ARK's Blog

I recently completed a Clinical Swallow Evaluation and today a Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study of a 10 yr old boy's swallow (both revealed a safe swallow that is within normal limits) and observed that his is not an age-appropriate chew pattern.  He engages in a Nonstereotypic Vertical Movement during mastication.  As a result, oral prep phase is significantly extended and his mother …

Simply put, bilateral coordination is the ability to use both sides of your body together in an organized, coordinated manner.  Most children pick up this skill naturally, but sometimes there can be a disconnect.  Why is this a problem?  Most of what we do on a daily basis involves bilateral coordination: tying shoelaces, typing, opening a water bottle, playing, writing, etc. &nb …

.  You know your mom is an SLP when:. •  You can diagnose a lateral lisp within 2 seconds flat. •  Your mom uses sign language to talk to you from across the room. •  You are the tester / guinea pig for any new games, exercises, etc. •  Any sharp turns in your mom's car = therapy materials start mooing, singing, beeping, etc. •  Your mom loves toy stores …

. .  This young man has conquered /ch/ both alone and in sentences. Since he can say /ch/, /sh/ is a breeze from here. So I had him say /ch/ in isolation, and then just prolong it. I told him to "hang on to the ch." For a visual and tactile activity to go with this, I had him roll a toy car along the racetrack on our hallway wall to demonstrate that sh is prolonged. It's hard …