Help, what can I get to work on my child's speech, language or communication skills at home?

There is no substitute for direct work with a speech and language therapist but sometimes the waiting list is very long or the availability is poor in your area. If your child is struggling with a speech, language or communication issue, what are you supposed to do? You could 'google' the problem, but how do you know what you find is credible or value for money?

We decide to set up a site where we could sell books, activity packs, games and ideas, which are written by, or certainly endorsed by, practicing speech and language therapists. Parents can search by age or the 'problem' to find materials which will help at home. www.speechtherapyactivities.co.uk

There are old favourites such as Toddler Talk from ICAN alongside new materials such as the Auditory Memory pack. We'll be adding more very soon such as Hanen's More Than Words and It Takes Two to Talk. If there's any area in particular you'd like something for, please let us know. We're already working on a phonological awareness pack for pre-reading or pre-speech work skills and a word finding pack for those who struggle to access the words they know.

 

Get in touch at the usual address  info@smalltalk-ltd.co.uk or enquiries@speechtherapyactivities.co.uk We look forwards to hearing from you.

Through the eyes of a child: 6-12months

The Communication Trust has produced 4 excellent videos for parents. Take a look at this one for babies between 6 and 12 months

The confusing terminology used by speech and language therapists, hopefully will become clear.....

I am always conscious of the terminology we, as speech and language therapists use when talking to other professionals and parents, and those terms that we use in our reports. To us, after 3-4 years of training these terms become second nature; and sometimes we can forget that the words we use can seem a little confusing to say the least. So I thought I would define some commonly used words and terms used by speech and language therapists. But first, maybe it would be useful to know what speech and language therapy is, what we do, where we work, with whom we work etc.

Speech and Language Therapy is used to help people that have speech, language, and communication difficulties; it can also be used to help people who have difficulties swallowing, eating and drinking.

The role of a Speech and Language Therapist, or commonly used term SLT, or even SALT within a hospital environment, is to assess and treat speech, language and communication problems in adults and children. With the desired outcome that individuals will communicate to the best of their ability. They may also work with people who have eating and swallowing difficulties.

What type of difficulties will a SLT come across?

•       difficulty in producing and using speech

•       difficulty understanding language

•       difficulty using language

•       difficulty with feeding, chewing or swallowing

•       a stammer

•       a voice problem

Where do SLT’s work?

•       Schools (mainstream & special schools)

•       Hospitals (inpatients & outpatients)

•       Clinics/community health centers

•       Clients homes

•       Hospices

•       Sheltered accommodation

•       Prisons, young offenders institutes

•       Courts, as a intermediary

•       Mental healthcare settings

•       Private/independent practice

•       Assessment units & day centers

What type of work does an SLT do?

•       work directly with children & adults e.g. using games and interactive learning; carrying out exercises e.g. speech exercises, breathing exercises etc.

•       provide clients with work to carry out at home

•       work with children & adults with similar difficulties in a small group

•       provide clients with relevant resources & information

•       provide clients with relevant contacts and support with other professionals, co-workers, support groups etc.

•       an SLT will also endeavor to provide clients and their parents or carers with emotional support and appropriate skills to help them on a daily basis.

•       a large part of a SLT’s role involves working closely with others e.g. teachers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors, nurses, GP’s, psychologists, health visitors, social workers , orthodontists/dentists, dieticians,  audiologists, politicians/government, other SLT’s i.e. team work.

Ok, so what about some of those terms we use, what do they mean?

Attention and Listening is the foundation to all learning. Children must practice, and learn to ‘listen’ and ‘look’ appropriately to control their own focus of attention. The ability to listen and concentrate is an important part of all children’s speech, language and communication development. It is so important to encourage and develop ‘good’ attention and listening skills for all children; especially those that have difficulties in speech and/or language development.

Communication is the exchange of information between two or more people; using verbal and non-verbal means.

Language takes the form of two parts; receptive language is the ability to understand what someone communicates, either through sound (auditory), or visually (reading and interpretation of sign). Expressive language is the ability to formulate a message into words and sentences; which can be spoken, written or signed.

Non-verbal communication (NVC) is the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. For example, your facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice etc. can all convey meaning to our listeners i.e. about how we are feeling; without actually using words. NVC, is influenced by culture and society, and is shaped by experience, observation and practice.

Phonology is the sound system of a language, and the rules for combining these sounds to produce meaningful units of speech.

Play, why do SLT’s look at this? Symbolic play skills are important for language development. It is a lovely way for children to learn about communication, language and other people. A child’s play skills can help to aid a diagnosis, and is the best way to implement therapy as it is fun and interactive!

Pragmatics/social skills refer to the ‘rules’ of language in social situations. It includes the speaker-listener relationship, the context, and the intentions of the communication. Therefore, speech and language are not the only components important for effective communication.

Social interaction skills include:

·         appropriate eye contact,

·         ability to listen,

·          ability to express ourselves,

·          ability to take turns,

·         ability to process what others are saying,

·         ability to initiate a conversation,

·         ability to maintain a conversation

·         ability to close a conversation appropriately,

·         awareness of a listeners feelings,

·         an awareness of the impact of what you are saying on others

·         the use of appropriate gesture, and the ability to understand it

·         the use of appropriate facial expressions, and the ability to understand them

·         ability to understand the intent of the communication, not just the literal interpretation

·         ability to be flexible in using and adapting language in a particular context

Phew, amazing isn’t it? All these things we do all day everyday; and we quite often take it for granted! So how do we do it? Well, all these social interaction skills are culturally determined, and learned through observation, trial and error, and life experience!!

Semantics is the meaning behind the language that is transmitted by words, phrases and sentences.

Speech is the physical production of sounds e.g. p, t k, d etc.

There may be more terms that you have probably heard used by professionals but I hope this clarifies some things for you. My advice would be, if you’re with a professional i.e. doctor, dentist, teacher, SLT etc; and they are using words you find confusing don’t be afraid to stop and ask them what they mean. Sometimes we can forget how ambiguous we can be!

Georgina White

Parents! What would you like to see included?

We are developing a  new website with our friends at Devmac especially for parents. We are told so often that parents want to help their children but don't know where to look. The internet is a fantastic place to source information, in fact, we reported recently that this is exactly where parents are looking BUT how do they know what they find is any good?

We will have lots of free downloads for information and simple games as well as resource packs, books and games that we have either written/devised or have reviewed and recommend.

There will be videos showing parents exactly how to use them. We have lots planned!

What would you like to see included? Please let us know, as we would welcome your ideas

info@smalltalk-ltd.co.uk

Are speaking and understanding skills located in the same part of the brain?

Thank you to Mediplacements for allowing us to use this:


A new study claims to lay to rest the debate as to whether speaking and understanding are located in the same part of the brain.

According to the research, published in journal Psychological Science, speaking and understanding are located in the same area of the brain.

Scientists at the Donders Institute at the Radboud University Nijmegen developed technology which allowed an insight into a moving brain - required to study the brains of those who are talking.

Functional MRI technology was used to measure brain activity in those who were either listening to sentences or speaking sentences.

In order to prompt the participants to say the right kind of sentences, authors designed a picture of an action with one person coloured green and the other red so their order in the sentence was clear.

Researchers were then able to work out where in the brain three different speech tasks were occurring.

Computing meaning, coming up with the words and building a grammatical sentence were all seen to take place in the same area.

Researcher Laura Menenti, of the University of Glasgow, explained that although it sometimes appears that those with comprehension issues may be able to speak well, and vice versa, this is not always true.

"Our data suggest that these problems would be expected to always at least partly coincide. On the other, our data confirm the idea that many different processes in the language system, such as understanding meaning or grammar, can at least partly, be damaged independently of each other," she said.

This follows a paper published in journal Nature Neuroscience which suggested protein harmonin, known to play a part in sensing sound in the inner ear, could also be involved in sending information to the brain.

If this is the case, it would explain why the mutation of the protein in Usher syndrome, is associated with the most severe form of the disease.

Written by Megan Smith from Speech Therapy News, Mediplacements http://mediplacements-px.rtrk.co.uk 

Related articles

• Speaking and understanding speech share the same parts of the brain (eurekalert.org)
• Speech, Understanding Share Same Brain Regions (psychcentral.com)
• Speaking and listening share large part of brain infrastructure (sciencedaily.com)

Small Talker Pre-school Communication Groups:

• ·         At least 40,000 children will have started school this September without the necessary level of speech, language and communication skills (Prof. J Wright, de Montford University, 2008)
• ·         A high percentage of these are transient difficulties which could have been prevented or dealt with pre-school. ICAN estimates 50% of the reception population fall into this category
• ·         Studies show that if a child starts school with delayed language his chances of success after school are less (Prof. J Law, City University, 2009)
• ·         At least 85% of those starting school will have poor attention and listening skills which will prevent them learning (Hill, 2010)

The Small Talker Groups were set up exactly to try to help alleviate the problems faced by the Class Teacher. We work on everything they need to be successful, effective communicators including attention, listening, vocabulary, understanding, expressive language skills and social interaction.

They are for all children but are ideal for those who really need a boost before they start school next year www.smarttalkers.org.uk

Exploring the link between language problems and behaviour

 A summary of the link between language problems and emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) reported on by the Centre for Integrated Healthcare Research, has shown:

• Approximately three quarters of children with identified emotional and behavioural difficulties have significant language deficits.
• Approximately half of those with language disorders have identifiable emotional and behavioural difficulties.
• The prevalence of language deficits in children who exhibit anti-social behaviours is ten times higher than in the general population.
• Pure language deficits, especially those associated with comprehension difficulties, are at greatest risk.
• Thus EBD children with unsuspected receptive disorders were rated the most delinquent, the most depressed (by parents) and aggressive (by teachers) and had more severe challenging behaviour.
• Children with expressive language disorders were rated as more socially withdrawn and anxious.
• The strength of the association between language difficulties and antisocial behaviour increases with age.
• Difficulties in initiating and maintaining interpersonal relationships is a key mediating variable between language disorders and antisocial behaviours.
• "Language disorders appear to have a devastating effect on interpersonal relationships (ie peer, family, companion) throughout the lifespan." (Benner, 2002)

I carried out a study in 2005 which showed a definite link between auditory memory difficulties and behaviour problems. It's not just a case of 'not understanding', a language problem affects all aspects of a child's life.

Just recently I was asked to see a 15year old boy with a terrible history of violence. He was in residential care but had committed a string of offences. When I assessed him it became apparent that he had such poor language skills that he didn't really understand most of what was being said to him. He was constantly seeking a familiar response and had worked out that if you punch someone the response is always consistent! He understood the outcome of that exchange! He was bright and chatty on the surface which disguised his difficulties. He had a set of well rehearsed stories to impress the listener on a superficial level (some of which I recognised as scenes from films). Yet his auditory memory was just 2 items which means that he can follow only sentences with 2 pieces of information (like a typical 2 year old!).

There's definitely a proven link which is why all children with behaviour difficulties could do with a speech, language and communication assessment by a suitably experienced Therapist. There will be more about the role of SLT in young offenders in a later blog post.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Brain biology linked to severe teenage antisocial behaviour (physorg.com)

Word finding frustration

I went to a great party at the weekend, it started early and went on til late. I'm not sure how much I had to drink but this morning I didn't feel too bad. Not really so much as a headache. What I did experience, through the combination of alcohol and lack of sleep probably, was a temporary word finding difficulty. I was trying to tell some-one how funny I'd found Chris Evans' stand-in on the radio 2 breakfast show last week. Try as I might I couldn't think of his name: I could picture his face, his suits, I knew he was small, Irish and proudly gay but for hours his name eluded me. I had to google 'breakfast show stand-in' to get it...... Graham Norton of course! Then I wanted to say the name of a place: I could recall the letter it began with, the number of syllables etc. but not the actual name. I was angry, frustrated and bewildered. The more I tried the harder it was!

We all get this tip-of the tongue experience from time to time and people have probably heard about stroke patients suffering this difficulty. There are however, so many children who have this problem most of the time. I have 4 regular clients with this difficulty on my current caseload, they use a lot of 'thingy', 'whatsit' or words similar to the one they want e.g. one child said, 'I'm going swimming and I don't need my armpits now!' They might talk around the word e.g. elephant, 'You know it's grey and got a long thingy'. They look normal, are bright and chatty but have a problem which gets in the way of them being able to express themselves fully. Sometimes they have other language based issues which compound things. They are probably aware of their problem and have associated anxiety. The problem is the more stressed they are, the harder it will be. As with the tip-of-the-tongue experiences we all have, when we're relaxed the elusive words are recalled. It's definitely a problem that's getting worse. One of the NHS Therapists has 2 in one school and she does a course specifically to share our approach.

I've always sympathised with them and done my best to teach them strategies to help but today I could really empathise. I'll be OK tomorrow but they have to live with this all day everyday and people just don't understand.

Sadie Lewis' work is widely respected in this area.

Active listening

We tend to get quite poor results if we say "Behave!" to our little ones. It means very little, whereas if we describe the behaviour we want. they are more likely to understand what we require of them and then we might have some chance of them doing what we've asked. For example, if we want them to be quiet, sit still and not run around in the GP waiting room it better to tell them that than ask them to 'Behave!' Many parents and lots of teachers know this and act accordingly. However, we often and repeatedly say "Listen!" But what does that mean to a 3 year old?
Listening is not a passive skill, it's an active one and therefore one that needs to be learned. Just like behaviour we need to break it down and describe what we want from them.
Active listening is actually:

• good sitting
• good looking
• good waiting
• good thinking

You wouldn't expect good thinking until school age and it's very hard to do good waiting as a 3 or 4 year old (its hard enough for this 47 year old to wait if she's got something to say!) Which is why they find it hard to wait for their turn or to let others answer a question to which they know the answer.

Our Small Talker groups (for 3 and 4 year olds) work on active listening. We use a puppet to demonstrate 'not good' sitting so that he actually mirrors some of their behaviours e.g. picking the carpet to picking their noses. They are asked to help the puppet 'because he's not naughty, he's just got to learn'. They have to look for the 'un-required' behaviour and say 'stop, do good sitting'. They are usually excellent at identifying the behaviour in the puppet although they may still be doing the same themselves for a while. Afterwards. I put the puppet where he can 'watch' them do good sitting so he can learn by example. I then monitor the behaviour in a  very positive way so that I praise good sitting (and the wriggly ones usually sit up in  an aim to please) or if that doesn't work I ask the wriggly ones to help the puppet by showing him 'good sitting'. If they are constantly nagged to sit still or to listen, they will switch off. It's amazing how well they respond to this approach. I have had a few run-ins with TAs and parents who have been completely peed off with  my approach because they are itching to dictate 'Will you sit still, now!' However, I've asked them to trust me and watch what happens even if I am irritating them....  we've had some great results!

Maggie Johnson has done a great deal of work with listening skills especially with children with ADHD. I can wholeheartedly recommend her book: 

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• Listening -- a Barrier to Communication (human-resources-management.suite101.com)

Are you really a good listener?

People today have difficulties listening and it's not just the children. This is a real problem and one of the issues the Small Talkers Groups, in the Smart Talker Range are designed to address. 

The key to being a good listener is to get the person with whom you are talking, to talk.  I  was reading 'Raising Happy Children' by Parker, J., & Stimpson, J. (1999) and I realised that I fall into some of the communication traps, when I should know better.

How many do you do?? Are you a good listener? 

It may help to check that you are not doing something else instead:

• Advising - “Tom wouldn’t let me play with him today.”   “I’d take no notice if I were you, go and play with Peter tomorrow instead”.
• Criticising - “Joe took my book and lied and said it was his and my teacher believed him!”   “Well I told you not to take it to school”.
• Dismissing - “Emily broke my bracelet.”   “Oh, it doesn’t matter. We can just get another one when we go shopping”
• Correcting - “It wasn’t fair at tea time, you are always nicer to Sally than you are to me!”  “You mean Breakfast time.”
• Ignoring - “I need mummy to take me to Claire’s house after school.”  “Come and help me to do the dishes”
• Distracting - “I’ve not been picked to be on the netball team and all my friends have.”   “Come and look at what I brought at the shops today and try not to think about it.”
• Reassuring - “I’m scared of the monsters under my bed.”  “There’s nothing to be scared of.”
• Praising - “I hate it when she comes into my room.”  “I’m sure you don’t mind because you are such a good big sister.” 

Everyone falls into one of these traps from time to time, but using replies such as these won't get the same results as really listening. Sometimes parents use these communication traps because they have run out of patience or time  or sometimes because they dont know any better. Whatever the reason, they can be very effective at stopping a child from talking.

Listening has the opposite aim - it encourages your child to talk. Encouraging your child to talk will help them to become a confident and effective communicator, a skill that will help them for their whole life.