Talk to your Child -- Then Talk Some More

As a new parent, and usually a tired one at that, I knew I should talk to my children but honestly I felt so silly and didn't really know how to do it. 

Here are a few suggestions:

• Pretend you are narrating a video production of the moment, i.e.: "Oh, I hear a very loud noise, what could that be? I see a garbage truck. Wow!" Going along with this example, I remember quoting the line from Andrea Zimmerman's, Trashy Town: "Dump it in, Smash it down, drive around the trashy town."
• As detailed in the example above, USE exact phrasing and language from the books you are already reading. From so many readings with her children, my sister could relate Dr. Seuss's entire phrasing, "I will not eat it in a box, I will not eat it with a fox . . . . ."
• Use lots of vocalization, noises and functional: "Wheeeeee", "mmmmm", "uh-oh"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/literacy-preschool-parents-pediatric-1.4817374

Happy Chatting!

Writing Suggestions

Kids need structure. We (parents) hear that all of the time regarding eating and sleeping patterns, but what about writing? Yep, they need structure with writing too. Writing is a crucial component to academic success. And, many children struggle with it, whether it be the motor component (handwriting, grip on pencil, etc) or the transfer of thought to paper.

Here is a suggestion you might use as a framework for helping your child with writing assignments:


http://www.amazon.com/The-Magic-Stories-Literature-Based-Intervention/dp/0930599365

Can you see how this sheet offers a framework? This format can be used for a personal narrative, a summary of a story just read or even used as an outline for an original story or essay. For example, if used as a personal narrative the parent or teacher might ask the child about a memory. Questions about the setting of the memory (i.e. Disneyland, with family, during the summer) begin the writing process and help organize thoughts in a cohesive manner.

At the beginning of the summer, I enrolled my three children in the local library's reading program. Only, I took a step further and required the kids to write a book report about each book they read to qualify as "minutes" with me. This worked especially well for my daughter. Here are some of her samples:

My son, who reads like a maniac, opted to just continue reading and forego the library reading program/prizes (drat! -- He was one needing the writing practice). He is a speed-reader who probably misses many important details along the way whereas my daughter needs help with organizing what she has learned. What are some of the ways you've helped teach your children how to write?





Tongue Thurst Resource

I've been studying tongue thrust quite a bit and wanted to recommend a really helpful website: http://www.pammarshalla.com/blog/2013/03/is-a-frontal-lisp-outgrown/

I've listened to Pam Marshalla's seminars and tried her advice/therapy guidance. I love her style.

Tongue thrust can be pretty tricky for parents to try and correct by themselves. I recommend finding a professional http://www.asha.org/findpro/ who has experience with swallowing therapy. I'm afraid a lot of time and money will be spent focusing on the wrong thing (articulation only) unless a professional is given the opportunity to spend some sessions focusing on the swallow.

I've been volunteering in my 4 yr old daughter's preschool class and can see many of them (almost all) have some sort of frontal lisp. But, from a listening/watching obervation only, and from a few feet away, I wouldn't be able to tell if their lisp was more developmental in nature or if it was actually cause for concern. My daughter is one of the "lispers" and even though I am terribly biased, I really do believe hers is the "cute" kind that will truly go away on its own. She is already starting to say some /s/ words correctly and I've barely even made mention of her lisp.

My other daughter, is definitely a tongue thruster. We've been seeing a professional who has been so helpful. She (my daughter) can do a correct swallow when probed and can also do correct sounds with a model/reminder. Much progress has been made - yea!

Anyway, watch for signs of your/a child being unable to move tongue without moving jaw ("try to touch your nose with your tongue" or " lift your tongue"); also, where is the tongue at rest? Jaw should be up and forward with tongue on the top of mouth (behind front teeth). One interesting observation is that if a child tends to have poor posture, low coordination in large limbs, he or she is likely not being very coordinated with speech either. Your tongue is like another limb.

Good Luck!

Fluency

I picked up my "American Speech,-Languagel-Hearing Association" magazine, "The ASHA Leader" back in October when I took a flight to Idaho for my grandmother's funeral. I really got caught up in a story that generated more readers' responses than I've ever seen for this magazine.

The story was written by a man who has a lifelong stuttering problem. He talks about how it felt to have a "block" in his words. He described, with great analogies, what helped him as he got older.

Please take a look:  http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2012/120918/Walled-Off--Stuttering-in-the-Family.htm

The number of responses I saw from this column was remarkable (16!). I love how "human" this article's approach was, without theories and definitions, just human, real-life experiences.

I was drawn back to this article this month when I read another "readers respond" message talking about how clinicians have to master statistics (not the class "Statistics" but the idea of knowing all the percentages and prognosis/diagnosis for problems) rather than having a knowledge of counseling a patient. This really goes back to my feeling that if I can't figure out how to develop a true rapport with an individual, I won't be able to help him or her overcome anything.

Focus

Many times a speech or language disorder is not isolated, meaning the person also has ADHD or Central Auditory Processing or Sensory Integration Disorders or Autism. The symptoms overlap for many of these disorders.

I'm learning that I can know or try many different ideas to help a specific problem, but I won't get anywhere if I can't get the child to focus.

Here are a few ideas I have learned and I would love to learn more so please share if you could:

1. Introduce an auditory signal (simple watch beep, subtle piano note played at different intervals of time), when the person hears this signal he is to redirect his attention by giving eye contact, checking wiggles, turn off voice. This strategy can be helpful for a teenager who uses cell phones. Program an auditory signal as a reminder to focus every fifteeen minutes.
2. Use lists, which gives child visual indication of what needs to be accomplished and a sense of accomplishment in crossing off items
3. When person becomes unfocused, add some movement (also referred to as binaural integration -- use both brain hemispheres):
•  - throw a weighted ball
•  write name in the air with non-dominant hand
• ask child to write the sound a duck makes (or any animal)
4. Jury's still out on this idea but I've recently tried giving person a little "stress" ball that can be squeezed during the session. I'm hoping this takes away from obsessive tendencies.
5. Whisper Instruction
6. Slow rate of speech

That's all for now. Thanks for reading,

Colette

Swallowing

Have you ever thought about how to actually swallow?

Try describing the process of swallowing to someone else.

Do you know of anyone with a "lisp" or "tongue thrust"? What about thumb suckers? If you aren't able to swallow pills without aid (meaning throwing your head back), you might be who I am talking about.

Try this:

1. Make a seal with your tongue and the top of your mouth (behind your front teeth, your tongue shouldn't even touch the back of your front teeth)
2. (not a requirement, but could help in describing) Now put your teeth together, smile big (the lips actually help elicit the swallow -- try doing this two different ways 1-with lips touching each other and  the other 2 - with an open-lip smile)
3. See if you can elicit a true swallow without moving the tip of your tongue

There are reflexesdo the work. The main process is actually involuntary (peristalsis).

So, what is the big deal with tongue thrusting and people with lisps? When they are little, they are given braces to help the teeth grow in place instead of jutting out (which is what an incorrect swallow pattern is doing to your teeth). What do you think of dentists/orthodontists recommending braces before considering an alternative treatment plan of correcting the swallow pattern? You wouldn't believe before/after pictures of somone who specializes in swallowing therapy: Orofacial Myologist. Of course there are many factors that precede the need for braces, I'm just throwing this out there as a possible way of saving thousands of dollars.

Since I have given birth to my own little tongue thruster, I could see at a very early age she was doing some seriously strange tongue action when speaking. During mealtime, she was my messiest eater with crumbs all around her chair. How thankful I am to have found a very good Orofacial Myologist who stopped my daughter from thumb sucking in mere weeks. The before/after pictures were HUGE motivators and the effects of ceasing thumb sucking (actual tooth movement) could be seen in a matter of months.

Just something to chew on for a little while ;-)

Check my friend Nancy out at: http://myofunctional.com/internal/approch.html