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…
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. …
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I have a two-year-old client who only says “Mmmm” and “Ahhh.” He won’t do anything for me. How can I get him to talk? First, I would like to refer you to my book called Becoming Verbal with Childhood Apraxia. I am not trying to sell you a book, but I wrote it precisely for this type of case. It will help you understand how to help little kids become more vocal, verbal, interactive, communicative, and imitative. It discusses…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I am working with an 8-year-old client with severe apraxia who only can produce vowels, M and B. I have tried all the strategies in beginning of your book called Apraxia Uncovered. But this has also not yielded much. Do you have any hints for how to physically prompt other consonants? This child has severe cognitive dysfunction, too. The reason that the information in Apraxia Uncovered was not of much help to you is because although your client may…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client has cerebral palsy. His articulation is really good but he is dysfluent. Can you help me? I am sorry, but I am completely unqualified to answer any questions about fluency.
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I was appalled by your comments that speech-language pathologists should not teach reading! Reading is a part of language! Why not teach reading? In my opinion, reading teachers teach reading, and speech-language pathologists teach speech and language. This is my opinion and I am sticking to it. You may have a different opinion if you would like. Your opinion will not appall me, and I would suggest that mine not appall you. Sounds like a big waste of energy…
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….
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…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I am an SLP in the schools. Often I am asked to address writing as a language goal. What are your thoughts regarding writing as a language goal? Grrrrrr! We are not “Writing-Language Pathologists,” or “Reading-Language Pathologists,” or “Literacy-Language Pathologists.” We are SPEECH-language pathologists! I hope I was not unclear in this response.
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Can you give our family advice about stimulating speech, language, and feeding in a 14-month old girl with Pierre-Robin Syndrome? She is making some sounds and is pretty smart. We have read your book Becoming Verbal with Childhood Apraxia and it has helped us understand about stimulating sound and word productions. Although she continues to be fed through a G-tube, she now is eating many different foods orally. Let me just make some straightforward statements about how I would…
