I will admit that I had been a little apprehensive to take on articulation cases that involved lateral lisps. Somehow they presented more of a challenge until I took an excellent course by speech pathologist, Pam Marshalla, put on by The Bureau of Educational and Research, BER. So I want to share my little success story.
First of all, my five year-old client is a smart, hard-working little girl who has already corrected her /k/ and /g/ sounds, but has a frontal lisp on /s/, and lateral lisp on /sh/. In her course, Pam encouraged us therapists to abide by traditional norms if a sound is following developmental steps. For instance, when do you correct a frontal lisp on /s/? Traditionally you would work on a correct /s/ when a child is 7-8 years old since they are on the typical developmental tract. However, a lateral lisp is being produced incorrectly and is not a step on the normal development of that sound, so it should be corrected as soon as possible.
So following those guidelines, I will wait to correct this girl’s frontal lisp on /s/ and I got to work on her lateral lisp on /sh/. Pam outlines the steps in correcting a lateral lisp for /sh/ in her course and Resource Handbook, “Practical Therapy Techniques for Persistent Articulation Errors: Frontal Lisp, Lateral Lisp and Distorted R.” So I got out my manual and used what I had learned to shape this little girl’s lateral lisp into a forward flow of air.
We started with producing “e” and feeling the sides of the tongue against the side teeth. I actually had her move her tongue forward and back, rubbing the sides of her tongue against the inside of her teeth to feel the placement that will eventually stop lateral air flow. Then simply breathe ( no voice) in and out in the “e” position, slowly round the lips and you start to hear an approximation of /sh/. It took me just a few sessions to get the sound consistently enough to start saying some words like “she” and “shoe.”
Whenever she has trouble getting a forward air flowing /sh/ we back up and go through the steps again. Midway she was able to go from “e” to /sh/. Mom learned the steps too so she could help for practice in my absence.
So if you want to round out your articulation therapy skills, look for Pam’s courses on her website. She has vast experience working with those persistent, tough cases that we all encounter.
What techniques do you fine successful in eliminating lisps? Share in the comments below.
Today I was interviewed for News 12 Connecticut TV at the Stepping Stones Museum to comment on how to encourage language development as your child visits the museum. Aside from my comments on talking about what your child is experiencing using rich vocabulary–the swirling, whirling water circling in the tank, and participating in pretend play with your child as he dons the different coats and costumes for each exhibit, a dentist’s coat, tool belt for “Build It” or an explorer’s vest in “The Rain Forest,” I learned about the expansion and upcoming plans for the museum.
I enjoyed meeting Carol Brennan-Smith, Director of New Ventures at Stepping Stones Museum as well as Kim Kuta, Content Specialist for the Exhibits and catching their enthusiasm for the new building project and expansion at the museum. Infants and Toddlers will walk down “Alphabet Alley,” being introduced to their letters and sounds before entering the newly expanded area for children 36 months, and under. Taking off from a world of nursery rhymes, this new space will have a bus (Wheels on the Bus), farm (Old MacDonald), Jack and Jill slide and Mary Mary Quite Contrary’s Garden.
It’s always fascinating to watch Jillian Neff get the best story. She was particularly adept at hearing from some 3 and 5 year olds as they experienced the exhibits.
Encouraging a child to link a story they’ve read with their life experience, builds language skills. Understanding a concept in the story such as working through a difficulty, sharing, making a friend or reading about a fish, and then making comparisons to a similar situation in your life, requires higher level thinking and language. I work with a third grader who often tells me, “I have a connection!” and she proceeds to link some information we have learned in a story with something she has experienced.
Much to our surprise and delight, Will and I made one of those connections when we toured the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. One of Will’s and my favorite books is Deborah Diesen’s The Pout Pout Fish. Will has memorized most of the book and fills in the lines as I pause when reading. As we rounded the corner approaching the big shark tank, we searched a very dark cavernous display and searched for its occupants. Camouflaged by the brown surroundings and hidden in a little passageway, we saw the pouty face of a fish peering out. When we checked the information card we realized we were seeing a real, live “Ocean Pout Fish!” Will and I got so excited that our friend who couldn’t shed his pout really existed, beyond the story:)
As we walked through the large halls, we spotted a giant squid, just like the one who spoke to the Pout Pout Fish, attempting to get him to smile. As you enjoy museums, aquariums, playgrounds and special attractions, try to link what you see to books and experiences that your child can relate to, to build their language skills. Older children can come home and write a comparative paragraph, contrasting what they saw and where else they have seen that, in a book or experience. Anytime you are comparing and contrasting, children have to understand and explain concepts–larger, smaller, faster, grumpier etc.
Most of all have fun with your children. Make learning a natural part of their experience.
I had heard nothing but fantastic reviews from parents about the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT. A visit from my one and a half and three year-old grandchildren prompted my first visit there today. Wow is all I can say.
Try to choose between the “Waterscape,” “Rainforest Adventure,” “Toddler Terrain,” “Build It” or “ColorCoaster.” Each exhibit is just enough to digest and kid-sized for attention spans and interest. We hardly got past the “Waterscape” room, where we were offered a plastic smock to keep kids dry as they explored fog, currents, whirlpools and waterways. Plenty of realistic play turtles and crabs and were available for swimming in the pools of water.
Next, we discovered the “ColorCoaster,” a 27 foot kinetic sculpture–a giant mechanical toy whose balls were whipped, dropped, and cascaded along metal trails, gathered by the arms of a gorilla or rolled into the mouth of an turtlle. Ben, 1 1/2, who loved balls, was so fascinated, we had to pull him away to the next exhibit.
Putting on the appropriate costume for each exhibit encouraged the pretend play as kids wore dental coats to examine a larger than life set of teeth, a doctor’s coat to drive the ambulance and work the walking talkie in “Healthyville,” a fireman’s coat to put out a fire, or a tool belt in “Build It” to construct a project. “Toddler Terrain,” designed as a safe place for toddlers to explore on slides, shapes and projects just their size, even had a rack of costumes to choose from–bug wings, ladybugs or bears.
Since much of the research emphasizes the importance of play in building language skills that under gird academic skills, this is a place to let your child loose to explore.
Besides the benefit of creative, interesting, interactive exhibits for kids, this museum is a resource for parents and educators. With an emphasis on raising healthy kids, their programs educate the community through activities for families and school groups. They have a resource library with tubs of language enhancing toys as well as a library of books that can be checked out for use at home.
If you are within driving distance or planning a trip to the East Coast, make sure the Stepping Stones Museum for Children is on your itinerary. As we left, my adult son said, “This is better than the Children’s Museum in Boston.” That’s quite a compliment!
I work with some children who have word-finding difficulties and sometimes it is hard to find fun activities to reinforce vocabulary within categories. When one of my students shared her “project” from art camp the other day, it struck me that it was a relevant activity for kids experiencing word finding problems.
She proudly showed me her “fairy’s house” made from clay, twigs, marbles, fabric flowers and ribbon. She was so proud of it and rightfully so! As I asked her about it, she pointed out and named the tub (with the marbles), bed (white fabric on the left), sink (the blue flower, and fence. She had created and named several things in a house that were otherwise hard for her to call up when asked to name rapidly within a category.
I often use art to reinforce calling up words within categories. I will read a picture book on a theme–school, playground, house etc.–talk about it and then have my student draw pictures of the vocabulary used within that category. We name the pictures and write the letters on the page. Each page is a different category of words. After a while, we have a notebook of vocabulary that we have used, discussed and remember.
Speech therapists, what are some activities you use for working on word-finding?
This weekend we went to the SoNo Arts Celebration in South Norwalk, CT. Walking along Norwalk’s historic waterfront, we took in artist’s booths, stage performances,a puppet parade, and a full street of children’s activities, including the “Children’s Art Playground.”
I have blogged before about the connection that can be made between art and language. Yes, we use two different sides of our brain to process visual and verbal stimuli, but art can stimulate language when we find out the story behind the work. Certainly the children’s area with murals to add to and masterpieces to create are fun, but think what a child can learn from hearing the story behind the art in the booths–from Nancy Richardson’s pillows with beautiful shells sewn to them (ask her how she drills the holes in the shells to attach them or where she gets her shells, to Karen Ford’s Ceramics displaying beautiful one of a kind Asian-inspired, functional porcelain serving dishes with inlaid glass, to Thomas Reilly’s bigger than life oil paintings of pencils and Cabell Molina’s abstract pastel landscapes created by moving the pastels with her fingers. I met a talented gentleman from South Carolina who developed his large black and white photos the old fashioned way in a dark room. Did I say he didn’t use a computer to create his art?
Getting your child interested in art has many benefits, creative and otherwise. Always read about the illustrator on the back flap of a picture book you are reading. Most have amazing stories to tell that communicate who they are through their art.
In a new study out in the July issue of “Autism,” researchers from the University of Washington reported that parents of children with autism experienced more stress from the behavioral challenges rather than the stress of daily care taking of their child when compared to mothers of children with developmental delays other than autism.
The study’s author, Annette Estes, a research assistant professor of psychology, was quoted in Forbes as saying, “Mothers of children with autism reported more parent-related stress and psychological distress.” “I think that parents of kids with autism are resilient in many ways and it’s not the hard work of daily living that causes the stress. The think what’s most difficult for parents are the problem behaviors.”
The study compared two groups of moms—one, parents of preschool children with autism and the other, parents of children with other developmental delays.
The fact that moms of children with autism experienced greater stress dealing with their child’s challenging behaviors such as irritability, agitation, crying, or hyperactivity, is useful information to us as therapists and parents in planning a child’s therapy program.
Perhaps as we are planning an early intervention program for a child we are working with on the autism spectrum, we should prioritize working on challenging behaviors, thus decreasing parental stress, allowing parents who are already doing an incredible job, to be even more available to help their child.
Since this research is current, several news sources wrote about it. To hear from other parents experiencing the same challenges or get an idea of who parents feel raising a child with autism, just read the comments after there was a blog on this topic in the New York Times.
How do you feel about this current research findings?
Many speech delayed children have apraxia of speech or apraxic-like characteristics: inability to consistently repeat speech models, difficulty with the motor programming for speech,
In my work with preschoolers who have these characteristics, I have found several materials valuable, one of which are the Speech-Language-Reading Connection Books pictured on the left. Each book features a consonant, vowel, or vowel-consonant combination that is highlighted and repeated throughout the simple silly story. These goofy tales appeal to kids. In Bunny Bop, the bunny “bippity bop, bop. bops” to various bushes–a berry bush, banana bush, green bean bush and even a bagel bush. Today, my little student who is finally repeating single words, attempted “bippety bop bop” with several syllables. Another favorite is Hanna Hippo who laughs with a “ha ha ha,” “hee hee hee,” and a “ho ho ho.” Timmy the Turtle is too slow for the race and lamented “Tut, tut, tut,” he’s too slow. A wizard showed up to fix Timmy’s feet until he had “magic feet” that could not be beat.
Let me know what materials you find helpful in working with kids who exhibit apraxic-like characteristics.
When I arrived at the home of one of the kids I work with who is on the Autism Spectrum, I saw a long tunnel he had made out of cardboard blocks that ran the length of the room. Mom said he is into tunnels these days. I admired his architectural structure and then gave some tips to expand his play. Kids who are on the autism spectrum can get “stuck” in their play on certain concepts or objects such “holes,” “tunnels,” “switches,” or a specific play person such as the “king” or the “alligator.” When this happens, parents and therapists have to be creative to keep the interest of the child but model flexible play that might include what he is so interested in, but expand on it and grow his language.
Mom had thoughtfully added cars to bring in some action. Best to include cars or vehicles that hold people for some interaction and conversation. I suggested she take a few more blocks and build a structure at the end of the tunnel for play such as a parking garage, or a restaurant or a house to go to after exiting the tunnel. The object is to take advantage of his interest in the tunnel but then expand the play with something related to it. Bring the cars through the tunnel and then have your people stop in for lunch.
Think of scenarios that will encourage story telling and creative play. Continue to model conversations and stories, pausing to let the child imitate or expand on what you are saying.
I use my Fairfield Public Library regularly for great books to use for therapy. Recently the children’s librarian introduced me to “Little Learners Circle Time Totes.”
Unzip the blue canvas tote and you are treated to a theme party of books and DVD’s. I chose the “Beach” theme and was delighted with its contents:
Books included:
The the Beach by Ashman
I Wonder Why the Sea is Salty by Ganeri
Sea, Sand, Me! by Hubble
Sally Goes to the Beach by Huneck
Beach Day! by Lakin
Find it at the Beach by Phillips
Into the A, B Sea by Rose
All You Need for a Beach by Schertle
Shells! Shells! Shells! by Wallace
Additional materials included a Kipper DVD on Water Play, Dora Summer Explorer, some songs and finger plays about the beach. As a therapist, teacher or parent, it is wonderful to have quality materials preselected for you to save time.
Check out your local library and see what they have available. If you live in Connecticut, you have reciprocal privileges at other libraries in the state so take advantage of that.
