By Pam Marshalla
Q: I heard you say that Van Riper was your greatest hero of all time in the profession, but then you said you had others that you didn’t mention. Who else do you admire in the field? What an interesting question! Okay, here are the people that have been the most influential to me, presented in categories that are the most important to my work. Articulation The one-and-only Charles Van Riper wins this top place of honor because he is…
By Pam Marshalla
This opinion paper was originally posted as a downloadable PDF on my website, authored in September, 2011. Download the original PDF here. *** Making Speech Targets Salient Classic Auditory Training Tools for Amplifying Speech By Pam Marshalla, MA, CCC-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist Making Speech Targets Salient One of the most important things we do in articulation therapy is to make speech units stand out so the client can focus on them. Our most important tool for making speech units salient is our own…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client only produces [+Back] consonants K and G, and he sucks his thumb. His tongue is beginning to move for L. Do you think that the thumb sucking is keeping his tongue retracted? Tongue retraction can have many causes including an oral habit like thumb sucking. It also can be the result of oral-tactile hypersensitivity that is causing the tongue to pull back and high in a perpetual “high guard” position. It also is a problem when oral muscle…
By Pam Marshalla
This opinion paper was originally posted as a downloadable PDF on my website, authored in March, 2011, and revised in April, 2011. Download the original PDF here. *** The Roots of Oral-Motor Therapy: A Personal View By Pam Marshalla, MA, CCC-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist Time The 1970’s was a time when SLP’s begin to work in multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams with OT’s, PT’s and other professionals. For the first time, SLP’s and motor specialists were sharing their thoughts and ideas regarding therapy with…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: There seems to be a shocking lack of knowledge “out there” about how to do articulation therapy. I recently saw a girl with an R distortion who had been in therapy with another therapist for a year with no progress. I was able to get a correct sound from her in 15 minutes! The mother was amazed that I actually worked on tongue movement and placement. I agree, and I think I know why this is occurring. The tried-and-true…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I am confused over the term NS-OME (Non Speech Oral Motor Exercises). Some people are saying that we cannot use things like toothettes, bite sticks, whistles, or straws in therapy. I use many things like this in therapy. Shouldn’t we do whatever we can to help our clients learn to make speech sounds? Your question is a good one. Yes, we are supposed to use whatever we can to help our clients learn to produce speech sounds. Van Riper…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: In my therapy with kids who have the stopping process, I typically start with S-clusters and S in the postvocalic position. It seems they develop the idea of “fricative-ness” more easily this way and, from there, they more easily go on to prevocalic S. I find that starting with prevocalic S often leads to a lot of frustration because they learn “sock” as “stock,” and so forth. Can you comment on this? First, we have such a mess in…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I am working on my master’s thesis on a topic related to the basis of articulation and the neutral/starting positions. I would like to expand my research beyond the linguistics domain into the neighboring fields of speed physiology and therapy. I read your notes “The Roles of Oral Rest Posture and Neutral Position in Articulation” and would like to cite it. Have you published it anywhere? Perhaps you have mentioned starting position in your other publications? I am currently…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client can say “Er” in words like “flower” when we split the syllables apart: “Flow—er.” But he cannot say it in words like “Bird” or “Shirt.” What can we do? You will notice that you have split “flower” in to syllables like this: “Flow—-Er.” This means that although your client can say “Er,” he cannot sequence from the C to “Er.” We don’t say, “Flow—er.” We say, “Flah—wer.” The /r/ occurs in a CVC, and this requires better…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have a three-year-old male client who is beginning to talk. He is a very picky eater and rarely eats at school, although he has started eating a few bites of pear, apple, or fish crackers for me. He bites, lateralizes, and chews, but then he leaves the food smashed all over between his teeth and lips. Can you tell me why he may be doing this? How I can help him with creating a bolus and swallowing? He…
