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I am the mother
of little girl aged 2 1/2. She has Down Syndrome and has been receiving oromotor
therapy using Talk Tools since she was six months old. Talk Tools has made a
huge difference to my daughter's life. With lots of regular work with her tools
she has accomplished things which she initially found hugely challenging: she
can chew, she can blow bubbles, her babble has greater variety and she has started
to say some words. I feel that it is really helping with her motor planning
for speech which she finds incredibly difficult and is her really very weak
area. In particular, her audiologist thinks that the blowing and whistles have
helped to keep her glue ear from recurring this winter, which is amazing. I
could list many more benefits to my daughter (diminished tongue protrusion,
greater jaw stability, reduced teeth grinding): the program, as implemented
and closely directed by our highly skilled therapist, is fantastic.
Susana Collier
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Hi Sara,
I am a speech pathologist
in Illinois who attended a Talk Tools conference last year. I was excited to
try the approach, and I have been using it with a 5th grade boy with Down's
Syndrome. We've been thrilled with the results. For the first time in his life,
he is able to drink from an open-lipped cup and is expanding upon his phoneme
reportoire!
With his success, my principal has approved purchasing some product to try with
another student. This is a third grade boy, who has mastered all of his articulation
goals but who continues to present with a significantly hyper-nasal speaking
quality. I need to attempt an oral-motor approach for velo-pharyngeal closure.
I was planning on purchasing a horn kit, the bubble hierarchy, and a nose clips
kit. He also has underarousal to sensory stimuli, so I planned on purchasing
the vibrating bug.
I realize that this is minimal information, but is there anything that you feel
I wouldn't need or anything else that you would recommend purchasing to start?
Thank you for your input.
~Nicole Zaccaria
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Evan was pretty
much nonverbal at age 5. He could say "Mom, no and uh oh" maybe, --sometimes.
He was evaluated by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson (SRJ) who said that he might be apraxic
but that the good news was that the tools used to work on his low muscle strength
and tone would also help apraxia if he had it. He immediately (within 2 weeks)
started being able to make sounds which he had never been able to make before
--I had been instructed to practice "A-ah-apple, B-buh, banana, etc."
and had worked on those forever (with no results) but within a couple weeks
of those bite blocks, straws, bubbles, horns, etc., he was making the sounds
and holding on to them.
A couple years
later both SRJ and his regular ST agreed he was not apraxic --it was the muscles.
He has been improving at speech ever since although we have been very lax with
the talk tools lately. We did them several years quite religiously though. I
still get them out some. He can say things like --well he gave a toast at his
big brother's wedding (he was best man) and said, "I love you Jared and
Katie. God bless you." Of course, that was rehearsed but he is saying spontaneously
4 and 5 word sentences now. The people at our church were surprised that they
understood every word. They've heard him as he has grown up. The longer the
string the more he may lose clarity but the main thing is that now he can communicate
with us and we mostly can understand.
Awhile ago he
had just gotten out of the bathtub and his dad asked him, "Well do you
stink now?" and he replied, "No. I am clean."
I highly recommend
SRJ and her talk tools --you have to get an eval though or you won't do them
right. She's pricey but I learned more from her for $600 than I had learned
from slews of other "professionals" down thru the years.
And yes, you definitely
have my permission to use this letter to tell any and all, especially those
with kids with Down syndrome or low muscle tone, that they really should try
an SRJ evaluation if they are having problems with speech.
Priscilla Kendrick,married
32 years to Darrel and Mom of 9 including Evan, 13, born with Down Syndrome
and Spina Bifida
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Dear Sara and Renee,
I have wanted to do this course since the first encounter I had with the program
in a one day overview about 3 or 4 years ago. I’ve worked toward it since
that time.
I loved the course. I greatly appreciated that both of you were very in tune
with all of our different personalities and clearly recognized the manner in
which we needed to be addressed and taught in order to get the best out of the
experience. The stress level was high for me because of my personality and because
I wanted to succeed in this so very much. It is my opinion that the two of you
in no way made this stressful.
Your manner of questioning to arrive at needed answers and/or interventions
was excellent. It took a while to get used to, but I think it was very effective.
It was the key to learning to think outside of the box and integrate--put together
the knowledge that we already have. I find myself silently asking similar questions
when I'm working with my children since I've returned to my own caseload. Since
I am very comfortable with the children and am in my own element here, I find
that I can think in this manner easily as I am not putting stress on myself.
When I returned, it was so exciting to look at every child with "new eyes"
and apply what I have learned.
I liked the combination of DVDs, observation, working on each other, observing
and working with clients. I think it worked very well. I was very appreciative
of being given the opportunity with the first child I had to just move in and
go for it with Sara there to take over when needed. It was also wonderful to
be given information regarding the syndrome of this child since I had never
encountered a child having this syndrome.
One of the most exciting things that has happened since I've returned and applied
some of the approaches that I learned:
I have a little girl with autism who I have been unable to facilitate volitional
speech. I also have been unable to get her to do bite and hold or chewing as
she seeks such strong input and she chomps on the chewy tube and won't or can't
follow directions for biting. The first week back, I used the apraxia shapes
with vibration in the manner that was completed with one of the children we
saw while in AZ. She loved it, you could just see her come together and the
motor plan take shape. By the end of the session, she had produced several /m/s
and /b/s. She also said "more" twice and then "bye bye".
You should have seen the light in her eyes. To make this experience even sweeter,
the autism specialist was observing. I'm not sure who was the most excited,
me, the child, or the consultant. It was truly a wonderful experience. This
past week, I was able to get her to do a chew with pretzels and then added the
pretzel to the chewy tube so we are off and running with that as well. Friday,
she blew bubbles for the first time. Needless to say, I'm very encouraged! She
appears to be as well.
I also have a little girl with C.P. who I have worked with for many years. I’ve
worked on the horns with her, but I have held her lips on the horn for closure.
This past week, I was able to use the vibrating toothette with her and she was
then able to round and close her lips on the horn without my help. She is a
fifth grader and extremely bright. She was thrilled and also able to tell me
a bit about how it felt physically and what she thought about it.
I could go on with lots of other triumphs, but I know that you two are swamped
and like shorter messages. I thank you for such a wonderful experience. I'm
even more excited to use these techniques than I ever have been (which didn't
seem possible).
Take care. Thank you for the gift of teaching us. It was wonderful and I plan
to continue on and spread the word!
New Way Communication
Therapy
Ann O. Walker, MA, CCC-SLP
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BIGGEST THANKS
There is a buzz of excitement
going on in a local elementary school here in Los Angeles that I wanted you
to know about. You see, a four year-old girl diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy Spastic
Quadriplegia and developmental delays is saying her first words. The buzz started
about a month ago when Lila went to preschool and during the lunch hour asked
her teacher Marina for 'milk." While this seems like an ordinary request,
Marina was shocked, rendered speechless, because for the two years that she
has known Lila as a student, Lila was non-verbal, never uttered a word except
for babbles and pointing when she wanted to express something. Marina, curious
asked Lila further to name objects in the room and Lila expertly told her what
each object was with clarity and confidence. The teacher began to cry and she
called her mother. In that conversation she expressed that Lila was doing a
great job in preschool in fact,she says "today she asked for milk."
"Really, well great she's talking to you now." Lila's mom was not
at all surprised because she knew that for the past year she has been utilizing
oral stimulation programs from TalkTools, a company that she found while desperately
searching the internet for anything that would help her daughter.
Starting with Horn Therapy,
Straw Therapy, and just recently adding the Vibrator with the Toothettes and
Ice Sticks, Lila is strengthening her oral muscles and forming words at record
speed. The event that brought down the house and even garnered her a personal
visit from the Principal was going to school and singing the "ABC Song"
and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." And now, every day Lila's mom gets
a telephone call from someone at school (today it was the school speech therapist)
wanting to know "WHAT" she is doing with her that has produced such
amazing results. I simply say "It's TalkTools."
What TalkTools has done
for Lila is immeasurable. It has given her the gift of communication, the ability
to effectively communicate her wants and needs, the freedom to express her thoughts
and her hilarious personality. Because of you, Lila will start Kindergarten
with a firm foundation to begin her academic education. Thank you can never
fully express how grateful we all are-her family, her teachers and everyone
in between. Everyone is amazed and excited and always I give credit to Sara
Rosenfeld Johnson and TalkTools.
Thank you very much for
your wonderful products.
Warmest Regards,
Staci McDonald
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Sara and Renee
Well you asked for our
opinion on the Level 3 training so here it goes……
The process of applying
and communication with Beth was so positive and efficient. The only thing I
would have changed would have been more dialogue as far as coordinating hotels,
timelines, and the other people attending the class. I would have enjoyed staying
closer to the other ladies.
I think the fact that we
have to apply for the Level 3 is wonderful. I perceived it more as an honor
when I was accepted versus a conference where I am choosing to go.
Your interaction with us was extremely positive and clinical. The first day
of observation was excellent. The last 2 days of video was extremely helpful
and being able to stop the video and discuss was great. I felt very confident
by Wed. afternoon and Thursday in my ability to analyze and choose therapy techniques
and goals.
Overall, I can’t
recommend this training enough. I have been using your techniques for years.
After taking the Level 3 training and learning the hierarchies in depth I am
confident in my skills as a clinician and confident I can help my clients. Thanks
to this course my eye is now well trained and I feel I can diagnose any oral
placement or feeding difficulties in my clients. I am able to now establish
therapy goals and effectively implement these techniques. I am also well equipped
with knowledge and understanding to be able to explain to my families how and
why this type of therapy will help their children/family member.
Thank you for all your
hard work and dedication to Oral “placement” and feeding therapy.
Your work has truly changed my professional career.
Discovery Therapy, LLC
Whitney B. Pimentel, M.A., President
Speech-Language Pathologist
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Hi Sara,
"I recently attended your conference in August @ DDI. I am thrilled that I was
able to attend your conference-I feel like the information you provided was
missing from my career!"
Thank you,
Jessica Erario
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"I recently received an e-mail about Sara coming to Denver in Feb., 2009 and
that you needed a host. I can't do that but I had an idea for you. Yesterday
(9/23/08) in The Denver Post newspaper, there was an article on "Grandparents
launch Down Syndrome institute." They committed $34 million for research and
treatment. It it will called the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at
the University of Colorado Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado.
I have no idea what their phone number is. When I read this article, I immediately
thought that Sara should move to Colorado and get this clinic on the right foot.
She has so much to offer. I doubt she wants to move here but perhaps she might
want to consult with them or have them host something for her. So, I am sending
you this information in case it is of interest to you."
"I learned so much from her just by watching her tapes a bunch of times and
attending a workshop. She is such a gifted therapist and I hold her in such
high esteem. She is my miracle worker and should be canonized a saint!"
Beth
Speech-Language Pathologist
Child Find--Eagle Ridge
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Dear Sara,
I have just finished Annabella's 2nd Oral-Motor session for the day, and have
been implementing your new program for over a week now. I wanted to wait until
now, after I had been repeating the sessions before getting back to you. I now
feel well-equipped to say how fantastic your Program is. I marvel each time
I do it with her, how she responds. SO much better than the previous Plan I
had been given. I just implemented that previous Plan but never really saw pre-planned
responses like we have with your program. The Treatment Plan was also so very
thorough and detailed, which made implementing it so much easier. Many Thanks!
Many Thanks, and warm regards,
Carmen
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