It's been such a fun and exciting season with great topics and interesting guests. Listen to Episode 67 to hear clips from some of our favorites, and a little reflection from Kim and Mary about why we really enjoyed these episodes.
Episodes we talk about:
58. The Movement Mama: Kailee Noland
60. What is Apraxia of Speech
61. How to Motivate Kids
62. Sara Lopez
63. Love Languages for Kids
64. First Words
65. Dietician Emily French
Thanks for listening and being a part of our passion and community of sharing knowledge and stories in the areas of speech, language, feeding, play and SO much more!
Make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss the first episode of the exciting season we have coming up. Also, follow along on Instagram @thespeechsource and check out The Speech Source for more info and resources.
Also, if you haven't done so already, follow our podcast! You will be the first to know when new episodes release. We would also love for you to leave a review and rate our show. The Speech Source appreciates your feedback and support! Follow here!
Follow Kim and Mary on IG here! - https://www.instagram.com/thespeechsource/
For more information on speech, language, feeding and play - visit The Speech Source Website - https://www.thespeechsource.com/
It's been such a fun and exciting season with great topics and interesting guests. Listen to Episode 67 to hear clips from some of our favorites, and a little reflection from Kim and Mary about why we really enjoyed these episodes.
Episodes we talk about:
58. The Movement Mama: Kailee Noland
60. What is Apraxia of Speech
61. How to Motivate Kids
62. Sara Lopez
63. Love Languages for Kids
64. First Words
65. Dietician Emily French
Thanks for listening and being a part of our passion and community of sharing knowledge and stories in the areas of speech, language, feeding, play and SO much more!
Make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss the first episode of the exciting season we have coming up. Also, follow along on Instagram @thespeechsource and check out The Speech Source for more info and resources.
Also, if you haven't done so already, follow our podcast! You will be the first to know when new episodes release. We would also love for you to leave a review and rate our show. The Speech Source appreciates your feedback and support! Follow here!
Follow Kim and Mary on IG here! - https://www.instagram.com/thespeechsource/
For more information on speech, language, feeding and play - visit The Speech Source Website - https://www.thespeechsource.com/
Welcome to the Speech Source Podcast. My name is Mary Brazeek.
Speaker 2:And I'm Kim Dillon. We are two pediatric speech language pathologists with a combined 25 years of experience.
Speaker 1:We are your source for speech, language, feeding, play and much more in between. And the praxis approach is basically saying you know what, if you have difficulty with the motor planning, then we need to do it again and again, and again and we need to make that plan really repetitive and routine. And this kind of repetition is going to make that pattern stronger and it's really going to be an effective way to communicate. When you see this in kids conversation, it's going to mean that the words they have practiced all the time words like mama or milk or ball, all their favorite vocabulary should hypothetically be the clearest speech that they use because they've repeated it and used it over and over and over and they've really strengthened that motor plan. But a child with a praxia, when they go to say a new word, especially when they're learning new vocabulary, that is a big struggle, especially if it has multiple syllables, like computer, where they're trying to put all these building blocks together. And so in a true a praxia approach, you're going to really solidify the building blocks of speech, the syllables, the vowels, the sounds themselves, so that, as the motor plan is strong in a unit, you can now put the units together. That's kind of how I explain an apraxia approach.
Speaker 1:Okay, so this clip was from our episode all about apraxia speech. It's episode 60. And this episode actually became one of our top listen to episodes of the fall, which Kim and I thought was just fascinating, because it's always really interesting to us to see the analytics on the other side, to see what you guys are enjoying and really interested in. And apraxia was a hit episode, that is for sure. What do you think about that, kim? That really shocked us didn't it.
Speaker 2:It was Some people that are not even in the speech world or they don't have their kids in speech, but have said, oh, I didn't even know what that was, and that made sense to me. I got feedback from both ends people that just didn't even know what that word meant, but then also that was really helpful for people to get a deeper understanding, even people who had newly diagnosed kids with childhood apraxia speech. We just broke it down in a way that was easy to understand and I think that's why it was one of our highest rated episodes.
Speaker 1:And I think sometimes, when we're planning what we're going to talk about for episodes, kim and I are just sitting there going, ah, but is this something that would benefit people? Are people wanting to hear about this? Is this helpful information? Are they going to think apraxia how does that apply to me? But actually this word is really being tossed around a lot and it's not as uncommon as you might think, so I was really really grateful to hear that it resonated with so many of you. That was an awesome episode, yeah.
Speaker 2:So if you're wanting to hear the whole episode, you can hear us just break down exactly what apraxia is, and then also some of the best treatment approaches that we have learned along the way and that we feel strongly should be used for childhood. Apraxia speech.
Speaker 1:When I'm doing therapy with a kid, with feeding for example, I say my rules right off the bat, where I'm saying, hey, I'm just going to let you know I respect you and I respect your ability to say no, I'm not going to try that and that's fine. And so I say I want you to trust me, I'm not going to pressure you to eat something. And then I say I want you to know that I'm here to work with you and we're going to explore these together in a way that is comfortable for you, because that is my number one priority is for you to be comfortable, and I can help you figure out this food together. But you're not going to be able to do your best If you're worried that I'm going to push you beyond your abilities and push you beyond what you're able to do, and that can change one day. Maybe they're feeling really bold and they're able to try a new food.
Speaker 1:Another day, something happened at school, whatever it is. Emotionally they're not able to do that. So I feel like, as a therapist, you're constantly assessing those first five minutes of them walking the room. You're seeing how their day is. You're really assessing okay, what's our capability level today and how can I match that and push them a little bit in a way that's within their abilities for the day and that builds trust, because they're like okay, you get me, you get what I can do and you're not going to push me beyond my limits?
Speaker 2:And that's huge, especially in feeding therapy, because there's a reason that it's scary and it's hard for them, and so for them to take that step, to move forward, even the little ones, they have to trust you. Okay, that was from episode 61, where we were talking about how to motivate kids, both in therapy and also in your family or kids that you have relationships with. I think that's so important as a therapist to think about your process and why you want to make sure that's a priority before you start seeing a kid for speech therapy and then also just hearing some great ideas that, once we started talking, relate to just family and our own kids and other kids that aren't even in therapy. I thought it was a really fun episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this was a really fun one to talk about. I love the idea of motivating kids, and how this came about, too, was because Kim and I were really talking about what it is that experience gives you as a therapist is what is the difference between? In grad school, we felt like we learned the nuts and bolts of our profession, but as we've gotten so much more experience, what are the kind of things that both Kim and I have been mentors before to younger therapists is one of the kind of questions they're asking. What does make the difference between a therapist right out of school and a therapist who has been around for a while? And I think one of the top questions that I always got when I was mentoring younger therapists with feeding therapy was what do you do when they just say no?
Speaker 1:You know, you're just like, yeah, you're right, yeah, that is a very big question, and you as parents too. What do you do when they just say no? And so often that takes deconstructing the situation and figuring out those back steps. So Kim and I just thought it would be a fun thing to talk about is how do you get a kid to be motivated to work with you, to have fun? So that was a fun one. I would love it if you were able to provide some encouragement for mom, specifically about the mental load. You mentioned that earlier, about the mental load of having a child who might not be on the trajectory that you thought, maybe a little delayed, or just struggling with your own mental load as a mom trying to get your kids to move more.
Speaker 1:You know, when you might be met with a little bit of adversity from your own children wanting to get off those screens. So what kind of encouragement would you give moms?
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, that's such a big ask because there's so much to say.
Speaker 3:But you know, just really understanding that we can zoom in and we can zoom out on our current situation and when we are in the trenches of motherhood especially in that like birth to three, where there's so many milestones flying at us that we're supposed to be keeping up with so many changes constantly, you know, as soon as we figure out a routine and a rhythm, then they change their nap schedule or they're feeding or whatever it may be, and suddenly we're thrown off again.
Speaker 3:But just encouraging you that when we then zoom out, a lot of these things that feel really, really big in this moment are big in some regards. But allowing ourselves to take a deep breath and step back and look at our child as a whole person, see where their strengths are, see where they need help, look at ourselves and think, gosh, I really struggle with X, y or Z, like I can't constantly be jumping through these hoops. I have bad days, I have good days, and really realizing that our kids are just the same way, they're their own little people, and just giving lots and lots of grace for the refining process that is motherhood and parenthood and how each thing not only is working for their good but for our good too, and we're growing and learning, just as they are, and not looking back with regret but moving forward, feeling empowered that each day we have something new that we may know or feel encouraged to do and change, and that's okay.
Speaker 1:That's part of the process, so this was a really fun episode. This was Kaylee Nolan, a physical therapist, talking to us about all things PT. I feel like this was a huge episode for us to be able to really understand the world of physical therapy and for our listeners and kind of in a behind the scenes thing too. Kaylee is the one who reached out to us about this episode and she found the speech source. She found us and contacted us just saying that she felt like our goals and our vision really aligned in different worlds in speech and physical therapy. But we both very much had the same goals to teach and help people and I feel like Kaylee's passion for her profession and what she has built with the movement mama that was so apparent in that episode. She's so good at what she does, she's so well spoken in that whole episode I was just blown away. She's definitely a pro. See how the chairboard would work.
Speaker 2:She is, and I felt like after that conversation with her I really realized that we are so aligned in a lot of the ways that we think and so it was so refreshing just to talk to her. She was really encouraging to talk to for us and I learned so much in that episode Just listening to her talk. I could listen to her talk, you know all day.
Speaker 1:Yes, all day.
Speaker 2:It's really easy to listen but at the same time you're learning so much. So great episode. If you can understand kids a little bit in this concept whether it's your own kids or therapy kids it helps you figure out how to play with them and interact with them. Hey, are we going to go outside and swing and jump on the trampoline or are we going to sit here and play Candyland? It really helps you figure out the best way to interact with your kids and then you can work on things. I think the point I just want to make is that it is going to be different for every child and that's what every therapist really needs to understand is you have to understand the child first to figure out what method you're going to use in your therapy approach. There's a whole chapter about how love language is a learning, and I think that's really important because it talks about that if you're not able to tap into that emotional piece of a child, that they can fall behind emotionally and then that can affect how they're learning, and so I just I love how it talks about that and breaks that down. It's an easy read, it's not super long, it's broken down to where you can just do a chapter at a time. And then what I love about it and the reason I even thought about talking about it, is because I think I had mentioned before I have a teenager and a preteen, and so I was picking it up again to just be like, okay, I know my oldest is changing and like what he needs and what he wants, and so I was going through it again and it's so great because after you read a chapter, it does have a page that just it's like a cliff notes, so I could just go back to that cliff notes page and refresh on what I know and what I was thinking through. So I love this book. I think it's a must read. Even if you don't have kids and you're the therapist. I think it's a must read for you to be able to understand kids.
Speaker 2:That clip was from episode 63 where we were talking about love languages and kids.
Speaker 2:That is a book by Gary Chapman.
Speaker 2:He has the adult version also, but we were specifically talking about the kid version because, kind of going along with our motivating kids episode, we were talking about specific ways to connect with kids and it's figuring out what their love language is, and so we talked about acts of service and physical touch and gifts and quality time and words of affirmation so fun to do with your own kids and figure out what they are.
Speaker 2:But then I think it's so important in any therapy setting and even teaching for teachers to figure out kind of what you think the student or the child is, because you can use that. So, for example, we just talked a lot about different ways that you can work on the same goals in therapy but you might use a different strategy depending on that kid. Are you going to get up and be physical? Are you going to play a game? Are you going to make something and create something together? And that's really where you're going to get more of that intrinsic motivation from the kid, because you're tapping into what their desire is and kind of what motivates them naturally.
Speaker 1:This episode came about because Kim had read this book and said that it had really helped her with her patients, but also with her kids at home, to really understand them better and be able to fill their needs.
Speaker 1:And I will say, after we prepped for this episode and after Kim and I spoke together, it really has changed the way that I think about my kids and what they need, and I do try to incorporate different things. I think that, especially in the medical world, sometimes even something like physical touch can be something that is difficult to bring in sometimes to therapy. But I think that you give such good examples of movement and thinking about how we can work with kids that it definitely has changed. So one thing that we're trying to do as a family is we're trying to do more one-on-one time my husband and I with a kid, and really, since we did that episode and you introduced me to the love languages of kids, we are trying to give them quality time but also make sure their individual love language is in there. So I definitely think it was a great, great, encouraging episode. I love that.
Speaker 4:I think advocacy training is important. This is something you have to do. You don't have to go full blown and do the sped-law seminars I did, but at least understanding the process and always willing to be a collaborative parent and not a combative parent. Choose your battles, because it gets exhausting and it gets really long and hard and these are the people you have to work with for years. You don't want to waste all your energy on just fighting, because I think your kids feed off that and they have to know that you trust or you're dropping them off and they be happy with your decision to leave them there. I think the best I get back is watching my kids smiling, coming out of the school and happy to be going there. I think, despite my kids not being able to tell me like about their full day, I at least know they've had a good day and they're happy, and that means a lot.
Speaker 2:Okay, On episode 62, this was Sarah Lopez. I wanted to have her on because I had known her for so long and I watched her from the very beginning of starting therapy with both of her boys and not really understanding that world, becoming one of the most knowledgeable moms, the biggest advocate for both of her boys, and I wanted her to come on and just share her journey with us. And I was thinking more of just her journey and how she kind of learned what she needed to learn for her kids. But during our conversation with her we got so much more. I feel like we got her journey as a person kind of from just that whole emotional part for her, from going through starting that process with her boys and then where she is now. It was a surprising episode because I was so excited that she shared so much about how she worked through that whole journey with her boys. I thought it was really great.
Speaker 1:It was so inspiring and one thing that she definitely really shared with us was that she wants to be seen as Sarah Lopez, as an interesting woman that has lots of different friends, lots of different interests and like we all feel being a mother is one part of us. It's a wonderful part of us, but there is so much more to every person than sometimes we feel like our family, you know, is that is that. So much of that episode was her finding herself and her confidence and, wow, she just seems like a strong person and really seems like a fun friend. We need to get a drink with her.
Speaker 2:Yes, and if you want just like an inspiring, motivating episode, I would definitely suggest this when it was great.
Speaker 1:When you have ball, as soon as your child is saying bah for ball, you're going to be able to use what I call the plus one rule, which is you can give them one more word than what they're doing currently. If they don't have ball yet, then zero plus one is one, so you're just going to say ball. If they're saying ball, add one more of the words that they have to the ball, because you're showing them how do you build, instead of choosing a random round ball, big ball, blue ball. If they're using the word my and we have that then we can say my ball and we can put it together with the words we already know they're successful at. And again, it's just a way better invitation for them to build those words together when they recognize them, they know they're successful at them, and then they can start using those phrases that are going to build and build my ball, my round ball.
Speaker 1:I want my round ball. Mama, push my round ball. We can do so many different combinations with starting from ball and then going out from there.
Speaker 2:I have a good example of this that just happened yesterday. For the first time with the child I was working on, We've been at that single word level and we've been really trying to find a variety of words that he can say. We've been doing activities and we've really focused on out or open or in things like that. And then he has B like a bumblebee, and we have puppy and he's also using the word eat. Yesterday we were doing an activity with the critter clinic.
Speaker 2:If you know what that is, it has four or six little doors that you can open with a key. He would open it up and we started putting together puppy out, B out, and then, once they were out, we had this little play food and then it was puppy eat, B eat, and then same thing puppy in. And I know it seems so repetitive, but they're successful in it and they're playing and they like doing it and it's meaningful. And so just repeating those simple words and those simple phrases over and over again and play make it to where they'll start using it when they need it to communicate. That was an example of how we've been building with some of the words that he has. It was fun to see. It was fun to watch because you see them start to put it together and it's exciting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that when they see they can make the world slow down and they can make it a lot smaller area than they, get really excited, because the world must be a really scary place for little guys and so all these words being thrown at them all the time, I think that's when you see, the delight in therapy is when you do have this little pool of vocab words that you're using and there's a max of like five to 10.
Speaker 1:And, like you said, you had your animals and then you had the word eat or on, and then you're just being flexible and showing like a rubber band how you can stretch those words in different directions. Then children get really excited about that and feel like it's something that's manageable. This is from episode 64, where Kim and I talk about the basics of what are the first words, what words do we most commonly work on with kids, and then how do those first words turn into phrases and sentences? We really try to get kind of an aerial view, I guess, like really back up and zoom out to see how does language build, because so often that's something that we are talking about with families and we wanted to put it in a really simplified way that could be referenced and could also just be like and simple.
Speaker 2:We decided to do this episode because we've been creating resources for families that we work with, because we have a lot of families right now that we're working with that are getting their child to talk and we're working on figuring out their plan for the first word. So I recently did some screenings at a preschool and I had several kids who are kind of in this category of. They may have a couple words, but we're really wanting to grow that vocabulary. Their vocabulary should be larger by now or they're not talking yet. And so with all of these families I shared this process that we have been working on and just you know the words to focus on and the words not to focus on and gave them some guidance, and with all those families are so excited and they're wanting to do this for the next two to three months before speech therapy.
Speaker 2:Which was the whole purpose, kind of, of that episode, I think, is this is how you start. If you're not sure where to start yet, or you're not ready for speech therapy yet, try this first, because one it's a great baseline and you give yourself some time, and we've always said before progress is what you want to see, and if you start seeing progress, you know you're on the right track and then, if not, you can go to a speech therapist. But I feel like it was really great to talk about and create and then start sharing with families.
Speaker 1:Emily, do you have any tips on how to teach your kids about healthy eating without all the negativity? Not that sugar is bad or cheetahs are not bad, Oreos aren't bad, but we just have to understand the whole concept of in moderation. But do you have any tips for how to teach that or talk about that with kids?
Speaker 5:Yeah. So what we do in our families, I really don't call any I don't even call foods like healthy or unhealthy. I would say what we focus on is what the different food groups are and why your body needs them. If my daughter's had a whole bowl of strawberries and she wants more, but she's already had 20, and then I would explain to her.
Speaker 5:If you're still feeling hungry, there's a good chance your body probably is needing some sort of fat and protein to fill it up a little bit more. So let's think about what foods we could have that fat or protein. So maybe some cheese or some nuts so that she can feel more full. And even if I'm serving that alongside a couple more strawberries, I have found that eating, but gets eating with kids, and you probably see this as well right, if you can get them eating something, then they're more likely to eat something else that's in front of them. If I want her to have cashews with more strawberries but I don't want to totally say no to the strawberries then I'll give her some cashews with those and she'll eat her strawberries first, but when she's eating those she'll eat the cashews too and won't ask me for food in five more minutes.
Speaker 2:So that clip was from Emily French. She is a pediatric registered dietitian and we know her both personally and professionally so we wanted to have her on because we knew she was full of great information and I've just seen firsthand how she has incorporated some of her knowledge into home and her lifestyle. And sometimes I think that's the hardest thing to do is to really take what we know and not just with kids, but everything like you think about working out eating habit, like all the things you know, but a lot of times it's hard to actually implement them into your day to day lives. And so I thought her episode was so great because she talks about just ways that she does that real life ways and how she got there and what she does for her kids, and she's just so knowledgeable about all things nutrition.
Speaker 1:Emily is so inspiring, too, because she is a healthcare professional and she's a mom of multiple kids, and she talks about how the textbook is so different than what she recommends to families and that in medicine, it is this bigger picture of, okay, what's going on dietitian wise, but also what's going on with your family and how do you mesh the two. We've talked so many times about how that's the feedback we get from a lot of families who come back with some plan from any kind of healthcare professional and say, yeah, but we can't follow this. This is not actually doable for our family, and so I love how Emily really focuses on making plans that work for families and, if it makes sense.
Speaker 2:In what episode was that Mary? That was episode 65.
Speaker 1:So let's take a moment and talk about repeat studies, because that's a really big deal. So you have a kid in front of you and you've just given them the result that, okay, you need to be on an altered diet, whatever it may be. What's the plan? And then, at what point should you come back and reassess what's happening with their swallow? Great question Following a swallow study if they're not already in therapy, they have some recommendations for therapy places.
Speaker 1:Again, parents have a choice. You can go wherever you want. Now you'll have to call that physician and get an order sent to the place that you do want to go, but you can so make sure they're set up there. If they are not set up, I will also call the physician's office. Of course it's in my report, but I also want to call and put that in right away so they can get started. In the report it won't just list whether they've aspirated, meaning the food or liquid went into the airway, but it's also going to mention the dysfunction and the deficits. So why did they aspirate?
Speaker 1:There's so many structures that have to move at the right time for you to swallow safely, as one of those structures not moving enough, not moving at all is the timing just off. It's really important for those speech therapists to know the why behind it so they can treat the why. So many therapists will just know they're aspirating and they're on thickener, okay, but what do you do with that? Then, as far as follow-up swallow studies go, there's a huge generic comeback in three to six months. Okay, I hate that. Again, I have a problem with that. If you're a two-year-old and you started having swallow studies in the NICU, how many swallow studies will you've had by the time year two? Right, we just talked about how much radiation are they now exposed to and time spent and all these other things, and what changes are we making from swallow study to swallow studies? So I am more on the side of hey, let's get some good therapy and let's say they're having problems chewing and then swallowing. I want that speech therapist to work on their chewing and when their chewing has been mastered then let's come back and look at it. Same thing with transitioning from a bottle to a cup. Okay, so we're not doing well on the bottle, let's practice some cup drinking. And when they've mastered that skill, why don't you come back and let's look? Because there's a big difference in the swallowing pattern from a bottle to a cup. So maybe they weren't good at a bottle, but suddenly you give them a straw and they look perfect. It's more skill-based than time Status change. I mean, you said it before, that's really the mark of when you should get another swallow study is when you've had a status change. Maybe they've had a hospitalization or pneumonia. You're on the oh gosh, we might have had a status change for the worse. Or a status change like you said, saying we're drinking from a straw now and a cup and now we're eating different foods. Or hey, you know how the tongue couldn't move very well. Well, it can move better now. So let's see. And so to go for a swallow study to have a repeat, we would want to go because we expect the results to be different.
Speaker 1:Exactly, this was a clip from Ashley Stone. She's a pediatric speech pathologist and she does modified barium swallow studies, and it's episode 53. She really gives us a behind-the-scenes look. This was another one of our top listen-to episodes for this fall, and again it's a prize, kim and I, just because it's so technical or it's so specific. Not everybody needs a swallow study, but when you think about it, everyone kind of knows someone who's had one or is just curious or interested about it, and Ashley really did a phenomenal job explaining what it is and a lot of the nuances of what's going on in that room and how do you kind of get the best look at what a kid is doing for swallowing and so much of that is not actually the medical piece. It's making sure they're comfortable and that they're trusted and that the parents feel heard and listen to. It was really really a tremendous episode. We loved hearing from Ashley.
Speaker 2:I enjoyed this episode because I've worked with Ashley before in a setting where we were working not we were working together, but it wasn't for kids with feeding issues.
Speaker 2:We were working in a different setting early language and so I knew Ashley and her therapy in that world. So it was really interesting for me to listen to all of her knowledge in this more medical feeding world because I really was blown away just at all that she knows and what she's doing right now, and just really excited and proud of her for what her passion is. She's really found what she loves, and so to hear someone speak on that was really exciting and made for a great episode. So we hope that if you have followed along with our season, you've enjoyed our episodes, and just this recap and Mary talking through these with you just now. It's made me think about how, with everything we've talked about, we've really talked about this part of therapy, but it being more than that this whole child, how you really connect and interact with kids, and I don't think that was purposeful when we went in and picked these topics, but every episode really touches on that. Nothing really happens unless you can really connect with the kid in a certain way. Oh, absolutely yes.
Speaker 1:No, it does. That's exactly what we've been talking about is the whole connected child, connected therapist and connected parent. Is that connection is where it's at and we can say those words, but how do you actually do it? I think you're right. If I look at this list, every single one of them is about how to get deeper, how to understand your child more, how to understand behind the eyes of a mother that has children with special needs. How to understand behind the scenes of a swallow study or when you need a dietitian. How to understand like how does the body work in a physical therapy sense, so that you can help your kids? It's all about behind the scenes work and how can you connect with the child to make things happen.
Speaker 2:We are really excited about looking ahead for the spring and have a fun lineup, and we'll be preparing for that.
Speaker 1:If there are certain topics that you would be interested in Kim and I sharing about, or if there is a specific professional that you would love to hear from Kim and I would love to hear from you Email thespeechsource at gmailcom and let us know your feedback and let us know if there's anything that we can be doing to better serve you.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening. Make sure you subscribe to our podcast and check out our website thespeechsourcecom.
Speaker 1:Also check us out on Instagram for more ideas on speech, language, feeding and play.