Guest guest Posted February 26, 1999 Report Share Posted February 26, 1999 Hi , Alycia's speech is often difficult to understand and it varies from day to day, hour to hour depending on her fatigue level. She is further complicated in that she has a partial paralysis (facial diplegia) in her facial muscles. This is why she drools and has speech problems. The problem is always there it is just worse on some days than on others. Lori wrote: > > > Laurie, does Alycia sound like she has marbles in her mouth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Hi it is very interesting to hear rhe posts on speech we have been having a difficult time with Summer she is very frustrated she knows and trys so hard to communicate but nothing at all makes sense she points well we have been working on signs but we are having a hard time getting her to make eye contact her hearing test is going to be done during surgery our slp is deciding how we should approach this (signs or photo cards)basically we have been trying whatever she responds to the best any ideas would be great also any new findings on this issue I would be interested in hearing thanks,Penny mommy to Summer 21 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Hi it is very interesting to hear rhe posts on speech we have been having a difficult time with Summer she is very frustrated she knows and trys so hard to communicate but nothing at all makes sense she points well we have been working on signs but we are having a hard time getting her to make eye contact her hearing test is going to be done during surgery our slp is deciding how we should approach this (signs or photo cards)basically we have been trying whatever she responds to the best any ideas would be great also any new findings on this issue I would be interested in hearing thanks,Penny mommy to Summer 21 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Penny- When Aubrie was that age, we used a combination of sign and speech. I tried to speak and sign everything, but I must admit that I didn't do a great job of it. I would sign when it was on my mind. Or I would tell Aubrie to " Look at me so I can show you the sign for that " . I purposefully taught her signs for words I could tell she was trying to use. And I would sign to her about things that I knew she'd be likely to want to tell me about. One thing that got things jump started was that I learned to sign her favorite book. She has always loved books and music. When I signed her book, then she could sign back to me some of the key words. It was so exciting to see her demonstrate her understanding of the story, telling what would come next, etc. We, too, wondered if Aubrie would ever produce intelligible speech. We considered picture cards. I thought they'd be too difficult to manage. We prefered to try sign because Aubrie would always have her hands with her, we didn't have to add or program new vocabulary, etc. Although her signs are imperfect due to her poor fine motor skills, they are good enough, combined with her speech, to figure things out. The key, I think, is to do whatever it takes to reduce frustration. Also, it has been very important to me to know that Aubrie's teachers know, respect, and respond to her unique communication. How can you build on concept knowledge if you don't acknowledge that a kid knows something? The slightest sound or gesture may be Aubrie's way of telling that she knows or has experiences with whatever they're talking about at school. If that was ignored, she'd stop trying and her learning would be limited. Gotta run! Michele W Aubrie's mom (4.5 yrs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Penny- When Aubrie was that age, we used a combination of sign and speech. I tried to speak and sign everything, but I must admit that I didn't do a great job of it. I would sign when it was on my mind. Or I would tell Aubrie to " Look at me so I can show you the sign for that " . I purposefully taught her signs for words I could tell she was trying to use. And I would sign to her about things that I knew she'd be likely to want to tell me about. One thing that got things jump started was that I learned to sign her favorite book. She has always loved books and music. When I signed her book, then she could sign back to me some of the key words. It was so exciting to see her demonstrate her understanding of the story, telling what would come next, etc. We, too, wondered if Aubrie would ever produce intelligible speech. We considered picture cards. I thought they'd be too difficult to manage. We prefered to try sign because Aubrie would always have her hands with her, we didn't have to add or program new vocabulary, etc. Although her signs are imperfect due to her poor fine motor skills, they are good enough, combined with her speech, to figure things out. The key, I think, is to do whatever it takes to reduce frustration. Also, it has been very important to me to know that Aubrie's teachers know, respect, and respond to her unique communication. How can you build on concept knowledge if you don't acknowledge that a kid knows something? The slightest sound or gesture may be Aubrie's way of telling that she knows or has experiences with whatever they're talking about at school. If that was ignored, she'd stop trying and her learning would be limited. Gotta run! Michele W Aubrie's mom (4.5 yrs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Penny: I just want to tell you not to give up on the signing. We signed to (and verbalized) from about 9-months old on. (The audiologist said there was no hearing in the " speech banana " for .) It was not until she was probably 14-months old that we got any signs back. Much was due to limited motor abilities. Her first sign was one that was easy to do and didn't require finger control: " more " . That is often a child's first sign. More signs followed slowly, but the expressive portion of language was far outpaced by her receptive skills. We could sign to her and know she understood us, but she didn't often sign back. As her fine motor skills improved, so did her signing. Now we have to ask for clarification because she signs so well! She comes home from school with new signs - at one point it became a daily thing - and we have to ask her, or I write the teacher in 's communication book and ask what they might have learned new that day. What I'm trying to say is not to give up just because there is no response for a while. If you think about all the verbal language a " normal " child gets, and for how many hours daily, it becomes clear that unless one signs ALL THE TIME (which is very hard when it is not your own language) a child is not getting the equivalent exposure. It is bound to take additional time for response. Maybe pictures would be a good supplement to signing right now to reduce Summer's frustration. pointed a lot, and often lead us to things she wanted. (And concrete photos might give a link to what is being signed. We had a couple board books with everyday things - clothing, foods, etc. - that also had the sign with it. could look at the word book and see the concrete object, then also see another child signing the word. I think having a sign demonstrated by another child made a difference too. It made her understand that it wasn't just for adults.) Regarding eye contact: We went to the Deaf School's Pre-school program 2 days a week for 2 hours and the goal was, naturally, some signing exposure; but it was also for eye contact training and attention measures. Keep trying and use whatever it takes to get communication with Summer. All families are different; resources in the local area are different; medical concerns can effect outcomes or even programs. I could list on and on. Dr. Davenport always says: The first most important thing is communication. The second most important thing is communication. The third most important thing is...COMMUNICATION!!!! Use whatever it takes! Good luck! Friends in CHARGE, Marilyn Ogan Mom of Ken (12, ADD) and (9, CHARGE+) Wife of Rick Indianapolis, IN oganm@... Re: speech > Hi it is very interesting to hear rhe posts on speech we have been > having a difficult time with Summer she is very frustrated she knows > and trys so hard to communicate but nothing at all makes sense she > points well we have been working on signs but we are having a hard > time getting her to make eye contact her hearing test is going to be > done during surgery our slp is deciding how we should approach this > (signs or photo cards)basically we have been trying whatever she > responds to the best any ideas would be great also any new findings > on this issue I would be interested in hearing thanks,Penny mommy to > Summer 21 months. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 21, 2002 Report Share Posted March 21, 2002 Penny: I just want to tell you not to give up on the signing. We signed to (and verbalized) from about 9-months old on. (The audiologist said there was no hearing in the " speech banana " for .) It was not until she was probably 14-months old that we got any signs back. Much was due to limited motor abilities. Her first sign was one that was easy to do and didn't require finger control: " more " . That is often a child's first sign. More signs followed slowly, but the expressive portion of language was far outpaced by her receptive skills. We could sign to her and know she understood us, but she didn't often sign back. As her fine motor skills improved, so did her signing. Now we have to ask for clarification because she signs so well! She comes home from school with new signs - at one point it became a daily thing - and we have to ask her, or I write the teacher in 's communication book and ask what they might have learned new that day. What I'm trying to say is not to give up just because there is no response for a while. If you think about all the verbal language a " normal " child gets, and for how many hours daily, it becomes clear that unless one signs ALL THE TIME (which is very hard when it is not your own language) a child is not getting the equivalent exposure. It is bound to take additional time for response. Maybe pictures would be a good supplement to signing right now to reduce Summer's frustration. pointed a lot, and often lead us to things she wanted. (And concrete photos might give a link to what is being signed. We had a couple board books with everyday things - clothing, foods, etc. - that also had the sign with it. could look at the word book and see the concrete object, then also see another child signing the word. I think having a sign demonstrated by another child made a difference too. It made her understand that it wasn't just for adults.) Regarding eye contact: We went to the Deaf School's Pre-school program 2 days a week for 2 hours and the goal was, naturally, some signing exposure; but it was also for eye contact training and attention measures. Keep trying and use whatever it takes to get communication with Summer. All families are different; resources in the local area are different; medical concerns can effect outcomes or even programs. I could list on and on. Dr. Davenport always says: The first most important thing is communication. The second most important thing is communication. The third most important thing is...COMMUNICATION!!!! Use whatever it takes! Good luck! Friends in CHARGE, Marilyn Ogan Mom of Ken (12, ADD) and (9, CHARGE+) Wife of Rick Indianapolis, IN oganm@... Re: speech > Hi it is very interesting to hear rhe posts on speech we have been > having a difficult time with Summer she is very frustrated she knows > and trys so hard to communicate but nothing at all makes sense she > points well we have been working on signs but we are having a hard > time getting her to make eye contact her hearing test is going to be > done during surgery our slp is deciding how we should approach this > (signs or photo cards)basically we have been trying whatever she > responds to the best any ideas would be great also any new findings > on this issue I would be interested in hearing thanks,Penny mommy to > Summer 21 months. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2002 Report Share Posted March 23, 2002 hi Michele thanks for your input what a great idea using books im going to try that tomm this is so frustrating i too forget to use signs the therapist had a team meeting and wanted me to decide which way to communicate I told them the same she would always have her hands to sign but may not always have her cards well as you know all these decisions big or small for our kids are huge i just want something to work for her it seems everything she wants so badly she cant have you know eats, walking ,talking and for now communication is going to be the easiest to acheive. thanks again any other suggestions would be great Penny mommy to summer 21 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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