A Letter Received

I recently received this email/letter from a parent and wanted to share:

"Hi my name is Danielle and I have a daughter with down syndrome that did your program for about a year. It was great for her and I only wish we would have found you sooner. She has some structural issues so we got stuck with that. My husband and a few friends and myself did her program daily. It was fun to implement and we really did see results. (Renee Roy Hill was our evaluator and we loved her). I am wondering if you have training to become certified or some kind of approval so as to offer your oral motor information to others? I know you have traveling workshops as well. I am not a speech pathologist, just a Mom, that has done this program and NACD program for a lot of years. Let me know if there is any option out there since 6 years of schooling is just too long at this point in my life, I am in my mid 40's. Thank you for your time! Sincerely, Danielle"

I offer my courses to both professionals and parents throughout the world, and I encourage parents to get and stay involved. If you are a parent interested in learning more I will point you to our webpage and phone numbers here and here.

As always, feel free to email me with more questions!

From Tool to Hand Gesture - Eliciting Sounds

I have been wanting to get more information to therapists and parents for such a long time and I think I may finally be executing the vision.  I plan to experiment with delivering video clips of therapy and evaluation snippets. This particular clip is of Renee Roy Hill performing the transitional technique for moving from objects or tools to elicit sounds towards using hand gestures to elicit sounds.


Please write back and leave me comments for ideas or needs you know somebody has for further video clips. We want to create a log of clips that can be used for reference material for anyone trying to utilize OPT. Exciting!

PS - Just returned from China and hope to get up a little story about it soon.

Heart in the Right Place

When I have time I try my best to read articles and blogs from all over the corners of the web.  Many of the pieces I find myself reading are what I have dubbed "Starter Pieces".  These starter pieces are typically written by a parent or professional who has their heart in the right place, are trying to get information out to other people for all the right reasons, but they fall short on completing the whole circle of information.  I'll give an example of one I recently read.

The /m/ Sound (and the rest of the blog itself) is a nice blog set up to pass along information, and frankly they have done a much better job of being dedicated and keeping up the depth of posts than I have. ;)  Regardless, the information is a place for a "mommy" to start [certain distinct sounds, exercises, quick tricks to try]. On the /m/ page, she does mention that some kids may have low tone and to "contact her for exercises", but doesn't address those kids with apraxia who may not be able to access the motor plan.  As a parent if I read that and my child couldn't do the work, I'm not sure I'd know where to go next.  Also, if you look into her blog at her "exercise" recommendations, they are the generic type...put your lips together over and over on a tongue depressor or straw to eliminate drooling. Did we forget that their may be sensory, jaw and tongue issues involved?

In my younger years I often felt that this information was misleading or doing a disservice on some level because I knew there was SO MUCH more information and training needed to address many of these issues.  However, today I feel differently, I feel encouraged that people will put themselves out there for review, for crticism and praise, and dedicate themselves - I know it takes a lot of time.  So if you find articles or blogs or have questions, pass them along, make comments on here, and I will do my best to continue closing the circle on as many Starter Pieces as I possibly can!

Parents Are the Linchpin

Good morning everyone!  I was reading a couple blogs this morning when I found a nice post regarding parents performing therapy at home.  More than a couple parents commented to the post stating how they often forget and feel bad for not performing therapy as a regimen.  Sometimes is takes support groups, reminder buddies, a beeping appointment on your phone - whatever it takes, PARENTS YOU ARE THE LINCHPINS!  Thank you for sharing and being honest, thank you for for stepping to the plate.  Your therapists cannot succeed without you.

Why Teach?

After 6 weeks on the road I am finally back in Tucson for a little R&R. Teaching my classes in Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) for Speech Clarity and Feeding is one of the joys of my life. Even though this takes me away from home I have felt for a long time that this is what I need to do at this stage in my career. Every once in a while I meet someone who confirms to me, once again, that I have indeed made the correct choice (I wish for everyone to have this experience in their careers).  I was teaching my “Three Part Treatment Plan for Oral-Motor Therapy” class in Springfield, Massachusetts in March.  Just as I was about to walk to the front of the room to begin a women in her mid-fourties rushed to the registration table totally out of breath. She had no idea who I was and said to me, “I have a terrible headache, my daughter is sick and I should be home with her. I have no idea why I am here as I am probably going to quit my job as speech therapy is no longer what I want to do. I didn’t sleep too well last night so forgive me if I rest my head on my arms and fall asleep.” My husband Phil, always the gentleman, led her to her seat and asked her if he could do anything for her.  She just needed rest.

At the end of the second day the same woman, who by the way never did fall asleep, came up to me. This time she took my hand and said, “You have changed my world. For the first time you have explained the science of speech therapy and I cannot wait to get back to my clients on Monday.” What a great day!

So my family and friends, now you know why when you call you never know if I will pick up the cell phone in Tucson or in Canada. Next stop… China.

Pediatrician’s Need to Know

I know it has been a long time since my last entry but I do have an excuse. This field of Oral Placement Therapy is getting so popular that I have had no time to sit down and write this blog. But...as my wonderful son-in-law Travis keeps telling me it is smething I need to keep up on. So my 2010 New Year's resolution (a bit late I must admit) is to write one time per week from now on. Yesterday I assessed a one year old baby with the diagnosis of Down syndrome. The child is uning a pronounced tongue thrust during function for feeding and for babbling. The mother askling me why her peditrician had not told her about my earluy intervention feeding techniques and I had no answer for her. I would love it if each of you would download this article (The Oral-Motor Myths of Down Syndrome - at bottom of page) and bring it to your pediatrician. If only one doctor reads it and gives it to one parent of a newborn with Down syndrome wouldn't that be terrific? Thanks for your help in spreading the word.