By Pam Marshalla
Q: I am faced with cutting my caseload down considerably due to budget cuts. We will see the more severe kids a max of one time per week, and that’s fine. However, we are being asked to cut the mild kids more, and even eliminate them from our caseloads. Do you have any ideas? Many therapists are facing this today. Here is a brainstorm I had that may get you thinking outside the box. The idea is to use four…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Can you recommend any good references for feeding therapy? The absolute must-read best resource on feeding therapy is–– Morris, S. E., & Klein, M. D. (2000, 1987). Pre-Feeding Skills: A Comprehensive Resource for Mealtime Development. Austin: Pro-Ed. Also, Talk Tools International puts on good feeding seminars.
By Pam Marshalla
I receive many requests from adults who are seeking help for their minor articulation problems. They find me on the web and write to me asking what they should do. (Sometimes I worry these folks are secret “anti-oral-motor people” writing to catch me doing unethical therapy via email so they can shut me down somehow… That’s the paranoid side of me. But usually I believe that these are honest people who genuinely are seeking advice.) The following is a typical question…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I attended a workshop of yours and recall the recommendation to have the student brush the sides of the tongue to elicit the R sound. I can’t find the method in your handout. Where is it? It is SOOOOOOOO critically important to understand the PURPOSE of a method! One does not brush the sides of the tongue to elicit R and I would NEVER recommend that. Instead one brushes the sides of the tongue to AWAKEN the tactile system there. …
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Where can I find out about oral-motor therapy? The best place to begin learning about oral motor techniques is from reading what has been written in books and online. Search online under oral-motor. May I recommend the following beginning points–– This blog’s oral-motor category The articles posted at the Oral Motor Institute website The resources made by Talk Tools International Debra Beckman’s Resources SpeechLanguageFeeding.com
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My male client is six and he has had phonological therapy for three years with another therapist. He was switched to me because he was going nowhere, and now he is going nowhere with me. I think he needs a motor approach but I have no idea how to begin. Can you guide me? Yours is a very common dilemma: You have tried basic phonological therapy that is auditory/cognitive/linguistic in nature and found that your client is not doing…
