Why Teaching of Talking will change the way conventional therapy is done for speaking difficulties and and Aphasia.
Published: Fri, 06/01/12
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June 2012 Good Day friends of Teaching of Talking, and Make Rocks Talk:Modeling : Teaching of Talking
You can learn how to really love doing speech and language stimulation with people who have mild to profound speaking difficulties, if they are stimulable. Stimulability is the ability to repeat a sound, word, phrase or sentence with a MODEL. I have shared many of the foundation stones about our work, and this is another one of them, THE MODEL. Almost every living thing in the animal kingdom has a model to learn from. While out walking around the lake this morning we saw a mother duck and her babies. The mother was modeling various behaviors for the ducklings, and teaching them how to swim. Many of the ducklings did not want to jump in the water from the elevated bank. There were some who were very brave, and jumped right in, while some others were hesitant, and fearful. The ones who were brave jumped right in without having to analyze everything. Once in the water the little ducklings floated around and paddled forward, as if they had always known how to paddle in water. It was interesting to watch the ones in the water "jumping" out of the water and back onto the elevated bank from the floating position. They were jumping up in the air, and then as if by magic, they landed back on the elevated bank! These ducklings needed a model to give them the security to stretch their wings, and challenge them to take the plunge. Without a MODEL to encourage them, how would the ducklings even know to go into the water?
The Teaching of Talking Model is about speaking again. It is not about learning how to write, spell, or read. These are all possibilities for the person with the speaking difficulty. The majority will tell you they want to TALK, or TALK BETTER. Therefore I want you to think of the person who has minimal speech and language like a baby or toddler or has very limited speech. If we were to stimulate the speech of the baby or the toddler, I don't think many of us would pull out work sheets, or sentences to read or write. The mother, who is the MODEL will gently and lovingly speak to the child and say the word or words that are appropriate to the speaking situation. Therefore although written word cues may be helpful, our approach emphasizes the spontaneity of conversation or the interchange between the Speech Model SM and the Person with the Communication Difficulty PCD during daily interactions at home in ADL's and within simple questions and answers. That is where the "fun" of the interaction or therapy really is.
There must be a good speech model SM in the approach to The Teaching of Talking. Someone who can model the words, phrases, sentences, that contain the syntax, grammar, and articulation, prosody, and intonation which make up some of the principal parts of speaking. The PCD with limited speaking, whether a child or person with a stroke or head injury, does not always have access to the principal parts of speaking. That is where the SM comes in. The critical piece here is that the speech model within a communicative interchange with the PCD can give them the information they need in order to say a sound, word, phrase or sentence just by asking them a question.
So if I were to say to you: "Do you want a hamburger," there is a wealth of information in that question for the PCD. Within the Teaching of Talking are strategies for asking questions that will make it very simple for the PCD to answer the question at whatever level is appropriate. For some it will be one word, for others it may be a 2,3, or 4 word response.
The other great aspect of our methods in the Teaching of Talking, is that it also shows the reader or 
Speech Model SM, how to model the RATE of speaking. We all know that many speech and language difficulties seem to improve when the rate of speaking is decreased. For those with aphasia it will give them more time to formulate their language. Dysarthria is another common symptom with strokes and aphasia, and for many, it has been shown that decreasing the speech rate improves articulation accuracy and intelligibility. The person with dysarthria, or slurred speech needs to hear a new model of slower speaking where there is a notable pause between each spoken word. We teach the SM how to ask questions that include almost every aspect of speech needed to speak with clarity.
Therefore the Teaching of Talking Method to Speech Therapy teaches the Speech Model SM how to pose questions that feed the gold of speaking to the PCD, and also the speech rate. By doing that the PCD is given almost everything they need to speak readily with intelligibility.
I have a new friend across the sea. He has both dysarthria and word finding difficulties and had been communicating quite a bit with pencil and paper. No one really wants to do that, especially if they had the experience for decades of speaking!
We have been teaching his caregiver and wife how to model questions and verbal interactions that give Steve the words, and grammar for what he will say. And of equal importance is that we are modeling the speech rate and manner of speaking. By doing that he gets the necessary verbiage needed to construct his utterance but he also receives the modeled speech rate that takes most of the slur and mumbled sounds away when he clearly matches the rate of the speech model.
 My friend Steven is now improving both his language expression and articulation/intelligibility of speaking. I can now think of the millions of caregivers and people with mild to profound speaking difficulties out there in the United States, Canada, and around the world who may not have a model to help them attain speaking clarity. I can now envision them as little ducklings who need a Model to show them what is possible. Those with speaking difficulties don't have to stay on the shore, like innocent bystanders, afraid to move forward like their peers. They too, can jump into the water and paddle around, but will need someone or something to show them what is possible.
That is why Teaching of Talking was written; to inform, and train the caregiver or speech language pathologist to model for the person with the communication difficulty the way out of speaking fear or silence. Our video webinars will also show people around the country and world how to model our methods so they, too, can be successful modelers, helping their loved ones and clients speak with greater clarity.
Remember that every baby, duckling and person with a communication difficulty needs a model. Are you ready to become a speech model also? Come join us, it will be fun! Jump in!
Please share with friends and institutions New Facebook Page
We now have a Teaching of Talking facebook page, please click on the facebook icon below and become our "friend."
Publishing Date
For those of you who have ordered The Teaching of Talking, the date I should have the first shipment in my possession will be at the end of June. WE will start shipping the day they are received, for we know many of you have been anxiously awaiting. Barnes and Noble and Amazon should have copies ready for distribution by August. The first 250 orders received through our website will be personally autographed. For those who ordered The Teaching of Talking, and those who order it in June, we will enclose with the book a "Teaching of Talking Reference Guide," that will summarize the methods of speech and language stimulation into a one page document for quick and easy reference.
The Teaching of Talking Worldwide Initiative for moderate to profound speaking difficulties and aphasia.
Two weeks ago the idea for a worldwide initiative for the Teaching of Talking emerged, and came out of the desire to share with people around the world the concepts and methods of our new book, The Teaching of Talking, Learn to Do Expert Speech Therapy at Home with Children and Adults. It is my intention to provide training seminars to caregivers, speech language pathologists, and anyone who is desirous of learning our methods wherever they may be.
New Friends:
We have developed some new friends in the last few weeks. Rhonda and Steve from New Zealand. We have been chatting on Skype and Rhonda are Sharon are learning how to stimulate Steve's speech. He is making wonderful improvement.
He will be home everyday so you will be able to have a chat with Steve, and my girlfriend who is staying with us. Her name is Sharon, she also has a desire to help with Steve's speech therapy. I have been sharing with her and listening to your videos. She will be looking after him on a daily basis while I go work.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and encouragement. Together we can make rocks not only talk; They will be singing a new song of praise. Rhonda and Steve
We have also befriended Phil, who is very involved with Strokes and Aphasia in the UK. Phil has been sharing information about the delivery of services in the UK for people with stroke and aphasia. I will invite him to write an article about that for our newsletter!
Free Tele-Conference with Mark
Teleconference on June 8 at 1 pm and 7 pm. We are offering a tele-conference to those who are on our mailing lists to answer any questions they may have about speech therapy, or our upcoming book: The Teaching of Talking, Learn to Do Expert Speech Therapy at Home with Children and Adults.
Please send your questions to us before the tele-conference if you can. We will answer any written questions submitted first, on the call. The conference dial in number is 605-477-2100, and the Participant access code is 811540#. Please put this tele-conference on your calendar and send us your questions at [email protected]
Speech therapy online and Mentoring Services
If you have a need for special guidance or help with any issue pertaining to speaking, whether you are a family member, caregiver, person with a communication difficulty, or speech language pathologist/therapist, I offer a free initial consultation. I have over 40 years of clinical experience providing therapy to persons with communication difficulties and have mentored countless family members and colleagues in speech language pathology. To schedule your free initial appointment with me go to the contact us and send me an e mail or click here. Until July, I am signing off. I hope all of you have a happy and healthy June
Mark
Please
remember to tune into Blog Talk Radio each Thursday night at 10 pm
Central Time (if you are up at that time) for our weekly radio show
which shares interesting information for caregivers and therapists.
Don't miss it! http://www.blogtalkradio.
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June 2012 | ||||||
