Production:
The back part
(dorsum) of the
tongue is raised to
contact the soft
palate, second molars,
and posterior gum
ridge to form a seal,
which completely
blocks the air stream.
The back of the
tongue is suddenly pulled away from the roof of the
mouth (velum) to release an unvoiced breath or burst of
air.
Names for /k/:
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The coughing sound
The throaty sound
The back sound
The short sound
The drippy sound
The cawing-crow sound
The tongue scrapers or the “quiet brother” of
/g/ (Lindamood and Lindamood, 1998)
Voiceless, velar, stop
Achieving placement:
The achievement of /k/ is tricky because you
can’t directly see it like many other sounds.
Therefore we demonstrate its qualities.
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Back of tongue (dorsum) is raised to
soft palate (velar placement)
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Explosion of air (breathy/voiceless)
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Velum closed
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Vocal folds silent
How do we start?
Placement:
Our first job is to achieve correct placement and
production of the sound in isolation. The SLP or the
Parent may teach this sound simply by discussing where
the articulators (the lips, tongue, teeth, etc.) are when the
sound is made. We might also get in the mouth, literally
(with gloves), to help the student feel and place the
articulators where they need to be. Another method is to
manipulate another sound like /t/, /g/, or /h/ to make
our target sound.
 Demonstrate the sound to the child. Have them
feel the air with the back side of your hand and
then on the child’s hand. You can also use a
piece of paper, a feather, or string to show the air
being released.
 Draw a picture. Because /k/ is so difficult to see
or visualize draw a picture or show examples.
You can have the child cough or gargle to help
them find the placement.
 Touch Cues or Tactile Cues. Have the child place
their hands on the uppermost part of YOUR
neck under YOUR throat, and then YOU make
the /k/ sound while they feel. Next have them
do this on themselves using a mirror.
 Try Food or Suckers. Using a sucker, lifesavers,
peanut butter (caution with food allergies) touch
the soft palate near the second molars with the
swab and ask the child to raise the back of the
tongue to the roof of the mouth to form a seal.
Then tell them to release the back of the tongue
quickly to release a burst of air.
Syllables:
Then from isolation we build by adding vowels to create
a consonant-vowel structure (C-V).
o KAY-KEY-COW-KOO
A simple way to separate sounds is to practice /p/ vs.
/t/ vs /k/ by saying:
o PUH-TUH-KUH
o “Patty Cake”
Simple Words:
Starting with /K/ in the initial placement (i.e. Car, Kid,
Kiss)
 Once we have achieved simple words we want to
build upon that success to help it carry over into
more complex words, phrases, sentences,
readings and conversations.
Strategies for “K” success!
1. Make that Contact! The key to success
with this placement is to make that contact with
the back of your tongue and the roof of your
mouth. Sometimes children either over
exaggerate this placement (i.e. gurgling sounds)
or under exaggerate this placement (i.e. making
little to no contact at all). Whichever placement
your child is doing just continue to encourage
them to make the correct placement. If your
child is making a /t/ for a /k/ try the shaping
techniques below and help them by recording
them on your phone or video camera.
2. Explode that Air! The most important
feature about the /k/ sound besides the
placement is the explosion of air that must pass
between the back of tongue and roof of the
mouth.
3. Touch cues! Using your index finger touch
your throat or the child’s as you demonstrate the
sound and its placement.
4. Self-monitoring! This is the most important
step for speech use mirrors for kinesthetic and
tactile feedback or voice/video recordings.
How to Shape the Sound?
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Shape the /k/ from /t/. The /t/ is a good
example of the pressure and quick release of /k/.
Have the child attempt /t/ and move it further
back into the mouth to make /k/. This also
helps with front to back movement.
Placement with /i/. Have the child say /i/,
they should raise the back of the tongue and
make contact with the molars, once the seal is
formed have them release the tongue quickly.
Coughing or imitating a cough.
Shape the /k/ from /h/. Have the child
prolong /h/ and quickly bring the tongue up or
cough. Also you can have them swallow while
exploding the air of /h/.
Shape the /k/ from a whispered /g/. If the
child can produce a /g/ have them whisper /g/.
Sources:
Lindamood, P. & Lindamood, P. (1998). The Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing
Program for Reading, Spelling, and Speech. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Secord, W.A. et al (2007). Eliciting Sounds; Techniques and Strategies for
Clinicians, 2nd ed. Clifton Park, NY; Delmar, Cengage Learning.
Young, E. & Hawk, S. (1955). Moto-kinesthetic speech training. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press