Super Star Speech

Navigating the middle school social scene is difficult for any child. This is an interesting article about a middle schooler with autism and her difficulties and successes with her peers.

Teen With Autism Advises Other “Different”  Kids

These are some questions typical of those that I receive in my email:

What ages is Super Star Speech appropriate for? Super Star Speech: Speech Therapy Made Simple is designed for ages 3 and up. It can be used for serious drill work for older children or for very low key teaching for little ones. The sound teaching tips are certainly appropriate for even middle schoolers, but the included activities and games are most appropriate and fun for preschoolers and younger elementary ages. The other three books focus on specific sounds that are often not mastered until age 5 and up. Although some of the practice activities and games are appropriate for preschoolers, the books are generally geared for ages 5-12.

My three year old isn’t talking much. Can your books help him? Super Star Speech focuses only on articulation (speech sounds).  If your child isn’t speaking in sentences or has a very small vocabulary, language is your concern. Super Star Speech won’t be helpful. Please visit a speech-language pathologist to find out your best plan of action.

Which book should I buy? If you know that your child has only a few errors, and these errors are covered in Super Star R and L, Super Star S, Z, and Sh, or Super Star Ch, J, and Th, just buy that specific book. It will contain all you need. If your child has many errors, Super Star Speech: Speech Therapy Made Simple covers all sounds and is all you need. BUT you may want to consider the Complete Edition or one or more of the specialized books, which include many more practice activities, including some that are of more interest to older children.

My child is already in speech therapy. Would your book be useful? Certainly. The more speech practice time a child has, the faster he will progress. Hopefully, your SLP is sending home practice assignments. But if not, or if you want picture cards or more practice activities, or if you want your child to continue progressing during a summer break from therapy, you will find Super Star Speech helpful.

My child has a tongue thrust. Will your book help? Super Star Speech does not address tongue thrust at all. It can certainly be helpful to address some of the speech errors associated with a tongue thrust, but does not address the underlying issue. Find an SLP who is experienced in working with tongue thrust to help you. Some speech sounds can be very difficult to correct without first changing the swallowing pattern.

If you have any more questions, leave a comment or email me at debbie@superstarspeech.com. I’ll be glad to help or to direct you to someone who can!

All Super Star Speech e-books books and Super Star Games are on sale for 20% off at Currclick from August 10 until August 31. Now is a great time to stock up!

$10.36

$2.80

What can you expect if you take your child for  speech and language testing? Speech and language evaluations will vary depending on the speech-language pathologist and the child’s age and abilities. Typically, this is what will happen:

1. Hearing screening–Because hearing is so critical to speech and language abilities, a hearing screening will probably occur first. This is not likely to be a thorough hearing test (which is generally performed by an audiologist), but a quick check that the child can hear a 20 or 25dB tone at about 4 different frequencies. If the child fails the test, a more complete hearing test may be warranted.

2. Oral-peripheral exam– The speech-language pathologist (SLP) will look inside the child’s mouth for any physical differences that might contribute to speech difficulties, such as a tongue-tie, abnormally high palate, signs of a partial or sub-mucous cleft palate and an abnormal bite. Additionally, he or she may do some tests of tongue coordination or strength.

3. An articulation test–The child will name pictures that assess all speech sounds in all word positions. The SLP will also listen to the child in conversational speech to listen for additional errors and overall intelligibility.

4. Language tests–These can be quite lengthy and will assess vocabulary, syntax (sentence structure and grammar), comprehension, and appropriate use of language. Both receptive language (understanding) and expressive language (production) will be assessed.

5. Conversation samples will be taken and evaluated for articulation language abilities and possibly for voice disorders or stuttering, if these are a concern.

It can take quite a bit of time to score the tests and evaluate the language samples, so you will probably wait until another day to find out the results. If the only concern is articulation, voice, or stuttering, however, the SLP may be ready to discuss results and make recommendations right away.

Has your child had a speech or language evaluation? I’d love t0 hear about your experiences.