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