By Pam Marshalla
Q: Our son is 28 months old and just starting to talk. He may be apraxic and he sucks a pacifier all day and night. He seems to be very bright. What is your opinion about the pacifier? I have seen otherwise normally-developing two-year-olds who do not talk at all become completely verbal within a few weeks after their pacifier is tossed out. I always recommend elimination of the pacifier in cases of speech delay, except in those rare cases…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: You use the term “Butterfly Position” in Successful R Therapy. Is this something new? Did you make this up, or does it come from somewhere else? I made up the term “Butterfly Position” in 1978 during a workshop I was teaching. I have used the term ever since in workshop handouts and books I have written. The “Butterfly Position” refers to the ability to shape the tongue into a position that has a low midline and high sides. This…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: In your seminar on apraxia and dysarthria, you talked about how vowels (V) are more important to remediate than consonants (C) in children with very low language and severe motor speech disorders. Do you recommend the same thing for children who simply seem to be “late talkers”? Should I model the vowel instead of the consonant to obtain the words I am stimulating? With kids who just look like “late talkers”, I would model both the C and the…
