Pam Marshalla, Author at Marshalla Speech & Language

Author: Pam Marshalla

Scoring System on the Marshalla Oral Sensorimotor Test (MOST)

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I was very excited to get your test, the MOST. Can you explain the scoring system to me? We had to design the Marshalla Oral Sensorimotor Test (MOST) so that therapists who had no prior information about oral-motor assessment could administer and score it. Original Design I originally designed a 7-point scoring system, with one score for Pass, and six different scores for Fail. The seven-point scoring system was designed to reveal subtle differences in oral motor skill between one…

Elements of Carryover

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I still have many high school students that have not corrected articulation errors. How long you continue to try to get these teens to carryover productions into conversation after years of no progress? I would answer your question with a series of questions to ponder about your approach to therapy with these kids. These are the things I would think about: Are you working directly on carryover activities? Are you giving them speech assignments to do outside of therapy?…

Lip Trainer

By Pam Marshalla

Q: Do you know anything about the Lip Trainer? Do you think it has any uses in articulation therapy? I have not used a Lip Trainer, however, it looks just like another version of the Lip Gym, which I have used to increase action of the orbicularis oris (OO). These types of devices can be used to facilitate action of the OO. Two basic methods of muscle stimulation are employed: Stretching and Resistance. Stretching A muscle is stretched to activate…

Final “Ch” Clusters

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I finally have a boy saying his “Sh” and “Ch” sounds using your techniques. But he is having a hard time transitioning to words like “pinched” or “benched.” I would appreciate your suggestions as to how to help him. I would have him pause between the “Ch” and the “T” like this: Pinched = Pinch…(pause)…T! Benched = Bench…(pause)…T! Then shorten the pause between the Ch and the T until they sound like the cluster they are.

Reading Programs for Apraxia and Dysarthria

By Pam Marshalla

Q: What reading programs do you use with children who have apraxia or dysarthria? I do not teach reading. It is my opinion that the SLP has no business teaching kids to read. We are speech-language pathologists, not reading specialists. I’m sorry to disappoint. I do not go along with things just because they are popular points of view. In my opinion it is unethical for SLP’s to be teaching reading. Therefore I do not keep up with reading programs….

References and Advice for Apraxia and Dysarthria

By Pam Marshalla

Q: Do you have any advice on working on reading with a six-year-old child with severe apraxia and dysarthria? This child is having many difficulties with phonological and phonemic awareness and is struggling in all academic areas. Are there any reading programs that you know of that would help? I am already working on phonological awareness skills with her. First, if he is struggling in “all academic areas” there is more wrong than just apraxia and dysarthria. Apraxia and dysarthria…

The Gopher’s Whistled S

By Pam Marshalla

Q: What does an SLP call a distorted /s/ phoneme that whistles, like the gopher in Winnie-the-Pooh? Is it considered a lisp? The term “lisp” has gone through many changes throughout the centuries, and it depends upon whom you read as to what it means. In the 1800’s, some writers used the term “lisp” to refer to any problems with the sibilants. Others used the term to mean any and all speech deficits, including all problems of voice, resonance, prosody,…

Habitual Tongue-Clicking in Low-Functioning Client

By Pam Marshalla

An SLP wrote about a 12-year-old client with cerebral palsy who constantly makes sucking noises with her tongue. The therapist was seeking information about how to eliminate the habitual sucking that was distracting in the classroom. More information about this client was gained through email exchange. The additional information and my responses are offered here. The client has a cognitive age of 6 months With a cognitive level of 6 months this client is functioning just above the reflex level,…

Frontal Lisp at Conversation Level

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I have a client in grade five who has a frontal lisp. She can make a good /s/, but her jaw slides forward when we do word and sentence drills, and when we engage in conversation. The speech work, especially conversation, seems too fast to allow for her to get her jaw in the right position to keep the tongue in. Suggestions? Your client already can do a correct /s/ with a good jaw position, but she is not…

Oral-Motor is Not a Trivial Topic

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I am going to evaluate a 15-year-old male with an orofacial-myofunctional disorder. He will get braces soon. What general oromotor exercises do you recommend to get us jump-started? What materials should I order? Your question is far too general for me to answer. There are no “oral-motor exercises” I can give you to get you “jump-started.” The study of oral motor is deep and complex, and it contains many levels of understanding and direction. Your questions suggest that you…