By Pam Marshalla
Q: Do you think that physical maturation alone can be all that a particular client may need to help his speech improve? Yes, clearly some children outgrow their speech problems. But the only way to know this is to let time pass without therapy. I sometimes recommend that a child go 6-12 months with no therapy to see what happens. I make sure the parents know that I am doing this and why. Often the parents and I alone, or…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: How young do you see children with a lateral lisps? Most SLPs leave the lateral lisp alone until age 6-8. However, I and many other therapists address it earlier with children 4 and 5 years of age. I work on the following with younger kids– I make sure that T and D are midline and not lateral. If they are lateral, I straighten them out. I use a straw for this– They produce T into the straw held outside…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Many SLPs write to me with questions about sibilants that are distorted––inter-dental, frontal, whistled, palatal, lateral, and so forth. I have given lots of advice about these errors, but sometimes I can’t. Why? Sometimes I can give no advice for fixing errors on the sibilants because the errors are distorted in such refined ways that there is no way to determine what exactly is going on without seeing and hearing the error myself. If you have taken classes of…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: When I try to use a tongue depressor or any other tool in my client’s mouth, he backs off right away and says, “It hurts.” He does this even before I use the tool to touch his mouth or do anything. I don’t think he’s hypersensitive. I think he’s refusing just to refuse. He is four-years-old and I am trying to elicit a K and a G. I think you are right. A little guy like that may use…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I still cannot seem to explain to colleagues the difference between articulation, oral motor, and phonology. Can you help me one more time? This is the line of thinking I use. It may help you explain these ideas to others–– Movements are used to make phonemes. Phonemes are used to make syllables. Syllables are used to make words. Words are used to make phrases. Phrases are used to make sentences. Sentences are used to make paragraphs. Words, phrases, sentences,…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: One of my high school students has a tense upper lip, which interferes with correct productions of P, B, and M, although she can produce labials in structured tasks. She also chews with her mouth open and makes smacking sounds. The resting position of her mouth often reveals her teeth, and her tense upper lip is noticeable. How can I improve her articulation as well as her looks and eating habits? Your client needs a program of orofacial myology…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My student is unable to produce the Sh sound and it sounds very slushy. When he tries to say the sound, I noticed that he puffs up his cheeks with air. How can I get him to not do this and make that air flow come out the front? Here is what Nemoy and Davis (1937) would have done–– Have him make a Long E–– “Eeeeeeeee.” Make it be a strong, exaggerated, very smiley, and prolonged E. Super-exaggerate it….
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I still don’t get how to explain the difference between “articulation” and “phonology” and “oral motor.” Can you take a run at that again? I think my last answer to this was way too involved. Here is the short and sweet of it using phoneme M as an example in a very simplified way: Articulation ARTICULATION concerns the mechanics of sound production: The position assumed by the jaw, lips, tongue, and velum during production of a phoneme. For example, the…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Why do you keep harping on about the evidence-based practice (EBP)? I keep “harping on” about the EBP for four main reasons: Because therapists from all over the world continue to submit questions to me about the EBP. Because therapists in my seminars continue to tell me about the problems they are having with the EBP––problems they are having with certain colleagues, administrators, or parents because of it. Because therapists in my seminars continue to tell me that they…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: How often do you see your clients? I always set once per week as my “must have” level. That is unless they are only on consult, follow-up, or the later stages of carryover. Over 35 years, I have found that once per week is sufficient for most kids, both the easy kids and the low functioning ones. Easy kids can do perfectly well with once per week, and low functioning clients do not move fast enough to warrant more…
