Media vs Life As We Knew It.

At the beginning of every year, I do a "get to know you" activity with all of the kids that I see in the public schools. Most of the kids grumble and complain a little about this seemingly meaningless task; but, generously comply with a little prompting. One of the questions on their worksheet reads, " what is your favorite after school activity?". To my surprise ( I don't know why this was a surprise, it just was), at least 75% of the kids mentioned using some form of media as their favorite activity ( Xbox, Wii, computer games, World of Warcraft...whatever that is, etc.). More boys than girls answered this way,  even Kindergarten aged children.

Here's what I've noticed in my own life....I have an obscure view of the world through the lens of the media .I see these perfect and  happy family bogs, our nation in chaos over an election, STUFF that I cannot afford, updates that are meaningless yet necessary to read, and so many daily emails that I browse through the ones that don't take brain power and forget to reply to the important individuals that I say I love. All of this input coming at the speed of light so frequently that it becomes a drug. Literally, an addiction. Media is a legal drug ...for all of us. All other drugs are off limits for children because they are drastically unhealthy and young individuals are not able to always make safe choices.  If you knew that this media drug was altering the chemistry of your child's brain, would you allow it? If you knew it was hindering their ability to interact, in person with others, would you allow it?



Please note that I am neither condoning or condemning media use. Even now as I write this, my one-year-old is pining for my attention. I think there is a time and place for everything, even gaming (ask my husband). I simply think that it is a great idea for us to take a look at a few of these changes that have been taking place in our routines in the past 10-20 years. Then, take a look at other changes that have been taking place.  Learning disabilities are on the rise, 1/6 children; ADHD on the rise,  1/12 children; obesity on the rise,1/3 children. Who's to say whether there are correlations to our recent shift in lifestyle or not.

I share Jen Hatmaker's thoughts, which she sums up passionately in her book Seven.

  "I don't want my kids to be more comfortable interacting with a computer screen than a human   being. It's easier to bypass relational snags with convenient distractions forfeiting the chance to improve problem solving and listening skills....we stay the course until we resolve an issue. This is harder and requires more time, but my kids will marry people and have bosses and children. Learning healthy relational skills in now or never."

Do the world a favor and let's put a limit on the whole media thing. Let's go outside and play again. Let's read a book, no not an e-book, a BOOK. Let's eat dinner together and have conversations. Let's get out the board games and fight over who won at scrabble. Let's talk, laugh, argue, listen, and understand each other better. Who's with me?!?


Let me know if you have any questions, I'm not going anywhere.
SarahV

The missing "S"

" I daw a nake over there and it melled like a kunk!".  What's missing???  Hmmmmm, yep, you guessed it. This sentence is missing the important phoneme that most of us know as the /s/ sound.

The phoneme /s/ is the second most commonly used sound in the English language. So, when a child has difficulty with their /s/ sound, it can be REALLY difficult to understand them. Most of us are able to remember hearing someone speak with a lisp, and many of us have children who  have been known to have difficulty with this letter sound. So, let's explore how to help them find that /s/ again!

For purposes of this post not taking until Christmas to read (or write for that matter), I will focus on one specific difficulty with the /s/ sound. That is, the /s/ in a consonant blend.

A blend of consonants is two or more consonant sounds in a sequence within a word. For example sn---as in 'snake', sp---as in 'spider', and even ts---as in 'hats'.  When a child has difficulty with their consonant blends, the general rule is that they will leave off or delete the more difficult of  the two consonants. In /s/ blends, the /s/ is almost always more difficulty than it's adjoining consonant. Therefore, it gets the boot!

Spider is renamed a "bider"
Snow becomes a very excited "NO!"
Smile is now a unit of length, a "mile".

Confusing, right?  Imagine if you were the one trying to be understood!

Now that you know what is missing, how can you help? Let's start with the physiology...
The /s/ sound is produced with:

1) Your tongue tip slightly hovering behind your top teeth. 
2)The sides of your tongue lightly touching your upper set of molars. 
3)Your teeth remaining closed.


Now, let air out of the front of your mouth like a leaking balloon. Right over your tongue and out your front teeth.

Since this is a constant stream of air, I like to have the kids visualize the sound as a slithering snake, or a long string, even run a finger up or down their arm.

If the s-blend is at the beginning of a word, we have to define a stopping place for the next consonant. So, if you are using the "arm" technique make sure you help the child visualize where the /s/ ends and the next consonant is articulated.

For example, to teach the word "star", start at your hand and run  your finger (while making the /s/ sound) all the way up your arm to your face, and then tap your teeth when you get to the /t/ sound...to show where the /s/ ends and the next consonant is produced. You may also start at the shoulder or elbow and work your way down to the hand. Once you get to the hand, the second consonant sound is produced, followed immediately by the rest of the word.

It is important to remember that we are multi-sensory learners, children even more so. The more senses (sight, sound, touch, etc..) that you can incorporate, the easier it will be to learn!

This, again is a very visual sound and fairly easy to elicit...let me know if you have any questions/comment. I'm not going anywhere:)

Sarahv

Ixnay Screen Time

Before I go into my rant on television and young children, let me be very clear that I write this with ZERO condemnation. I am a parent who allows my 14 month old to watch a half-hour program almost every day. This post is intended to be purely informative and educational.

I am, however, going to clearly stress that if your child has more TV time than interactive language time with real live individuals, they WILL have a language delay.That's just the way it goes. So, yes, I am very passionate about this subject.

Let's play this out.  Your excitable 10 month old is running around, getting into cupboards, and screaming for your attention. You need to shower, do five loads of laundry, make breakfast, clean up the dishes, and finish your Facebook stalking. So, you turn on the TV. What happens to your baby....they become the poster child for the newest baby ZOMBIE movie. They immediately get sucked into the lights and sound, yet are unable to process the fast pace of what is actually happening in the program. 

How much screen time is your child exposed to each day? This includes both shows geared towards children and shows that you have on for your own enjoyment...be honest.  You'd be surprised how many families don't realize how much television/computer/iPhone time  their baby/toddler is exposed to during the day. Most families understand,even less, how little children are able to pick up from TV shows before two years of age.

Within the first year of life, children's brains TRIPPLE in mass! 3Xs! The majority of that growth comes from  the building of their language. What we know, is that children can learn little to nothing from watching television prior to the age of two. Yet, surveys show that between 40-60% of families have the television on most of the day.

So how do they learn language if not from television? The only way they learn is from the world around them, from play, from interactions with live people playing out life circumstance, from YOU. Not from Elmo, Backyardigans, YoGabbaGabba, Dora, or Cat in the Hat; from YOU.

What about attention? Studies have also shown that children who have consistent screen time also have difficulty with attention later in life. Has anyone heard of a rise in ADD/ADHD lately? I have!

"Well, the TV is only on for background noise". Studies also show that for every hour that a child under two years is exposed to screen time, they spend 50 minutes less interaction time with a parent. In our busy world, that is a sad realization.

There is no problem solving going on while watching TV, no creative play, no talking with others, no cause and effect (aside from turning the TV on and off), and no opportunity to watch your child grow. So press the off button. And if you MUST have it on sometimes, talk to your child about the program as they watch it. Name the characters, talk about what they are doing, what they are saying, what they are learning.

We all want to raise intelligent, patient, kind, social, and mindful children. So, do your part as the parent and lead by example.

Thank You.

Sarahv

"F" 'n "V"!

Since I've been absent the past few weeks; this week we will work on two sounds. Upfront, forgive me if this is mumble jumble, I've been on a 'juice fast' the past two days and may not be "all there" at the moment. So, read at your own risk! 

Okay, as always, let's start by saying the two sounds. Not the letter name, just the sound they make. "ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff". "vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv".

Note any changes in your mouth between the two. Anything? I hope not, otherwise YOU might need speech therapy;)

Both /f/ and /v/ are made the exact same way with your upper front teeth lightly touching the bottom lip. Leave the touch light enough that you can blow air through them.

Luckly for us Speech Pathologists, this is another one of those 'visual' sounds. Meaning, giving the child a mirror and having them watch you can go a long way.

Let's discuss the difference..... say the sounds again, this time touch your throat while saying them: "ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff, vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv". What did you feel? Your voice box should have "buzzed" or vibrated for the /v/ and was still with the /f/!

Excellent! So, the only difference between these two sounds is the voice (on or off).

Tips for the youngins:

1) Difficulty with placement: Again, visual sound, so give the kid a mirror and make sure they are watching you. You may even have them feel your throat if you're comfortable

2)Trouble turning that voice on for /v/:  I like to refer to the /v/ as the "vaccum" sound. This usually get's the kids to turn that voice box on and make it noisy.

3) Trouble turning the voice off for /f/: I like to refer to the /f/ as a fan; quiet and cool. Nice and soft with continual air. You can also have them feel their voice box again...if it's buzzing have them "whisper the sound".

4) Another common error is stopping the airflow: Have the child feel his/her air coming out softly as they make the sound. Let it  f   l  o  w, don't push the air. You may also hold a piece of tissue or paper in front of their mouth so they can see their air moving the tissue.

haVe Fun with these sounds.... and as always, let me know if you have any questions, I'm not going anywhere:)



Sarahv

ohhhhh "K"!

I have a confession. This is my number one favorite sound to teach kids. Sometimes I even write goals for this sound even if the kid doesn't need it (no, I'm kidding, that would be unethical!).

This is the sound that we all think of when we think "k"! But, "c" also likes to pose as a /k/ sometimes in words like 'cat' and 'cup', etc... So, just know that, as I am talking about the /k/ sound, I'm referring to those "c" words as well.

Here we go!

This sound is one of the most common 'errors' for children between the ages of 18 months-3 years ( I say 'error' a little tongue-in-cheek there because it's totally normal before the age of three). The reason being is that most children use a /t/ or a /d/ sound INSTEAD of the /k/ sound during young stages of learning language. I won't go into why...trust me, they just do. If you think about it, I'm sure you've heard an 18 month old refer to a cup as a "tup"; or, call a cat a "tat". I've always regretted not starting a quote book when I worked in the preschools. On pajama day, one young lady rushed up to me and proudly exclaimed, "Loot at my hello titty pajamas!". You can figure it out.

oKay, let's dig into the physiology. Just as we talked about with the /sh/ sound, /k/ also has a sound that is made the exact same way in the mouth, /g/. The difference is that /k/ does not make your vocal cords vibrate, and /g/ does! Go ahead, test them out....say /k/, now say /g/ (just the sounds not the letter names).

Feel where your tongue is for these sounds. Your tongue quickly touches the back part of the roof of your mouth. Way back by your throat. And, notice which part of your tongue touches (tip or back). The back! So the back of your tongue(or the blade) touches the back of your upper roof (or palate).

The Steps of teaching a child:

#1 Always remember to reiterate what the child is trying to say, the correct way. "Yes, you want a KEY".  Never imitate the incorrect way unless you are trying to get them to hear the difference. (See #2). This is the only step recommended for children under three years.

#2 Make sure the child can 'hear' the difference of what they are saying vs. what you are trying to get them to say. For example, if the child says "tea" instead of "key", ask the child "did you say 'tea'? If they say "no", that means they can hear the difference and they are probably ready to learn the /k/ sound.

#3 Explain the above physiology in "kid" terms. If you really want to get fancy, bust out a diagram of the mouth for them:)

#4 Open your mouth wide and have them watch your tongue "scraping" the back of your mouth. (some people call it the "tongue scraper sound" for that very reason). Next, have them try to imitate you with a mirror.

#5 If the child needs even more support, with a gloved hand and a tongue depressor (or gloved finger if you are brave:), gently hold down on the tip of the child's tongue. Since the natural tendency is for the child to put the tongue tip up to make the /t/ sound; holding it down typically forces the back of the tongue upward. Exactly where we want it to be. 9/10 times this strategy works.

#6 If the tongue depressor didn't work and the child is still forcing the tip of the tongue upward, hold off and try it again another day. They just aren't quite ready yet. You should never push to the point where they feel unsuccessful. If you feel you may have pushed too far, have them practice a sound that you know they can say and praise them for doing it correctly:)

#7 Positive reinforcement is key. Using phrases like, "oooo, that was really close", or , "I can tell you are working really hard", " yes, that was exactly right; did you hear it?!".

#8 Reinforce yourself with chocolate, icecream, a nap...whatever it takes, 'cause you just did some awesome work too!:)

*Note: I would not recommend working on this sound before the age of three years. At any earlier age it is developmentally appropriate for the child to substitute the /t/ sound for the /k/.

Best of luck. As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to ask....I'm not going anywhere:)

Sarahv

"Baby Talk"...harmful or helpful?

I recently (like 3 months ago) was watching a very popular TV show that I really love. In one particular episode, the mother of a new baby was cooing at, smiling at, and talking to her baby in what most of us consider "baby talk". Her middle school aged son quickly chimed in, insisting that she stop talking to the baby that way as she was sure to cause a 'speech delay'. After which, the mother immediately stopped.

What?! there is no way that just happened! I was so defensive and upset by this show's connotation about "baby talk" that I could hardly pay attention to the rest of the episode.


So, what's all the fuss about? Why did I get so upset, you may wonder (or maybe not; but, I'm gunna tell you anyway). You see, hearing that comment coming from a popular, mainstream television series made me quickly assume that this is the general public's view of how you should or should not talk to an infant. A view that "baby talk" is bad! And, in that case, we have it ohh-so-wrong.


Why do you think most people (okay, mostly women) are driven to talk to a baby in a higher pitched, less mature, slower, and sing-songy (not sure if that's a word) manner? Have you ever seen a baby's face light up when you start cooing and gooing at them? Of course you have, because that is what babies respond to best; especially in infancy! Don't you see, the baby is TRAINING us how to talk to them so that they can learn, and process ,and understand our big world.

To get technical on you, this "baby talk" is called Motherese. Meaning, a type of dialogue, or way of speaking used by caregivers of young children. Motherse, like Chinese or Burmese, is just another "language", made up specifically for babies. And we can all speak it!

I always chuckle a little bit when I comment on how well a child is using his/her language to a parent. The parent's proud response, eight times out of ten, is "We've always talked to them like they were an adult". Yeah right! You baby talked that kid, and probably didn't even know it! It's natural, it's nurturing, it's very important for your baby.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we are to go around mispronouncing words and using poor grammar...of course that would not be appropriate for a child trying to learn a new language. I'm just saying it's okay, actually preferred, if you get on the floor, hover over that baby, and sound like a weirdo 'til their little heart's content! It would probably do yours a little good too;).

Let me know if you have any comments or questions; I'm not going anywhere;)

Sarahv

shhhhhhhhhh!

Welcome to the sound of the week, /sh/! Yes, the sound you use when you are trying to quiet your children while you are on the phone. As if they'd listen! Okay, let's try a more kid-friendly description, how about 'the sound of the wind'. Yes shhhhhhh!


If a child is having difficulty making the /sh/ sound. There is a good possiblity that they are also having difficutly with the /ch/ sound. Simply because both sounds are made in exactly the same place in our mouths. It's also a good possibility that, instead of an /sh/ sound, they are using an /s/ or a /t/ sound. How in the world could I know this?? Magic. No, not really, just seven years of schooling and six years of working with fun articulation cases!

As always we need to start by talking about the physiology (better understood as, what we do with our mouths to make the sound).
The best way to help your child or a child you know make a certain sound is for you to make the sound, feel it, and observe what happens to your mouth, first. Go ahead, make the /sh/ sound. What do your lips do? They round and come forward. What muscles do you use to make your lips come forward? Your cheek muscles (to be rather vague). Let your kiddo know this, it helps them to visualize what they need to do with their mouths.

Grab a mirror. /sh/ is a very visual sound; meaning it's easy to "see" what your mouth does when you make the sound (unlike that pesky /r/!).

#1 Have the child watch as you make the sound in the mirror next to them so that they can also see the mirror. Now have them round their lips and push their lips out in the mirror so that they can "match" how you make the /sh/ sound.

#2 If it doesn't sound quite right. Tell the child to squeeze his/her cheeks tight against their teeth while they push air forward and out of their mouth

#3 Last effort is to use a gloved hand and gently squeeze the child's cheeks inward against their teeth so that they can feel how the sound is formed.

Remember that practice makes perfect. If they get close to making the sound correctly PRAISE them! Each time they get a little closer PRAISE the a bit more! Let them know how proud you are of how hard they are working.

Let me now if you have any questions...I'm not going anywhere;)

Sarahv

Stem Cells...What Are They Good for Now?

While reading through one of my recent professional journals (doesn't that sound fun!), I came across an article on a new cord blood study that is underway. So we've heard about stem cells from the umbilical cord being involved in therapies for individuals with cerebral palsy, brain injury, and juvenile diabetes; but, what if I told you they may now play a role in...hearing loss??

As of right now, the only treatments that we have for sensory neural hearing loss (the kind of hearing loss that happens when your inner ear is damaged. You know, like from standing too close to the speakers at the Metallica concert you attended in Middle School) are hearing aids or cochlear implants. This new study is using stem cell implants, from the child's own umbilical cord blood,  in children ages 6 weeks to 18 months to improve hearing loss. The theory is that the stem cells will regenerating hair cells in the inner ear. This means that there may be a potential of this study offering a nonsurgical treatment option to hearing loss in young children. It also would be the first treatment to potentially "fix" the damage inside the ear! How exciting is that?!?

If you just cant get enough of this topic ;), or to read more about possible advantages and disadvantages of cord blood. Click the links below.

Sarahv

http://www.cordblood.com/stem-cell-research/cord-blood-research/hearing-loss

http://www.ehow.com/about_5106120_disadvantages-cord-blood.html

Those pesky (yet necessary) "R"s

zzzzz...okay, WAKE UP! Yes, the topic of this post is rrrrreally about the /r/ sound (I crack myself up). As cute as that little Elmer Fudd voice is on your sweet seven year old; her peers may not feel the same way, not for long anyway.

So, I'm kind of on this /r/ high right now. Mostly because I just had a client learn his /r/ sound for the first time today! Strap on your seat belt and lets learn our "R"s!!

One thing you must know about the dreaded /r/ is that there is no "rrrright" way to produce it. This makes it a bit tricky to teach; but there ARE more opportunities to nail it too!

Way #1 80% of us say our /r/ like this: Back of tongue raises and moves back to our upper back teeth.

How? Rub the insides of your molars with your tongue on both sides. now pretend that you have peanut butter on the insides of your molar. The back of your tongue needs to lift up and spread out like a butterfly to touch the "peanut butter" on both sides at the same time! Go ahead, try it.

Way#2 20% of us say our /r/ like this: Tip of tongue rolls upward and back pointing towards the back part of the roof of our mouth.
How? Just how it sounds...instruct child to point their tongue tip up and to the back of their palate. Sometimes a mirror helps with this one.

TIP #1: If a child is too young to understand these instructions you can give them some tactile (feel) help by touching the insides of their molars and the back of the tongue with a gloved finger or tongue depressor. If a child is still too young to understand what you are asking, they probably don't need to be working on their /r/ yet:)

TIP #2 Another trick that often works if a child is having a hard time moving their tongue back far enough is to have the child place a tongue depressor laterally (long ways side to side), as far back in their teeth as possible. Then ask them to pull their tongue back so that it doesn't touch the stick at all. Try producing the /r/ with keeping this in mind.

NOTE: as always, make sure that a child doesn't have excessively large tonsils. This alone can make it difficult and uncomfortable for them to put their tongue back far enough. If you have any concerns about large tonsils, please see your family ENT.

Let me know if you have any scenarios that you want to discuss. I'm not going anywhere!

Sarahv

Let's get to Business

So, we started a business. Exciting? Sure! Crazy? Absolutely!! For any of you who have ever thought these words, " I could start a business", take my advise and give yourself more than...say, five MONTHS to get it going.

During really busy season's of life, I often think to myself, " What did you do with all of your time before.....", (you fill in the blank). Mine sounds like this: "What did you do with all of your time before you had a one year old, a new business, worked four jobs, and decided to give 'crafting' a place in your life?". The answer: I have NO idea.

Okay, enough with the ranting. Here's the cool part....

We did it! We actually OWN our own speech therapy clinic. Pediatric Speech and Language Center, LLC  is open for business! After months of applying to bill insurances, things are finally coming together. And we have exactly...one client. Oh wait! There are now three more (count them) yes, THREE, who are soon to be on our schedule!

We are so excited for this new venture. Thanks for coming along with us! www.coloradospringsspeech.com

Sarahv

For You

But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us -see that you also excel in this grace of giving.  -2 Corinthians 8:7 

This blog is dedicated to all of the young people in our lives. The ones that steal your heart and melt your soul. This blog is created for any parent/caregiver/professional who love children and long to see them living to their full potential. Who want them to have relationships with others that they are proud of. This blog is created for anyone who would like to have a glimpse into the world of communication and how magical it can be. 

And also to my fun, beautiful little peanut, Ella (hence the title;)).


Sarahv