You heard it here first! Parrots may answer questions about speech

[Guest guest]

I have a yellow naped Amazon parrot named Woodstock who is about 20

years old now -I rescued her from a couple who was getting divorced

when she was just a year old (prior to when I was married)

Woodstock is extremely intelligent -she does not just mimic -she

thinks about what she wants to say and has the same emotions we do.

She gets angry, happy, sad, excited -just like us. She also has a

sense of humor and comes up with the funniest things.

My neighbors used to talk to her through the windows when we lived

closer to other homes. Once when someone was parrot sitting her

when I was away she caused the neighbor of my friend to call the

police because they thought there was someone in the house who

sounded " unstable " Woodstock answered each question the neighbor

asked through the door and the neighbor was convinced there was an

intruder in the house. My friend walked out of the shower with a

towel around him to a room full of police! That was probably the

most exciting Woodstock story -but hard to know the funniest there

are so many.

I treat Woodstock just like a toddler -not like a dog. I work with

her with the same methods used to teach young children.

Why am I sharing this?

I used to joke about how my experience with Woodstock trained me for

how to work with speech delayed children, and how strange it was to have

a parrot that spoke, answered questions, sang songs and made songs

up... unlike my own children when they were younger -and once again

I have to be careful of what I joke about!

In the archives (just two clips posted below) you'll find other

information about Woodstock and -but from the latest reports -

read how Dr. Pepperberg's work with is helping children with

learning disabilities, and autism! (no they don't mention apraxia -

but who does in the media?!)

Parrot smarter than toddler, says scientist

The World Today - Friday, 21 July , 2006 12:53:00

Reporter: Kirsten Veness

ELEANOR HALL: If you think your toddler is bright, meet the

parrot, whose scientist owner says the talking bird is smarter than

the average two year old.

The American scientist says the results from a 29-year study

suggests parrots could be more intelligent than previously thought.

Irene Pepperberg has found that her work with a Grey Parrot

called " " is challenging ideas about parrots being simple mimics.

Kirsten Veness has this report.

(sound of parrot squawking)

KIRSTEN VENESS: is an African Grey Parrot. He has a red tail

and white patches around the eyes. But intellectually, he's way

ahead, and dwarfs other bird-brained breeds.

Bought from a Chicago pet store when he was one, has just

celebrated his 30th birthday.

After studying for close to three decades, Professor Pepperberg

from Brandeis University says parrots have an impressive

intelligence.

IRENE PEPPERBERG: Well, they're about the same intelligence as a

five-year-old child, but their communication skills, at least as far

as we've looked at in the lab, are only about that of a two-year-

old. So no long, complicated sentences, but the ability to answer

the questions that we ask.

KIRSTEN VENESS: And how do they communicate? Are they using the same

language we're using?

IRENE PEPPERBERG: Well, if you put language in quotes, yes, they use

English speech. So if I ask , you know, how many keys; he'll

tell me " two " . And if I ask him what colour; he'll say " green " . And

if I ask what shape; he'll say " three-quarter " .

KIRSTEN VENESS: can identify 100 objects, most of them food and

toys from around his home. He can add up and identify seven colours.

IRENE PEPPBERBERG: What colour?

ALEX: Orange.

KIRSTEN VENESS: Professor Pepperberg says he can use simple phrases

to say where he wants to go, and even has a few more complex

sentences under his wing.

IRENE PEPPERBERG: There are long phrases that he has that have what

we call general reference, but not specific reference. So we'll have

what we call the goodnight routine, so when we leave at night this,

you know, " you be good, I'll see you tomorrow " . Or " I'm gonna go eat

dinner, I'll see you tomorrow " , things like that, where he has a

general sense of the appropriateness of when these are supposed to

be said, but probably doesn't understand what all those words mean.

KIRSTEN VENESS: But is no galah. When he doesn't want to do

what's asked, he makes it known.

IRENE PEPPERBERG: He'll generally perform with almost perfect

accuracy for about the first, oh maybe 12, 15 trials, and then he

just does not want to do it, and he'll sit there and he'll preen, or

he'll give me all the wrong answers in a row, which takes a lot of

intelligence because he's avoiding the one correct answer. So if

he's giving me, you know, six wrong answers in a row, you know he's

avoiding that seventh answer carefully. So you know he knows it,

because by chance he couldn't do that.

KIRSTEN VENESS: Professor Pepperberg became interested in parrots

after realising there was little study done in the area. Her

research is now being used to help children with learning

difficulties.

IRENE PEPPERBERG: I've been working with a colleague, Diane Sherman,

who's in Monterey at New-Found Therapies, and she's been adapting

our training procedures for work with autistic children, with very

good results. She's helped these children immensely. I mean, none of

the children have reached completely normal stages, but all of them

have progressed significantly.

KIRSTEN VENESS: So is every bird as smart as ?

Do you believe animals such as parrots and other higher intelligence

animals have consciousness?

IRENE PEPPERBERG: Yes, I'm not sure it's the same as ours. I mean,

they certainly have what we call perceptual awareness. They're very

much aware of their environment, they're aware of everything around

them. Are they aware of being aware? That is the really critical

question.

ELEANOR HALL: Surely the question vexing all of us. Professor Irene

Pepperberg from Brandeis University in the United States, speaking

to Kirsten Veness.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1693090.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1693309.htm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2272517,00.html

http://www.alexfoundation.org/

And from an archive Fri May 24, 2002

Now I'm confused about the " echo " comment from your son's speech

therapist since if your son is able to " echo " something once -

shouldn't he be able to again if he doesn't have apraxia? I've had a

yellow nape parrot, Woodstock (who's a bit of a character) for 16

years now. So

I know all about echo talking...and singing. I taught Woodstock to

talk faster than Tanner. In general children with apraxia do better

with a model (someone says a sound or word or sentence first then

they repeat after) however with or without a model, a child with

apraxia can say a word perfect one time and never again -or the word

may sound different with each attempt. Well -doesn't matter now

anyway -your son's on the correct formula of the Omega 3 and Omega 6

so he probably won't fit the accepted profile of apraxia that much

longer anyway.

Something funny about the parrot thing -I had heard month's ago from

one of the scientists that one theory is that the parrot brain is a

primitive model for the apraxic brain when it comes to speech. Maybe

like seeing eye dogs -they can train " talking mouth " parrots -and if

anyone teases our kids about the way they talk -the parrot can tease

them back!

(Mine would -

when Woodstock is mad at you she'll call you a bad dog)

http://www.krasnow.gmu.edu/ascoli/Teaching/Psyc372_01/Cla11.html

or a more fun link http://www.sammybird.com/articles/birdbrains.htm

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