Help with a class assignment please About This Page:

[PamelaK]

I know we have had some discussion of this in the Special Needs forum, but not everyone looks there, so here goes.....

For my Child and Adolescent Psych class I have to come up with 15 or more suggestions for families to help their child with Speech Language Disorders, such as stuttering, speech delay, etc.

I have found a few websites that give some good suggestions, but I would like to know: If you have a child with some sort of Speech Language Development issue, what do you you suggest to other families to help your child improve their speech?

The assignment is due tomorrow morning, but any suggestions that come in after that would still be a great help.

[TinkerbellJenn99]

I am not sure if this helps at all, but my cousin, when she was little (toddler - 1st grade) had a terrible speech disorder - we actually thought she was deaf or partially deaf. Turns out she wasn't, she has never ending ear infections - BAD ones So long story short, she had tubes put in her ears a few times.....after that she had no issues with speech....

So - although it might be tough and\or non applicable, hearing testing is something that I would start with.

[PamelaK]

Originally Posted by JenniferLynneRose521

So - although it might be tough and\or non applicable, hearing testing is something that I would start with.

Actually is ti COMPLETELY applicable. It is one of the first suggestions we have on our list. Also almost every website I have found with suggestions has this as one of their main things to do.

[HollyH]

I am a pre-k sped teacher and many of my students have speech/language delays in various degrees.

I had two students with stuttering issues this year, and the SLP suggested this program.
Treatment of early stuttering: the Lidcombe Program - British Stammering Association

It worked really well. Hope this helps with your paper!

ETA: To clarify, this is a program for parents to implement, not a SLP.

[wishes]

My DS had speech delays when he was younger. Turned out he couldn't hear very well & had low muscle tone in his mouth/tongue. His speech therapist suggested using peanut butter or cream cheese or something thick like that, on the roof of his mouth, behind his front teeth. He had to use his tongue to lick it off. This apparantly improves the muscles. Also, have the dentist or pediatrician check the phreneum (sp. ?), that piece of tissue that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. Sometimes if it's too tight, it has to be clipped to allow the tongue more movement. He's 18 now, so I'll have to see what else I can remember...Good Luck!!

[emvenable77]

I am an SLP and all of those suggestions are very good. Try looking at this website: www.asha.org
It's the American Speech and Hearing association's website.
For speech delayed children: think about making language more concrete (using pictures or signs). I also love using music, nursery rhymes, etc. Many kids respond well to this.
For children who stutter you can find a good bit of stuff but usually all implemented by SLPs but the Lidcomb program is good for parent involvement like someone said. Also look at www.stutterhelp.org. This is a very good website.
For speech impaired children (speech sound errors) you will want something that would help with practice and carryover.
I often work with 1-3 year olds who are not talking. Lots of times I can give the families ideas to incorporate more language into the home. I know that sounds so simple but with all of the distractions (technology, etc) in society today lots of our kids live in very quiet homes or homes without good quality interactions.

Hope some of this helps!
Emily

[emvenable77]

Here are a few links that may be helpful to you:

Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development

Talking Tips For Three-Year-Olds: How To Improve Language Skills in Three Year Olds | Suite101.com

http://www.allkids.org/body.cfm?id=4...20Your%20Child

Emily

[B.M.]

Two of my children had speech delays.... One thing I remember them doing is making picture cards so that he could point to what he wanted since he was pretty close to being non-verbal.... He had a picture book also.... I don't know that this improved his speech, but it improved his communication skills....

My youngest ds now recently started speech; his communication skills are good, but he is hard to understand at time- they said that it is because he sucks his two fingers and when he does that and talks it presses down on his tounge weakening those muscles- so I was told to always make him pull his fingers out before speaking (easier said than done) and while they didn't mention it- we should probably be working on some way to re-strengthen those muscles...

With my two older ones; who are no longer in speech- I think the bottom line for them was practice makes perfect.... lots of correcting and reiterating....

Not sure how helpful that was, but that was my 2 cents...

[Clare loves Stitch]

I dont know if this helps but I worked as a social work assistant predominantly with older people however I also worked with one young lady told me that onece she had a stutter and was unable to pronounce words very well - she learned maketon which gave her confidence in her ability and now she has no issues with verbal communication. She went to a selective school for those with impairments though so that made makaton more accessible to her. Also im from the UK and the system is very different over here.
hope you get more help soon !

[PamelaK]

Thanks for all the great help and advice. I was able to get the assignment done and turned in for a 100. Plus I was honored with having two of my suggestions show up on the next quiz and midterm as True/False questions.