Selecting Different Sounds

Aims

This activity is designed to:

• continue to give your child opportunities to practice listening to the differences between speech sounds
• continue to encourage your child to start to imitate individual speech sounds
• assess whether your child can distinguish between different speech sounds

When to start

This activity is suitable if your child can make choices by reaching, pointing or tapping. The Listening to Different Sounds activity provides opportunities to learn and practise these skills.

Getting ready

Selecting pairs of sounds

As with the Listening to Different Sounds activity, we recommend that you first practise this activity with pairs of sounds that are easier to distinguish between.

We suggest these groups:

• First pairs: [b]/ [sh], [d]/ [s], [p]/ [v], [m]/ [g], [n]/ [k], [h]/ [j], [w]/ [f], [f]/ [y], [l]/ [ch], [r]/ [t], [oo]/ [ar], [o]/ [a], [oa]/ [igh], [oi]/ [ur], [oo]/ [ee], [ow]/ [ai]
• Later pairs: [b]/ [d], [p]/ [t], [d]/ [g], [m]/ [n], [s]/ [sh], [p]/ [k], [b]/ [p], [t]/ [d], [k]/ [g], [f]/ [v], [s]/ [z], [m]/ [b], [n]/ [d], [s]/ [t], [z]/ [d], [th]/ [p], [th]/ [zh], [air]/ [ear], [e]/ [i], [or]/ [ar], [u]/ [a], [ur]/ [ear]

Select three pairs of cards from the First Pairs set to start with. Initially, try to select pairs that include sounds you think your child knows - and perhaps is starting to imitate.

As your child progresses, you can add additional pairs into the set you are working with. For example, when your child is regularly selecting the correct sounds from the initial three pairs, add a fourth pair. When they can select sounds from all four pairs, add a fifth, and so on.

If, after a while, your child tires of the initial pairs, or if you want to avoid the activity taking too long, drop some of the earlier pairs with which your child is most familiar. You should occasionally retest your child on these.

When your child has worked through all of the pairs in the First Pairs set, you can start the same process with 3 pairs from the Later Pairs set.

Cards

Sort the cards into pairs.

App

Select Activities > Selecting Different Sounds and select the set of sound card pairs you wish to use.

A list of pairs will be presented. Select the pairs you wish to work with.

Instructions

1

Present the pair of sound cards face down.

Cards: Place the cards face down on the table/floor in front of your child.

[Apps]: Begin the activity and position the tablet/computer screen so that your child can see the cards (initially face down) on the screen.

2

Turn over one of the cards.

Turn over one of the cards and allow your child time to look at it. (The app will turn over a card when tapped.)

3

Say the sound represented by the card.

Say the target sound clearly.

Wait a few seconds.

4

Turn over the other card in the pair.

Turn over the next card and allow your child time to look at it.

5

Say the sound represented by the second card.

Say the target sound clearly.

Wait a few seconds.

6

Say "show me..." and one of the sounds.

Wait briefly for your child to look at both cards.

Say "show me..." followed by one of the two sounds represented by the visible cards.

For example, for the pair [d]/ [s] you could say "show me s".

7

Give your child a chance to respond.

Wait for 5 seconds.

8

Prompt and model or reward as appropriate.

If your child does not respond, repeat your request (for example, "show me s"). If, again, they do not respond within 5 seconds, prompt them by tapping (or helping them to tap) the correct card and repeating the sound - then repeat your request. If they are still unable to respond, move on to the next card (step 9).

If your child points at or taps the incorrect card, prompt them by tapping (or helping them to tap) the correct card and repeating the sound - then repeat your request. If they are still unable to respond, move on to the next card (step 9).

If your child selects the correct card, repeat the sound and say "yes, well done" and repeat the sound again. Praise your child.

9

Repeat steps 6-8 with the next card in the pair.

Ask your child to select the next sound in the pair.

Say "show me..." followed by the other of the two sounds represented by the visible cards. For example, "show me d".

10

Present the next pair of sound cards face down.

Cards: Place the next pair of cards face down on the table/floor in front of your child.

[Apps]: Move to the next pair of cards by tapping/clicking the right arrow.

11

Repeat steps 2-10.

Continue with the new pair, repeating steps 2-10 until you finish the set.

12

Consider adding another pair at the next session.

If your child is correctly selecting all of the sounds from the pairs you are presenting, add another pair at the next session.

When your child can successfully select the sounds in the First Pairs set, move on to the Later Pairs set.

Recording progress

To monitor progress, you should use the Selecting Different Sounds record forms provided (Figure 4).

Note the date and the set of pairs used. Use the Observations column to record:

• Sounds introduced - note the pairs you start with and each time you add a new pair
• Prompted - note if you are regularly prompting the selection of particular sounds
• Selected - note which sounds your child selects correctly
• Said or attempted to say - note sounds your child says or attempts to say

When to move on

You should work through all of the pairs of sounds in the Selecting Different Sounds activity. This may take several months.

You can start the Saying Sounds activity while continuing to work on the Selecting Different Sounds activity - perhaps by alternating the activities every other day.

Your child is ready to start the Saying Sounds activity when either:

• they can regularly discriminate between at least 10 sounds (5 pairs) - or -
• they regularly say at least 5 sounds

You can confirm this from the records kept for the Selecting Different Sounds activity.

Additional activities

• Present randomly selected pairs - when your child can successfully select sounds from both the First Pairs and Later Pairs sets, you can randomly select pairs of cards from either set to make the activity more challenging. This is available as an option (Random Selection) in the app.
• Present more than two sounds to choose from - when your child can successfully select sounds from randomly chosen pairs (above), present 3 cards at a time to select from. You can extend this further by presenting 4 cards. The app supports up to 4 cards using the Random Selection option - configured via Settings.
• If your baby or toddler is cooing or babbling, imitate their babble as if having a conversation. Every so often, change the sound you make and look for a reaction from your child that he/she noticed the difference. Many infants will not be able to imitate the change, but their facial expression will show they heard the difference.
• Show two cards, make the sound on one card and help your child choose the correct card and place it in a box.
• Lay some similar sounding cards out around the room (within your child's view) and ask your child to find a particular sound.