TalkTools was represented in 3 presentations at this year's National Down Syndrome Congress. Thank you all for attending!

Effective Strategies For Improved Communication and Speech Clarity for Children with the Diagnosis of Down syndrome

Presenter: Jennifer Gray, MS, CCC-SLP

Age range: Birth to 8

Course description:

This presentation will focus on effective communication strategies for children, birth to
school-aged, with the diagnosis of Down syndrome. Factors that impact appropriate
communication will be presented. Strategies will be discussed that foster speech and
language and prevent communication difficulties. Sensory, motor, and oral-placement
skills will be discussed in the framework of a comprehensive language learning system.
Parents and educators will better understand how multiple strategies can be implemented
to address speech clarity and overall communication.

Learning outcomes:

• Identify the types of communication and which to target based on the child's strengths in daily living.
• Learn specific activities and strategies to use at home with your child/client/student to encourage speech clarity and expressive language
• Learn specific activities and strategies to use at home with your child/client/student to encourage speech clarity and expressive language

Airway, Orthodontics, Apnea, and Oral Placement Therapy

Presenters: Brian Hockel, DDS & Heather Vukelich, MS, SLP-CCC

Age range: All ages

Course description:

Posture and function of the jaw and mouth muscles will affect speech, facial and jaw development, and even the airway. As breathing and speaking are vital to health and personal development, you will want to learn in this presentation how to optimize your child's potential through addressing the common root causes of speech, orthodontic, and sleep apnea problems.

Learning outcomes:

• To understand the etiology of facial and airway growth, and the implications for sleep apnea.
• To introduce therapies such as Oral Placement Therapy that help speech and facial development.
• To show orthodontic approaches which affect speech, facial appearance, and airway health.

Understanding Sensory Differences and How It Can improve Your Child's Quality of Life

Presenter: Monica Purdy, MA, CCC-SLP

Age range: Birth to 5

Course description:

The term “Sensory Differences” has been recently added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-5®). Sensory differences can affect how each of us perform in therapy, school or their home setting. An individual’s sensory system is the foundation of his/her ability to interpret, process and react to the demands of the environment. Sensory differences affect every facet in an individual’s life – from eating, articulation, language, social and academic skills to self-care and play.

This course will allow participants to evaluate sensory differences, and gain new insights and perspectives toward your child, and even yourself. Understanding the importance of modulation, as well as under-responsive or over-responsive actions, will be the basis for guiding you and your child's therapist to have more success in every day interactions, as well as therapy sessions.

The importance of recognizing how your child may be processing information, and understanding which strategies and practices to implement will help your child both in therapy – and in life. The importance of working in conjunction with an occupational therapist will also be addressed.

Learning outcomes:

• Define the term sensory processing disorder and determine how sensory processing affects your child
• Identify the 8 senses and distinguish between typical and non-typical reactions to sensory input
• Apply sensory activities to help the child/client achieve success

• The Groden Centre, USA
• Division of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
• Center for the Study of Human Development, Brown University, USA
• The Com DEALL Trust, India

Authors: Matthew K. Belmonte, Tanushree Saxena-Chandhok, Ruth Cherian, Reema Muneer, Lisa George and Prathibha Karanth

Abstract

"Absence of communicative speech in autism has been presumed to reflect a fundamental deficit in the use of language, but at least in a subpopulation may instead stem from motor and oral motor issues. Clinical reports of disparity between receptive vs. expressive speech/language abilities reinforce this hypothesis. Our early-intervention clinic develops skills prerequisite to learning and communication, including sitting, attending, and pointing or reference, in children below 6 years of age. In a cohort of 31 children, gross and fine motor skills and activities of daily living as well as receptive and expressive speech were assessed at intake and after 6 and 10 months of intervention. Oral motor skills were evaluated separately within the first 5 months of the child's enrolment in the intervention programme and again at 10 months of intervention. Assessment used a clinician-rated structured report, normed against samples of 360 (for motor and speech skills) and 90 (for oral motor skills) typically developing children matched for age, cultural environment and socio-economic status. In the full sample, oral and other motor skills correlated with receptive and expressive language both in terms of pre-intervention measures and in terms of learning rates during the intervention. A motor-impaired group comprising a third of the sample was discriminated by an uneven profile of skills with oral motor and expressive language deficits out of proportion to the receptive language deficit. This group learnt language more slowly, and ended intervention lagging in oral motor skills. In individuals incapable of the degree of motor sequencing and timing necessary for speech movements, receptive language may outstrip expressive speech. Our data suggest that autistic motor difficulties could range from more basic skills such as pointing to more refined skills such as articulation, and need to be assessed and addressed across this entire range in each individual."

Read the full article HERE

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that results from damage to the parts of the brain that contain language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia causes problems with any or all of the following: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Individuals with aphasia may also have other problems, such as dysarthria, apraxia, or swallowing deficiencies. (aphasia.org) (asha.org)

Aphasia is a term unfamiliar to many, yet an estimated 1 million Americans of all ages have it, most as the result of a stroke, and 100,000 people are diagnosed with it each year. Approximately one-third of individuals with a severe head trauma have aphasia. (heritage.com)

A person with aphasia may:

• Speak in short or incomplete sentences
• Speak in sentences that don't make sense
• Speak unrecognizable words
• Not comprehend other people's conversation
• Interpret figurative language literally
• Write sentences that don't make sense

The severity and scope of the problems depend on the extent of damage and the area of the brain affected. Some people may comprehend what others say relatively well but struggle to find words to speak. Other people may be able to understand what they read but yet can't speak so that others can understand them. (mayoclinic.com)

Types of aphasia

Your doctor may refer to aphasia as nonfluent, fluent or global:

• Nonfluent aphasia. Damage to the language network near the left frontal area of the brain usually results in Broca aphasia, which is also called nonfluent aphasia. People with this disorder struggle to get words out, speak in very short sentences and leave out words. A person might say "Want food" or "Walk park today." Although the sentences aren't complete, a listener can usually understand the meaning. A person with Broca aphasia may comprehend what other people say to some degree. People with this type of aphasia are often aware of their own difficulty in communicating and may get frustrated with these limitations. Additionally, people with Broca aphasia may also have right-sided paralysis or weakness. (mayoclinic.com)
• Fluent aphasia. Wernicke aphasia is the result of damage to the language network in the middle left side of the brain. It's often called fluent aphasia. People with this form of aphasia may speak fluently in long, complex sentences that don't make sense or include unrecognizable, incorrect or unnecessary words. They usually don't comprehend spoken language well and often don't realize that others can't understand what they're saying. (mayoclinic.com)
• Global aphasia. Global aphasia results from extensive damage to the brain's language networks. People with global aphasia have severe disabilities with expression and comprehension. (mayoclinic.com)