Do anyone else's DC have trouble with the "th", "f" and "v" sounds?

[suburbandream]

DS2 is 8, mild Asperger's, and still spells very phonetically. The main thing I'm worried about is that he has real trouble distinguishing the th, f and v sounds and I wondered if anyone else has experienced this? For example, doing a bit of homework today, he wrote "fink" instead of "think", "fing" instead of "thing" (although he does pronounce it properly when he talks so that's not the problem ), "gath" instead of "gave". I don't think he's dyslexic but he is slightly behind with his literacy. I try really hard to sound these out with him but not sure what else I can do. Any help much appreciated!

Hello, I am marking my place - interested to see what answers you get. My DS (7.5) does the same and is quite likely dyslexic (though reads exceptionally well)....

I'm saying I don't think DS2's dyslexic but I'm no expert - maybe I just don't want another label just yet! He often misses out vowel sounds when spelling words too, like he'll write "lookd" instead of "looked" etc.

my ds does this toi. it ive been told it is a common problem in early years and speach therapy wouldnt be concerned then.

However, now i think they would. i would speak to Ds teacher asap. They can refer to speach therapy if need be - what is there to lose?

my ds teacher has said our ds is borderline for a referal - we have told her to go ahead and do it.

hmmm yes after about age 6 I would be thinking about professional intervention

this website shows when you can expect speech quirks to disappear by:

here; dig around, there's lots to see but a bit non-intuitive to navigate

Mine went to a speech therapist but I think they are in short supply and it isn't that easy.

thanks Raffiiscool and BoysAreLikeDogs (I have always liked your name BTW!). The developmental chart is really interesting. I have mentioned it to the school but haven't made a big deal out of it, as we only got the Asperger's diagnosis a few months ago and I'm not sure DS or I could have faced another round of referrals so soon . But hey, ho, New Year, new start and all that, let's see what the teachers say when he's back at school.

cool

PS if you put out a shout for Moondog - she is a SALT and might be able to signpost stuff for you

Hi my ds also has aspergers and is about to be assessed for specific learning disabilities most likely to be dysgraphia. Part of his aspergers are processing difficulties. Ninety nine percent of ds's speech is fine but he does random things like say 'at' instead of 'that' He does it much much more when trying to write but occasionally when speaking too. It is an auditory processing issue for ds and it becomes particularly bad when he has to say something in his head and then write it. We have found making him talk out loud as he is writing helps somewhat but he is well, well behind with writing so not sure if this would be something that would help with your ds.

Sorry if this is worded very badly, very tired

yawningmonster My DS sounds like yours. He really really struggles to put down his thoughts onto paper. Do you have any other tricks we can use to help DS? He has been observed by a specialist teacher, but we've not had any feedback yet (reads really well, clearly bright, but well behind in writing). He also says some words wrong, and (as noted above) struggles to differentiate between the sounds in the thread title when writing. Spelling is very poor and has poor fine motor control.

I wonder is it possible to have auditory processing difficulties apart from AS (I don't think he is on the spectrum, though has many quirks - discounted rather too quickly (?) by paed)....??

Yawningmonster, that is interesting thanks. DS speaks well although he does have a couple of quirks, like he'll say "I'm not interested OF that" instead of "not interested IN that". I will try really hard to practise the f, th and v sounds with him verbally and get him to write them down after hearing them maybe.

"th" and "f" are very similar, i would not worry about it too much, they are difficult to hear let alone spell for some people.
I teach secondary and I have about 10 year 7's so 11-12 who cannot tell you ther difference yet. They all have SEN, but your son at 8 has a few more years to crack it, and it may just click.

For me, it clicked when I was 16. I didn't actually know I said it wrong, and couldn't hear the difference. I can now though. I'm dyspraxic, by the way. I would say just keep correcting, and one day it may click.

children i've worked with have found it helpful to hold a small mirror and watch their mouth as they pronounce each word, and discuss what happens to their teeth, tongue, vibrations (eg in the v).
it also can work well for him to be teacher - give him a list of words you've written (correctly) and read them to him (incorrectly). let him explain each correct sound to you if he picks up on it.
shared writing works well too - be his scribe, and discuss the spelling of the relevant v,th,f words you come too. e.g "let's make up a story about a thing, a vulture and a fiery dragon, you help me think of the sentences and i'll write them down. then you can read it to xxxxx when they get home later."

legobuilder - those are great suggestions, thanks. I have asked him to watch me sound out the words, but the Asperger's doesn't help with eye contact . Maybe if he looked at himself sounding them out that would work. Plus he likes bossing me about so would probably enjoy being teacher!!

Hi, my DS had problems with, well all the sounds really!, but quite badly with F, he would say vence rather than fence and vox rather than fox. Also sp sounds.
When he started in reception he was given speech therapy because he needed it but also because of the children are taught the phonics system. And if they are not speaking correctly then they will not spell correctly
He speech, a year and a half after therapy wason fine. He occasionally need to be reminded that its a fence not a vence but not that often. So I would suggest you push for the SALT. There are also games you can play at home (we were given homework by our SALT therapist) For example three large stars and a rocket in a line. Some picture of words he had problems saying e.g. a fox, a fence, a fire, a fat man. He would put each picture on the starts one at a time until he reached the rocket. Lots of praise for good pronunciation. We worked on one sound at a time rather than a bit of all the sounds at once. Also maybe worth getting his hearing checked out? My son had glue ear (but not all the time) and this caused problems with pronunciation. Now aged 7 he is going to have gromits in (but we are in Switzerland not the UK and they seem a little keener on intervention than the UK) Good Luck