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What goes into coordinating fluent speech? Respiration- the process of using breath to create speech sounds. Phonation- the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds Articulation- the adjustments and movements of speech organs involved in pronouncing particular sound, taken as a whole. Resonation– The buzz created by the vocal folds resonates (vibrates) the air column and this in

Did you know? Individuals with cognitive-communication disorders (e.g., TBI, aphasia, and dementia) show marked difficulty with attention, memory, and executive functions. One frequent aspect of TBI secondary impairment is disordered attention. Five Levels of Attention:  Focused, Sustained, Selective, Alternating, and Divided Focused Attention: The ability to respond discretely to a particular visual, auditory, or tactile stimuli. Sometimes called “orienting” to stimuli.

The Picture Exchange Communication System or PECS approach was developed by Andrew Bondy and Lori Frost in 1985 and is a modified applied behavior analysis program designed for early nonverbal symbolic communication training. It is not a program designed to teach speech, although the latter is encouraged indirectly and some children begin to spontaneously use speech while enrolled in the

With “back to school” right around the corner, everyone can benefit from strategies for increasing memory and retention of learned information. All of us, especially students, forget important information at times. This occurs when we do not transfer information from our short-term memory to our long-term memory. There are a variety of strategies that students, and adults, can use to

During graduate school, I had the pleasure of working with an individual with severe non-fluent aphasia post stroke. My patient’s expressive output was limited to a few words, and he was outwardly frustrated by his limitations. One day, I decided to introduce music therapy into our sessions, and it was a success! By using the techniques from Melodic Intonation Therapy,

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects millions of adults and children. ADHD is best characterized by problems with concentration, impulse control, organization, and memory. These symptoms are frequently accompanied by feelings of frustration, inadequacy, and isolation from others. However, what if the individuals diagnosed with ADHD are, in fact, suffering from an entirely different disorder –

Does your child struggle with eating a variety of foods, consuming a variety of textures/consistencies, and/or gaining weight/growing? Then the SOS Approach to Feeding may be appropriate for your child. The SOS Approach to Feeding is a trans-disciplinary feeding program for assessment and treatment of children with feeding deficits from birth to 18 years of age. It incorporates a variety

          Early language and communication skills are essential to achieving developmental milestones and later academic success. Language skills are subdivided into two primary category, which include how a child understands language (i.e. receptive language) and how a child expresses oneself (i.e. expressive language). Expressive language includes more than just verbal communication, such as body language, facial

There seems to be a progression from breast/bottle to sippy cup. Often, the sippy cup is used past the age of one year. The reason for this is because using a sippy cup for a prolonged time promotes sucking methods that hinder expressive speech and swallowing abilities – the article notes, “The spout blocks the tongue tip from rising up to