Hello I need everyone's opinion

[Guest guest]

HI, a VERY GOOD friend of mine whom I know since I have been 7 years old is

concerned about her sons speech, and she hasnt dealt with any disabilities,

let alone her own son, so she called me for help, we pretty much have had some

distance between us as we got older due to us having our own families even

though she is 6 minutes from me, but our kids have different circles of

friends so we dont get together much, and she is VERY busy, so we never get a

long

enough chance to talk . Since she called me I cant seem to get it off my

mind, I want to tell her EVERYTHING that I have learned in the past 6 years of

dealing with this stuff with my son but its difficult because we dont see each

other much and I dont know how receptive she would be, but like I said shes

like a sister, thats the hardest part, and I kinda saw a little speech issue

in her son 1 1/2 years ago, but stayed out of it, because shes not receptive

to not having " the perfect kid " , just my opinion. So anyways, I sent her

this email today, do you all think I came on too strong? Do you think any of my

info needs to be corrected? Your opinions will really help me out. I deleted

the part about a few local ST's that I told her to go see for an eval.

Opinions please? From what she says her son sounds like he has low muscle

tone,

which is why I didnt get into the other aspects. It may sound too strong, but

I wish someone would have sent me that same email 6 years ago lol!!!!

Thanks

Michele

Hello, I really want to help you, and you dont seem to have the time, so I

figured I would write you an email!!! Anyway, there are alot of variables to

developing speech and language I am going to name a few for you so when you do

go to see a speech therapist you will not be in the dark. There are

articulation, oral motor, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, they will surely

evaluate

receptive language abilities and expressive abilities.

But lets start here, which sounds more like your son, but the therapist will

evaluate ALL aspects of speech, and you may be suprised by what they come up

with, either good or bad, so I dont want you to be intimidated by the lingo,

because these therapists have a lingo all their own, and if you dont know

what they are talking about, I can always help you, Im really good at it now!!!

There are the following:

Articulation issues where the articulators need to be strengthened due to

low tone, weak articulators for example:

This is just one example, and I dont believe the " R " sound is mastered at

that young of an age anyway, but just to show you what I mean. In order to

create " r " or " er " sounds (called palatal glide sounds),your tongue is tensed

and retracted with the back lateral margins elevated and in contact with the

upper back molars and gums.The front is bunched up in a neutral postion with

specific contact points. The tongue is somewhat broad and the teeth are

slightly open. The tip of the tongue may be elevated and turned back. " r " and

" er " are movement sounds, the positioning of the tongue is affected byt the

preceding or following vowel sound. The lips relax and can take on the shape of

the preceding or following vowel. If weak articulators are the issue they

need to be addressed.

So when you speak dont take for granted what goes into those movements for

one minute lol!

Oral Motor

Here are some good oral motor exercises to strenghten the mouth muscles

-tongue, lips, etc.:

-Stick his tongue out and down toward his chin as far as it will go, put

peanut butter or something on his chin and have him try to lick it off.

-Place 3 fingers on his cheek Tell him push his tongue tip against the

inside of his cheek while pressing in with your fingers.

-Practice saying these syllables " tuh tuh tuh tuh " , " duh duh duh duh " " nuh

nuh nuh nuh " etc.

-With his lips open, hold your tongue on the bump behind your top front

teeth for ten seconds and repeat a few times.

-Press on the top left half of his tongue with the tongue depressor

(twizzler or whatever he will tolerate it with!), at the same time, tell him to

push

his whole tongue up hold it for 4 or 5 seconds and repeat it on the other

side.

-Press down on his tongue tip with a tongue depressor and have him push up

with his tongue at the same time. Hold it for 4 or 5 seconds.

-Place your tongue depressor against the side of his tongue tip. Have him

push as hard as you can for 4 or 5 sec. and then repeat on the other side

-Place the tongue depressor under his tongue.Pull up on the tongue depressor

while he pushes down with your tongue hold for 4 or 5 sec

-Put peanut butter or something on a spoon, tell him to lick it off, make

sure the spoon is positioned so he curls his tongue tip up, WITHOUT MOVING HIS

HEAD, just using his tongue..

This is just a few of them that I can think of right now, but these are

exercises to strengthen the tongue, there are a ton more that I can tell you.

I dont know if he has a problem with lip rounding (good exercises for " oo

oo " sound), but have him blow a cotton ball across the table through a straw.

Have him suck pudding or applesauce through a straw, or yogurt would work too.

Any kind of whistles, bubbles, trumpet or blowing exersices are great, for

lip rounding and breath support

This is just some stuff that I can think of off the top of my head that will

help. If he has a problem with vowel sounds I can give you a ton of stuff

to do for that, but that is rare - most kids have problems with consonant and

consonant sound blends, unless of course you are Little , than vowels

are your biggest obstacle !!!

Also, just to let you know, when you have weak muscle tone in the mouth, its

not uncommon to have other soft signs like some fine motor, or gross motor

difficulty as well, but have no fear - all correctable!!!!!

And it will help if you make him sit up straight in a chair, and give him

something sour before you do this, because the sour taste will awaken the

senses in the mouth.

It may sound crazy but giving him one capsule of Nordic Naturals ProEFA

everyday, you will notice a difference in 1 to 4 weeks with his speech.

Yes, I should go to school for it and I still might just yet !!!! lol !!!

Hopefully you get this before you leave work.

Call Me.

Michele

[Guest guest]

Hey

That is a fantastic letter!

[Guest guest]

I wish somebody send this to me couple of years ago. I would have started

working with my daughter. Even the therapists she was working could not

give me any good input untill the last therapist we found a year ago who

understands apraxia. I have to say she has a wonederful one at school now

too.

I think this is a very good letter

Houry

[ ] Hello I need everyone's opinion

HI, a VERY GOOD friend of mine whom I know since I have been 7 years old

is

concerned about her sons speech, and she hasnt dealt with any

disabilities,

let alone her own son, so she called me for help, we pretty much have had

some

distance between us as we got older due to us having our own families

even

though she is 6 minutes from me, but our kids have different circles of

friends so we dont get together much, and she is VERY busy, so we never

get a long

enough chance to talk . Since she called me I cant seem to get it off my

mind, I want to tell her EVERYTHING that I have learned in the past 6

years of

dealing with this stuff with my son but its difficult because we dont see

each

other much and I dont know how receptive she would be, but like I said

shes

like a sister, thats the hardest part, and I kinda saw a little speech

issue

in her son 1 1/2 years ago, but stayed out of it, because shes not

receptive

to not having " the perfect kid " , just my opinion. So anyways, I sent her

this email today, do you all think I came on too strong? Do you think any

of my

info needs to be corrected? Your opinions will really help me out. I

deleted

the part about a few local ST's that I told her to go see for an eval.

Opinions please? From what she says her son sounds like he has low

muscle tone,

which is why I didnt get into the other aspects. It may sound too

strong, but

I wish someone would have sent me that same email 6 years ago lol!!!!

Thanks

Michele

Hello, I really want to help you, and you dont seem to have the time, so I

figured I would write you an email!!! Anyway, there are alot of variables

to

developing speech and language I am going to name a few for you so when

you do

go to see a speech therapist you will not be in the dark. There are

articulation, oral motor, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, they will

surely evaluate

receptive language abilities and expressive abilities.

But lets start here, which sounds more like your son, but the therapist

will

evaluate ALL aspects of speech, and you may be suprised by what they come

up

with, either good or bad, so I dont want you to be intimidated by the

lingo,

because these therapists have a lingo all their own, and if you dont know

what they are talking about, I can always help you, Im really good at it

now!!!

There are the following:

Articulation issues where the articulators need to be strengthened due to

low tone, weak articulators for example:

This is just one example, and I dont believe the " R " sound is mastered at

that young of an age anyway, but just to show you what I mean. In order

to

create " r " or " er " sounds (called palatal glide sounds),your tongue is

tensed

and retracted with the back lateral margins elevated and in contact with

the

upper back molars and gums.The front is bunched up in a neutral postion

with

specific contact points. The tongue is somewhat broad and the teeth are

slightly open. The tip of the tongue may be elevated and turned back.

" r " and

" er " are movement sounds, the positioning of the tongue is affected byt

the

preceding or following vowel sound. The lips relax and can take on the

shape of

the preceding or following vowel. If weak articulators are the issue

they

need to be addressed.

So when you speak dont take for granted what goes into those movements for

one minute lol!

Oral Motor

Here are some good oral motor exercises to strenghten the mouth muscles

-tongue, lips, etc.:

-Stick his tongue out and down toward his chin as far as it will go, put

peanut butter or something on his chin and have him try to lick it off.

-Place 3 fingers on his cheek Tell him push his tongue tip against the

inside of his cheek while pressing in with your fingers.

-Practice saying these syllables " tuh tuh tuh tuh " , " duh duh duh duh " " nuh

nuh nuh nuh " etc.

-With his lips open, hold your tongue on the bump behind your top front

teeth for ten seconds and repeat a few times.

-Press on the top left half of his tongue with the tongue depressor

(twizzler or whatever he will tolerate it with!), at the same time, tell

him to push

his whole tongue up hold it for 4 or 5 seconds and repeat it on the other

side.

-Press down on his tongue tip with a tongue depressor and have him push

up

with his tongue at the same time. Hold it for 4 or 5 seconds.

-Place your tongue depressor against the side of his tongue tip. Have

him

push as hard as you can for 4 or 5 sec. and then repeat on the other side

-Place the tongue depressor under his tongue.Pull up on the tongue

depressor

while he pushes down with your tongue hold for 4 or 5 sec

-Put peanut butter or something on a spoon, tell him to lick it off, make

sure the spoon is positioned so he curls his tongue tip up, WITHOUT MOVING

HIS

HEAD, just using his tongue..

This is just a few of them that I can think of right now, but these are

exercises to strengthen the tongue, there are a ton more that I can tell

you.

I dont know if he has a problem with lip rounding (good exercises for " oo

oo " sound), but have him blow a cotton ball across the table through a

straw.

Have him suck pudding or applesauce through a straw, or yogurt would work

too.

Any kind of whistles, bubbles, trumpet or blowing exersices are great,

for

lip rounding and breath support

This is just some stuff that I can think of off the top of my head that

will

help. If he has a problem with vowel sounds I can give you a ton of

stuff

to do for that, but that is rare - most kids have problems with consonant

and

consonant sound blends, unless of course you are Little , than

vowels

are your biggest obstacle !!!

Also, just to let you know, when you have weak muscle tone in the mouth,

its

not uncommon to have other soft signs like some fine motor, or gross

motor

difficulty as well, but have no fear - all correctable!!!!!

And it will help if you make him sit up straight in a chair, and give him

something sour before you do this, because the sour taste will awaken the

senses in the mouth.

It may sound crazy but giving him one capsule of Nordic Naturals ProEFA

everyday, you will notice a difference in 1 to 4 weeks with his speech.

Yes, I should go to school for it and I still might just yet !!!! lol !!!

Hopefully you get this before you leave work.

Call Me.

Michele

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks so much, I really tried to talk to her about it, but she doesnt seem

to have the time, yet she wants me to help her !! Its kina weird.

Thanks again

Michele

[Guest guest]

Houry

Thanks! Ya know I wrote this letter thinking the same thing, why didnt

anyone send this kind of letter to me 6 years ago???

Michele

Michele

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/18/2006 9:49:28 AM Eastern Standard Time,

kiddietalk@... writes:

Michele your friend came to you to ask for help which tells me that

she is looking for your advice at this time. She probably views you

as an expert in this area, and based on your email to her -yes you

sound like one! (you should go to school for it!)

Thanks!

I don't believe you came on too strong, but you know her best since

she's like your sister. Did you hear from her yet? At this point

if not I'd say just give her a call and see if you stop by this

weekend that you have something for her. It will give you a reason

to see her in person which will probably be best, and to drop off

your copy of The Late Talker book since that book will cover all the

basics to a parent who is not sure and is overwhelmed with it all

and may not want to hear or read it all at once.

, I gotta tell you the truth, I was booting myself in the A & %, because

this totally crossed my mind afterward, because you are right, I should have

mentioned the book at least and I didnt. Your right, I am going to go and see

her tomorrow whether shes busy or not and I am going to give her my copy!

In general in the early stages, parents need someone they can

express fear, tears, anger or disbelief to, someone to listen to

them -as hard as it may be, perhaps the time for 'in person' is

now. It would be best if the two of you can talk in a place with no

children around to hear what is said. Whether we believe they

understand or not -I believe it's best to 'assume' that the

child/children can understand and not to talk in front of them about

your fears, tears, anger and disbelief about their not

talking/diagnosis/prognosis.

Your friend probably wants not just information from you, but

support too since she knows you are going through what she fears

right now. She probably wishes she could hear you say " Are you

kidding?! He seems just fine to me " but the fact that she came to

you means she is looking for the truth...at least part of her is.

See this is exactly what I think is going on with her!

Be sure to stress to your friend that the majority (around 75%) of

children that are " late talkers " are just that -children that talk a

bit late -but why not seek early intervention just in case. No harm

from early intervention other than perhaps if it's a waste of tax

payers money and your time...but take the " wait and see " approach

and it ends up the child has an impairment vs. a delay -then what's

the harm? No comparison. Besides, who knows even if it is a delay

if EI is a total waste of money and time. Even without an

impairment in speech, the extra stimulation may encourage speech

earlier.

This is one of the things that I tried to stress to her on the phone, but

she still thinks that " it couldnt be a lifelong problem? " I like you have a

tendency to come on strong at times, and she does know that, but I dont want to

scare her, she needs me, and if I cant be there for her, because of something

I said? That would be pitiful. I have no problems helping other parents,

strangers, hell, my husband and I went to dinner one night and we were having a

drink at the bar, when I overheard someone talking about their childrens

delay and of course I butt in, and as it turns out I helped her advocate at

school, gave her some good advice, and we have been friends ever since, its

very

easy for me to speak to a " desperate stranger " so to speak, but someone close

to me seems to be much more of a challenge, my emotions seem to get in the

way I think, because I would do for her son, what I have done for my own, but

yet who the hell wants to go through that again ???? lol ! So I think thats

why I feel so bad.

Anyway , thanks for the post, I will be giving her my copy of your book,

because it definitely is a great starting point. She does take the train to

Manhattan everyday, so Im sure she will be able to read it fairly quickly.

Thanks again

Michele

More on this from CHERAB

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/earlyintervention.html

What state do you live in? In certain areas the chances of two

apraxic children living within driving distance is not likely -while

in other areas -car? Forget about it you can walk to another

apraxic child on your own block. Also as you wisely are noticing -

you want to see if the child is a late talker with or without any

other signs -such as the neurological soft signs.

No matter what the reason for your best friend's child's delay in

speech -as you know there is great hope for a bright and shiny

future. In this group those of us who have gone down the road

earlier are here as either big brothers or sisters to those just

starting out. Since she is already like a sister to you, the role

of you being 'big' sister is natural!

[Guest guest]

Hi Michele

It does not sound too strong to me. It is nice that you can help your friend

as the earlier the internvention the better the outcome for your friends son.

Take care and have a nice day

Chrissy

mmich5569@... wrote:

HI, a VERY GOOD friend of mine whom I know since I have been 7 years old is

concerned about her sons speech, and she hasnt dealt with any disabilities,

let alone her own son, so she called me for help, we pretty much have had some

distance between us as we got older due to us having our own families even

though she is 6 minutes from me, but our kids have different circles of

friends so we dont get together much, and she is VERY busy, so we never get a

long

enough chance to talk . Since she called me I cant seem to get it off my

mind, I want to tell her EVERYTHING that I have learned in the past 6 years of

dealing with this stuff with my son but its difficult because we dont see each

other much and I dont know how receptive she would be, but like I said shes

like a sister, thats the hardest part, and I kinda saw a little speech issue

in her son 1 1/2 years ago, but stayed out of it, because shes not receptive

to not having " the perfect kid " , just my opinion. So anyways, I sent her

this email today, do you all think I came on too strong? Do you think any of my

info needs to be corrected? Your opinions will really help me out. I deleted

the part about a few local ST's that I told her to go see for an eval.

Opinions please? From what she says her son sounds like he has low muscle

tone,

which is why I didnt get into the other aspects. It may sound too strong, but

I wish someone would have sent me that same email 6 years ago lol!!!!

Thanks

Michele

Hello, I really want to help you, and you dont seem to have the time, so I

figured I would write you an email!!! Anyway, there are alot of variables to

developing speech and language I am going to name a few for you so when you do

go to see a speech therapist you will not be in the dark. There are

articulation, oral motor, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, they will surely

evaluate

receptive language abilities and expressive abilities.

But lets start here, which sounds more like your son, but the therapist will

evaluate ALL aspects of speech, and you may be suprised by what they come up

with, either good or bad, so I dont want you to be intimidated by the lingo,

because these therapists have a lingo all their own, and if you dont know

what they are talking about, I can always help you, Im really good at it now!!!

There are the following:

Articulation issues where the articulators need to be strengthened due to

low tone, weak articulators for example:

This is just one example, and I dont believe the " R " sound is mastered at

that young of an age anyway, but just to show you what I mean. In order to

create " r " or " er " sounds (called palatal glide sounds),your tongue is tensed

and retracted with the back lateral margins elevated and in contact with the

upper back molars and gums.The front is bunched up in a neutral postion with

specific contact points. The tongue is somewhat broad and the teeth are

slightly open. The tip of the tongue may be elevated and turned back. " r " and

" er " are movement sounds, the positioning of the tongue is affected byt the

preceding or following vowel sound. The lips relax and can take on the shape of

the preceding or following vowel. If weak articulators are the issue they

need to be addressed.

So when you speak dont take for granted what goes into those movements for

one minute lol!

Oral Motor

Here are some good oral motor exercises to strenghten the mouth muscles

-tongue, lips, etc.:

-Stick his tongue out and down toward his chin as far as it will go, put

peanut butter or something on his chin and have him try to lick it off.

-Place 3 fingers on his cheek Tell him push his tongue tip against the

inside of his cheek while pressing in with your fingers.

-Practice saying these syllables " tuh tuh tuh tuh " , " duh duh duh duh " " nuh

nuh nuh nuh " etc.

-With his lips open, hold your tongue on the bump behind your top front

teeth for ten seconds and repeat a few times.

-Press on the top left half of his tongue with the tongue depressor

(twizzler or whatever he will tolerate it with!), at the same time, tell him to

push

his whole tongue up hold it for 4 or 5 seconds and repeat it on the other

side.

-Press down on his tongue tip with a tongue depressor and have him push up

with his tongue at the same time. Hold it for 4 or 5 seconds.

-Place your tongue depressor against the side of his tongue tip. Have him

push as hard as you can for 4 or 5 sec. and then repeat on the other side

-Place the tongue depressor under his tongue.Pull up on the tongue depressor

while he pushes down with your tongue hold for 4 or 5 sec

-Put peanut butter or something on a spoon, tell him to lick it off, make

sure the spoon is positioned so he curls his tongue tip up, WITHOUT MOVING HIS

HEAD, just using his tongue..

This is just a few of them that I can think of right now, but these are

exercises to strengthen the tongue, there are a ton more that I can tell you.

I dont know if he has a problem with lip rounding (good exercises for " oo

oo " sound), but have him blow a cotton ball across the table through a straw.

Have him suck pudding or applesauce through a straw, or yogurt would work too.

Any kind of whistles, bubbles, trumpet or blowing exersices are great, for

lip rounding and breath support

This is just some stuff that I can think of off the top of my head that will

help. If he has a problem with vowel sounds I can give you a ton of stuff

to do for that, but that is rare - most kids have problems with consonant and

consonant sound blends, unless of course you are Little , than vowels

are your biggest obstacle !!!

Also, just to let you know, when you have weak muscle tone in the mouth, its

not uncommon to have other soft signs like some fine motor, or gross motor

difficulty as well, but have no fear - all correctable!!!!!

And it will help if you make him sit up straight in a chair, and give him

something sour before you do this, because the sour taste will awaken the

senses in the mouth.

It may sound crazy but giving him one capsule of Nordic Naturals ProEFA

everyday, you will notice a difference in 1 to 4 weeks with his speech.

Yes, I should go to school for it and I still might just yet !!!! lol !!!

Hopefully you get this before you leave work.

Call Me.

Michele

[Guest guest]

Michele your friend came to you to ask for help which tells me that

she is looking for your advice at this time. She probably views you

as an expert in this area, and based on your email to her -yes you

sound like one! (you should go to school for it!)

I don't believe you came on too strong, but you know her best since

she's like your sister. Did you hear from her yet? At this point

if not I'd say just give her a call and see if you stop by this

weekend that you have something for her. It will give you a reason

to see her in person which will probably be best, and to drop off

your copy of The Late Talker book since that book will cover all the

basics to a parent who is not sure and is overwhelmed with it all

and may not want to hear or read it all at once.

In general in the early stages, parents need someone they can

express fear, tears, anger or disbelief to, someone to listen to

them -as hard as it may be, perhaps the time for 'in person' is

now. It would be best if the two of you can talk in a place with no

children around to hear what is said. Whether we believe they

understand or not -I believe it's best to 'assume' that the

child/children can understand and not to talk in front of them about

your fears, tears, anger and disbelief about their not

talking/diagnosis/prognosis.

Your friend probably wants not just information from you, but

support too since she knows you are going through what she fears

right now. She probably wishes she could hear you say " Are you

kidding?! He seems just fine to me " but the fact that she came to

you means she is looking for the truth...at least part of her is.

Most of us don't accept fully anything is " wrong " with our child

when they are very little, we just have that gnawing gut feeling

that we want to be wrong. I know for me it wasn't until Tanner

reached his 3rd birthday that I fully accepted his diagnosis of

apraxia even though we had him in therapy since 2 and he had a

formal diagnosis of apraxia by neurodevelopmental pediatrician Dr.

Marilyn Agin as well as various SLPs and OTs prior to his 3rd

birthday. Why was his 3rd birthday the day of truth for me?

Because there was a small part of me inside that kept reminding me

(when my family wasn't) about my Aunt Betty who " didn't speak a word

until she was 3 years old and then we couldn't shut her up " That

part of me wanted to believe that Tanner would like my Aunt

Betty " just start talking and prove everyone wrong....just watch "

When the 3rd birthday came and went and no " poof " speech...I

accepted, and it appeared, so did everyone else.

Good news is that even though my now 9 year old Tanner does have

apraxia -he is doing amazing mainstreamed in school, with friends.

All the parents at his school tell me that the children don't view

Tanner's speech as anything different and he's just " one of the

boys " One of the professionals from his school told me " do you

realize how many girls have a crush on Tanner? You're going to have

your hand's full when he gets a bit older! " My two " late talker

boys today " Last night Tanner slept over his one friend's house,

and Dakota had one of his friend's sleep here. Life for them is as

normal as it is for anyone else if anyone can

define " normal " ...except Tanner's still in speech therapy and we

take fish oil every day -so what?

Be sure to stress to your friend that the majority (around 75%) of

children that are " late talkers " are just that -children that talk a

bit late -but why not seek early intervention just in case. No harm

from early intervention other than perhaps if it's a waste of tax

payers money and your time...but take the " wait and see " approach

and it ends up the child has an impairment vs. a delay -then what's

the harm? No comparison. Besides, who knows even if it is a delay

if EI is a total waste of money and time. Even without an

impairment in speech, the extra stimulation may encourage speech

earlier.

More on this from CHERAB

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/earlyintervention.html

What state do you live in? In certain areas the chances of two

apraxic children living within driving distance is not likely -while

in other areas -car? Forget about it you can walk to another

apraxic child on your own block. Also as you wisely are noticing -

you want to see if the child is a late talker with or without any

other signs -such as the neurological soft signs.

No matter what the reason for your best friend's child's delay in

speech -as you know there is great hope for a bright and shiny

future. In this group those of us who have gone down the road

earlier are here as either big brothers or sisters to those just

starting out. Since she is already like a sister to you, the role

of you being 'big' sister is natural!

If you don't want to give her your copy of The Late Talker, at least

read the chapter on Dealing with Parent's Frustrations since there

may be some suggestions in there to help her. And lend her your

copy of the movie ie instead then (what?! You some of you don't

have a copy of ie which is my all time favorite movie for a

child with a speech delay or problem?! Homework -rent one and let

us know how much better you feel after watching it with your family!)

Good luck Michele!

=====

[Guest guest]

Michele,

Jeanne here. What a great friend you are for reaching out and giving

her some pointers and direction to go to, as well as hope.

>

> HI, a VERY GOOD friend of mine whom I know since I have been 7

years old is

> concerned about her sons speech, and she hasnt dealt with any

disabilities,

> let alone her own son, so she called me for help, we pretty much

have had some

> distance between us as we got older due to us having our own

families even

> though she is 6 minutes from me, but our kids have different

circles of

> friends so we dont get together much, and she is VERY busy, so we

never get a long

> enough chance to talk . Since she called me I cant seem to get

it off my

> mind, I want to tell her EVERYTHING that I have learned in the

past 6 years of

> dealing with this stuff with my son but its difficult because we

dont see each

> other much and I dont know how receptive she would be, but like I

said shes

> like a sister, thats the hardest part, and I kinda saw a little

speech issue

> in her son 1 1/2 years ago, but stayed out of it, because shes

not receptive

> to not having " the perfect kid " , just my opinion. So anyways, I

sent her

> this email today, do you all think I came on too strong? Do you

think any of my

> info needs to be corrected? Your opinions will really help me

out. I deleted

> the part about a few local ST's that I told her to go see for an

eval.

> Opinions please? From what she says her son sounds like he has

low muscle tone,

> which is why I didnt get into the other aspects. It may sound

too strong, but

> I wish someone would have sent me that same email 6 years ago

lol!!!!

> Thanks

> Michele

>

>

>

> Hello, I really want to help you, and you dont seem to have the

time, so I

> figured I would write you an email!!! Anyway, there are alot of

variables to

> developing speech and language I am going to name a few for you so

when you do

> go to see a speech therapist you will not be in the dark. There

are

> articulation, oral motor, phonology, pragmatics, semantics, they

will surely evaluate

> receptive language abilities and expressive abilities.

>

> But lets start here, which sounds more like your son, but the

therapist will

> evaluate ALL aspects of speech, and you may be suprised by what

they come up

> with, either good or bad, so I dont want you to be intimidated by

the lingo,

> because these therapists have a lingo all their own, and if you

dont know

> what they are talking about, I can always help you, Im really good

at it now!!!

> There are the following:

>

> Articulation issues where the articulators need to be strengthened

due to

> low tone, weak articulators for example:

>

> This is just one example, and I dont believe the " R " sound is

mastered at

> that young of an age anyway, but just to show you what I mean. In

order to

> create " r " or " er " sounds (called palatal glide sounds),your

tongue is tensed

> and retracted with the back lateral margins elevated and in

contact with the

> upper back molars and gums.The front is bunched up in a neutral

postion with

> specific contact points. The tongue is somewhat broad and the

teeth are

> slightly open. The tip of the tongue may be elevated and turned

back. " r " and

> " er " are movement sounds, the positioning of the tongue is

affected byt the

> preceding or following vowel sound. The lips relax and can take

on the shape of

> the preceding or following vowel. If weak articulators are the

issue they

> need to be addressed.

> So when you speak dont take for granted what goes into those

movements for

> one minute lol!

>

> Oral Motor

> Here are some good oral motor exercises to strenghten the mouth

muscles

> -tongue, lips, etc.:

> -Stick his tongue out and down toward his chin as far as it will

go, put

> peanut butter or something on his chin and have him try to lick

it off.

> -Place 3 fingers on his cheek Tell him push his tongue tip

against the

> inside of his cheek while pressing in with your fingers.

> -Practice saying these syllables " tuh tuh tuh tuh " , " duh duh duh

duh " " nuh

> nuh nuh nuh " etc.

> -With his lips open, hold your tongue on the bump behind your top

front

> teeth for ten seconds and repeat a few times.

> -Press on the top left half of his tongue with the tongue

depressor

> (twizzler or whatever he will tolerate it with!), at the same

time, tell him to push

> his whole tongue up hold it for 4 or 5 seconds and repeat it on

the other

> side.

> -Press down on his tongue tip with a tongue depressor and have

him push up

> with his tongue at the same time. Hold it for 4 or 5 seconds.

> -Place your tongue depressor against the side of his tongue tip.

Have him

> push as hard as you can for 4 or 5 sec. and then repeat on the

other side

> -Place the tongue depressor under his tongue.Pull up on the

tongue depressor

> while he pushes down with your tongue hold for 4 or 5 sec

> -Put peanut butter or something on a spoon, tell him to lick it

off, make

> sure the spoon is positioned so he curls his tongue tip up,

WITHOUT MOVING HIS

> HEAD, just using his tongue..

> This is just a few of them that I can think of right now, but

these are

> exercises to strengthen the tongue, there are a ton more that I

can tell you.

>

> I dont know if he has a problem with lip rounding (good exercises

for " oo

> oo " sound), but have him blow a cotton ball across the table

through a straw.

> Have him suck pudding or applesauce through a straw, or yogurt

would work too.

>

> Any kind of whistles, bubbles, trumpet or blowing exersices are

great, for

> lip rounding and breath support

>

> This is just some stuff that I can think of off the top of my head

that will

> help. If he has a problem with vowel sounds I can give you a ton

of stuff

> to do for that, but that is rare - most kids have problems with

consonant and

> consonant sound blends, unless of course you are Little ,

than vowels

> are your biggest obstacle !!!

>

> Also, just to let you know, when you have weak muscle tone in the

mouth, its

> not uncommon to have other soft signs like some fine motor, or

gross motor

> difficulty as well, but have no fear - all correctable!!!!!

>

> And it will help if you make him sit up straight in a chair, and

give him

> something sour before you do this, because the sour taste will

awaken the

> senses in the mouth.

>

> It may sound crazy but giving him one capsule of Nordic Naturals

ProEFA

> everyday, you will notice a difference in 1 to 4 weeks with his

speech.

>

>

> Yes, I should go to school for it and I still might just yet !!!!

lol !!!

>

> Hopefully you get this before you leave work.

>

>

> Call Me.

> Michele

>

>

>