"I can't remember it right now, but it's on the tips of my tongue..."          

Word retrieval, or automatic naming, affects one’s ability to efficiently retrieve words from stored vocabulary banks and to execute a series of operations quickly and repeatedly. Some children demonstrate difficulty accessing the system in which word knowledge is stored to isolate the exact words appropriate to express a specific thought. Communication may break down due to difficulty with retrieving a word and, in turn, expressing a thought with fluidity. 

In conjunction with a speech therapist, a formal and individualized therapy program can be implemented to target improved word retrieval. Additionally, here are some exercises to target word retrieval skills in the home setting:

1. Sentence completion activities
   1. We eat ____                f. We read a ___
   2. We sleep in a ___         g. We throw the___
   3. We cut with___            h. We watch ___
   4. We ride in a ___           i. We blow the ___
   5. We drink the ___          j. We wash our ___

2.  Expanding categories: Listing 3-5 items per category
   1. Things to eat                
   2. Things we wear                     
   3. Things to ride               
   4. Things to cook              
   5.  Animals (farm, ocean, pets, zoo)              

3. Play “name that category”
   1. “Red, blue, green, orange”- are all what?
   2. “Lions, tigers, monkeys, elephants” - are all what?
   3. “Pretzels, popcorn, crackers, cookies” - are all what?

4. Completing action-agent questions
   1. What sleeps?
   2. What flies?
   3. What roars?
   4. What bites?

Formal testing is required to diagnosis word retrieval deficits. Contact a speech therapist at Child and Family Development (704-541-9080) to learn more about this difficulty or to schedule an appointment.

-Lisa Peterson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Many children struggle with comprehension of figurative language. Figurative language saturates much of our daily conversations and reading materials. Without a solid understanding of idioms, metaphors, similes, rhetorical questions, irony, and hyperbole, students do not comprehend the true meaning of intended language. To properly decipher figurative language, one needs an expansive vocabulary, the ability to understand language in context and to defer literal meanings, a solid grasp of the inflectional processes that accompany language, and an understanding that words can have multiple meanings. Teaching figurative language is often a component of treatment for older children with language disabilities. 

One aspect of figurative language is the comprehension and use of idioms. Everyday social interactions as well as written texts are filled with idioms. When children, especially adolescents, do not understand common idioms, there may be social and academic implications. Children who are able to engage in figurative language with their peers become more socially adaptable. Alternatively, when a child does not understand the sayings, he/she may feel isolated. Academic success can also suffer if students can not process idioms, especially when confronted with them during teachers’ discourse and reading materials in the classroom. Here are some examples of common idioms that students with language impairments may struggle with comprehending: 

Ø      Give someone the cold shoulder

Ø      Crack a joke

Ø      Full of baloney

Ø      Play it by ear

Ø      Sleep on it

Ø      The last straw

Ø      My lips are sealed

Ø      Spill the beans

Ø      Elbow room only

Ø      Down to earth

Ø      Coast is clear

Ø      A broken heart

Ø      Dirt cheap

As parents, we need to keep our “ears open” to even subtle cues that a child is confused. If your child struggles with any aspect of figurative language, contact a speech therapist at Child and Family Development (704-541-9080) to discuss his/her difficulties. Additionally, here are some websites for working with children at home:

www.funbrain.com/idioms

www.quia.com/jg/66234.html

www.readwritethink.org/materials/idioms

With appropriate attention, your child might “be all smiles” as he/she understands more idioms during daily interactions!

-Lisa Peterson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Parents of toddlers and preschoolers are often left quoting the famous Hannah Montana character by saying "Say what?" when interpreting the speech of their young child.  Speech intelligibility refers to the proportion of one's speech that a listener can readily understand.  The degree of clarity with which one's speech is understood by the average listener is influenced by speech articulation, rate, fluency, vocal quality and intensity.  As children's communication skills develop, their comprehensibility to their communication partners steadily increases.  In children, intelligibility to others is different depending on the familiarity of the listeners (i.e., family member versus stranger) and context (known versus unknown conversational topics). 

Here are some general guidelines provided by Lynch, Brookshire, & Fox (1980)* to how clearly a child should be speaking in the 18 to 36 month age range.  By 18 months of age, a child's speech is normally 25 percent intelligible to parents.  By 24 months of age, a child's speech is approximately 50-75 percent intelligible to parents.   By 36 months of age, a child's speech is typically 75-100 percent intelligible to parents.   It is important to remember that these percentages are offered as guidelines for parents.  There is individual variation among children.

As a parent, if you are concerned about the speech intelligibility or articulation development of your child, then you can contact a speech therapist at Child and Family Development (704-541-9080) to discuss the need for an assessment.  A speech therapist will take into consideration not only the speech intelligibility of the child but also the correct production of individual speech sounds for the child's chronological age. 

* Bowen, C. (2006) Speech Intelligibility from 12 to 48 months.  Retrieved from www.speech-language-therapy.com/intelligibility.htm on 12-28-2009.

Most children love Halloween! As a speech therapist, I often include seasonal activities in my treatment sessions because they spark excitement and offer opportunities for practicing language skills in a way that is meaningful to the child. Holiday-based activities help to build speech and language skills that are relevant to the child’s environment and daily life. Halloween tasks are particularly fun for language-based activities because of the fantasy element. Parents can also incorporate holiday fun into their child’s intervention program at home. Halloween activities can target your child’s ability to follow directions, expand sentence length and complexity, utilize a variety of new vocabulary words, request and make choices, and ask and answer questions. Here are some Halloween ideas for parents to consider using at home:

1)      Carve a Pumpkin:

a)      Talk about the body parts (e.g., eyes, nose, ears, mouth, teeth)

b)      Have your child follow directions for where to draw each part on the pumpkin

c)      Use prepositions to discuss spatial concepts (e.g., under the eyes, above the mouth, in the pumpkin, scoop the seeds out)

d)      Use descriptive words to talk about how the inside of the pumpkin feels, smells, and looks. What a great sensory experience!

2)      Play Dress-up in Costumes:

a)      Pretend to be another person, animal, or character, using appropriate words for the context

b)      Have your child follow multi-step directions for putting on the outfit (e.g., First, put on the shirt, and then put on the hat.)

c)      Incorporate new vocabulary words about the costumes or characters.

3)      I’m Thinking of Something...

a)      Play this familiar game using Halloween themes:

i)        That flies on a broomstick and wears a black hat

ii)       That spins its own home

iii)     That is orange with a face on it

iv)     That looks like part of a person and is made of bones

4)      Face Painting

a)      Place a dab of marshmallow cream or icing on your child’s face and have his/her tongue lick it off to target tongue tip elevation, tongue depression, and tongue lateralization

b)      Put pudding on various parts of your child’s face to increase overall sensory awareness and tactile acceptance

5)      Sweet Tooth

a)      Have your child sort their Halloween candy by size, flavor, or color

b)      Talk about the similarities or differences between the candies

6)      Halloween Stickers and Stamps

a)      Create special pictures using Halloween stickers and stamps. Children need to request stickers or stamps, describe their pictures, and name colors.

b)      Use new vocabulary words to describe the scene and extend sentence length

c)      Give your child directions for where to put the stickers or stamps on the page, using a variety of concepts (dimension, inclusion/exclusion, temporal, location, condition, and sequence)

7)      Spooky Music

a)      Sing Halloween or fall songs with your child! Music is a wonderful way to stimulate speech and language skills

b)      Make silly noises that sound like ghosts (“boo”), witches (“hee-hee”), cats (“meow”), or the wind (“oooo”) to practice different oral motor postures

8)      Haunted Books

a)      Read a Halloween story and ask your child questions about the content and details of the story

b)      Have your child retell the story in his/her own words

c)      Ask extension questions about the story, such as “What would happen if?” and “What do you think will happen next?”

d)      Have your child label pictures in the book

e)      Have your child create his/her own spooky tale

9)      Kooky Cooking

a)      Follow a recipe to make a Halloween treat

b)      Explore textures and tastes with a variety of seasonal foods

c)      Decorate Halloween cookies and talk about what they look like

• Designate a time each day to review production of target sounds.
• Avoid "over-correcting" a child.  It is acceptable to remind your child to use his/her "new sound" without correcting each mispronunciation. 
• Slow your rate of speech to model production of target sounds.
• Use language at an age-appropriate level.
• Avoid interrupting the child's speech to correct production when he/she is in mid-sentence.
• Find time to do quiet things, such as reading a book or going for a walk, and talking about the activity without correcting each sound.
• Find ways to build your child's confidence.  Praise is very important!
• Always listen to what your child says, not how your child talks.
• Be patient and use good eye contact.  Give your child a chance to express himself/herself.
• Talk about your child's speech in a matter-of-fact, reassuring way.
• Make homework time fun.  Play games which require turn-taking.  Before each turn, your child could label a picture or produce a word with the targeted speech sound. 
• Use a variety of resources.  Here is a link to a website which offers speech articulation games: http://www.quia.com/pages/havemorefun.html

It may take time and practice, but your child will acquire production of speech sounds given appropriate intervention with a speech-language pathologist and home carryover.  Call a speech-language pathologist at Child & Family Development (704-541-9080) if you have questions about home carryover exercises to improve your child's speech.
-Lisa Peterson, M.S., CCC-SLP

Are you or your child’s teacher concerned that your child has an Auditory Processing Disorder? You or your child’s teacher may notice some of the common behavioral symptoms of this disorder. The following checklist does not diagnose Auditory Processing Disorder. Rather, it identifies those children for whom diagnostic evaluation by a qualified speech-language pathologist is recommended. Please contact a speech-language pathologist at Child & Family Development if your child exhibits many of the following concerns:

□          Difficulty paying attention to and remembering information presented orally

□          Problems carrying out multi-step directions

□          Poor listening skills

□          Needs more time to process information

□          Low academic performance

□          Behavioral problems

□          Difficulty with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary

□          Frequently misunderstands oral instructions or questions

□          Delays in responding to oral directions or questions

□          Says “huh” or “what” frequently

□          Exhibits extreme distractibility

□          Frequently needs repetition of directions or information

□          Difficulty listening in the presence of background noise

□          Poor auditory memory span

□          Easily distracted by background noise

□          Problems with phonics or discriminating speech sounds

□          Poor expressive or receptive language skills

□          Difficulty remembering names and places

□          Poor learning through the auditory or hearing channel

□          Easily distracted or unusually bothered by loud or sudden noises

□          Noisy environments are upsetting

□          Behavior and performance improve in quieter settings

□          Abstract information is difficult to comprehend

□          Struggles with verbal (word) math problems

□          Disorganized and forgetful

□          Conversations are hard for child to follow

□          Difficulty answering questions about the content or details of a story presented aloud

A new school year signals new relationships between students and teachers. For teachers, the first weeks of school are centered on understanding individual learning styles, behavior, and educational strengths and needs. As teachers interact with new students, they may realize that a student in the classroom has a fluency disorder. Many teachers report difficulty in knowing how to interact with a child who stutters in the classroom. While the parents of the child can provide individualized ideas, here are some suggestions for teachers to consider. Parents may want to share these tips with their child’s teacher at the onset of the school year.

When the student is experiencing disfluency, DO NOT:

• Tell the student to stop stuttering
• Interrupt the child
• Help the child with the word
• Tell the student to think about what he/she is going to say
• Answer or fill in for the student
• Look concerned or pained
• Appear angry or impatient
• Tell the child to stop and start over
• Suggest avoiding or substituting words
• Express pity

Instead, follow these suggestions when the student is disfluent:

• Try to act the same as you do when the student is fluent
• Remain calm and listen to what the child is saying
• Try to show that you enjoy talking with him/her
• Seem interested in what the student is saying
• If the child seems especially excited or in a hurry, say: “I have time, and I want to hear what you have to say.”
• Use language at an age-appropriate level
• Help all members of the classroom learn to take turns talking and listening without interrupting one another

For more specific recommendations, consult with a speech-language pathologist who specializes in stuttering. A qualified speech-language pathologist can offer tips to the teacher for showing support and handling peer interactions. Additionally, the teacher can learn how to make certain incidents easier in the classroom, such as answering questions in a group, reading aloud to peers, and managing teasing by others. Always keep in mind that children are different, and having a positive attitude is vital to a successful and nurturing student/teacher relationship.