Pam Marshalla, Author at Marshalla Speech & Language

Author: Pam Marshalla

Teach the Feature First

By Pam Marshalla

Q: Do I understand your advice? […] When working on producing the ‘hissing” sounds, my focus should be on the airflow and not the correct sound production. For example, the client can’t say Ch but is able to get a lot of airflow on her attempt when probed. So I should reward her when she says Ts instead. Is this correct? My experience and research on normal development demonstrates that children learn MANNER before they learn PLACE features. Thus, stridency…

Tongue Thrust Following the Swallow

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My friend’s daughter has a tongue thrust (the tongue pushes forward after the swallow). The orthodontist gave her one technique–– holding gum on the roof of her mouth while she swallows. Do you have any other ideas for tongue thrust techniques for a very typically developing 2nd grader? First a few words about the general nature of this question: Asking someone for ideas about teaching a correct swallow is like asking someone for techniques to fix an articulation error. …

Whining Toddler

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I am working with a child 2;6 who substitutes /n/ or /m/ for many other consonants. We have worked with words she says often, and she can make the correct sounds in words with a model, but talking on her own she just sounds like she is whining. Two-year-olds can be so variable, and what looks like something very severe can turn out to be nothing. She simply may be jargoning, and her jargon happens to sound like whining. …

Tongue-Tip on L

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My 4-year-old client has learned L with his tongue-tip down. Should I let him continue this pattern, or should I teach him to make a tip-up L? In my opinion, you always want the tongue-tip to be elevated when it is supposed to be on T, D, N, and L. You want your client to be developing oral movement patterns that will help him succeed all the way through to mature speech. So you are teaching him things today…

Let Toddlers Make Toddler Errors

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I am an SLP and cannot figure out how to remediate my own 20-month-old daughter’s speech problem. She is very expressive, has unlimited vocabulary, is speaking in 4-word sentences, and has above average articulation. She recently developed a cold which is now gone but as a result she is now producing L in place of N in all word positions. She is saying “Lo for “no” and “Bel” for “Ben.” She had this correct before. How should I correct…

Inconsistent Toddler Talk

By Pam Marshalla

Q: My two-year-old client uses words inconsistently. For example, he only uses “more” when he wants food, and he only says “mama” once or twice a day. Two-year-olds are notoriously inconsistent about everything they do. They go to bed right away one night, and scream bloody murder about it for two hours the next. You ask them if they want a cookie, they say cookie and take it one minute, and the next they won’t even look up at you. …

Tongue Thrust References

By Pam Marshalla

Q: What do you recommend to begin doing reading on tongue thrust? In terms of textbooks, I would recommend either of the following. The chapters about what to do in therapy for tongue thrust are basically the same in both of these books: Hanson, M. L., & Barrett, R. H. (1988) Fundamentals of orofacial myology. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas. Hanson, M. L., & Mason, R. M. (2003) Orofacial Myology: International Perspectives. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas.

Transcribing a Frontal Lisp

By Pam Marshalla

Q: How do you transcribe a frontal lisp? There are many ways to designate a frontal lisp– Some therapists do like to write it as Th/S (using IPA symbols, of course.) Some place a right-facing arrow under the phoneme, to indicate that the tongue is protruding forward. Some draw a circle between a downward-facing caret and an upward-facing caret, indicating the tongue is between the upper and lower teeth. Some simply write D for distorted, but I think that is…

Teaching Sh and Ch

By Pam Marshalla

Q: How do you teach Sh and Ch when a client has a lateral lisp? Start with Sh–– Have the client smile and produce an exaggerated Long E–– Eeeee. Then tell him to hold his tongue in the E position and pant. He will be making a gross Sh at that point. Now have him keep panting in that way and round the lips. He will be saying Sh. Then go to Ch–– Have the client prolong Sh–– Shhhhhhhhhhh. While prolonging…

Misdiagnosing Mild Dysarthria as Apraxia

By Pam Marshalla

SLPs often overlook the diagnosis of mild dysarthria. This therapist’s letter perfectly describes such a client. My answer below summarizes the problems and offers links to treatment. Q: I was hoping you could provide some guidance for me with a student I am evaluating. She is 11 years old and has been in speech for R, L, S, Th for several years. I met her for the first time this week when I began her re-evaluation. The SLP who has…