child to watch and | | | | 2. Work on auditory discrimination between the |
| imitate. Children who have trouble with these | | | | error sound and F or V. ("Is this a pig or a fig?") |
| sounds commonly substitute P for F and B for V, | | | | 3. If V is not being vocalized, thereby sounding like |
| although other errors may also be made. The F | | | | an F, have the child feel the vibrations on his neck |
| and V sounds should be mastered by age four. | | | | while saying the sound. Produce V before or after |
| F and V are produced by touching the upper | | | | a vowel ("Va, Vee, uh-V"). |
| teeth to the lower lip. F is produced by passing | | | | Once your child can imitate the F and V sounds, |
| the breath between the teeth and lip. V is | | | | have him practice words that contain these |
| produced in the same way with the voice "turned | | | | sounds. With lots of practice you should see |
| on." | | | | improvement before long! If your child continues |
| Teaching Tips: | | | | to struggle with articulation, especially if he has |
| 1. F and V are easy sounds to teach because the | | | | many errors, an evaluation by a speech-language |
| placement is so easy to see. Instruct the child to | | | | pathologist is recommended. |