Help with Stuttering. You’re NOT alone!

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We have all experienced a moment when what you are trying to say just won’t come out. Those episodes of stuttering are typically a blip in time occurring far and few between.  Stuttering is a natural part of development for children between the ages of 2 and 5. When a young child stutters, she/he may repeat certain syllables, words or phrases, prolong them, or making no sound for certain sounds and syllables.  These ‘episodes’ can be attributed to the child having so much to say, but can’t get the information out quickly and don’t want to lose her/his audience or turn to talk. Developmental stuttering my last for a few weeks or several months, and it may be sporadic.  Most children stop stuttering by age 5 without speech-language therapy intervention. However, if these episodes are accompanied with facial or body movements, become worse and more frequent, a speech-language evaluation is suggested for children as young as 3 years of age.

While there is no cure for stuttering, there are effective treatments that can help an individual control his/her speech.  As fluency therapy is a complex marriage of clinical and psychological intervention, It is recommended these treatments and therapies be administered by a speech-language pathologist who has experience or specializes in the area of fluency therapy.  As a child matures, intervention/therapy techniques adjust from learning the techniques for fluent or smooth speech to learning how to best manage dysfluencies given specific situations in the home, peer, work and academic settings.

Middle and high school years are filled with uncertainty and the constant feeling of trying to ‘fit in’.  Anything that makes you ‘different’ isn’t necessarily considered a ‘positive’. For teens who have a fluency disorder or stutter, these years can be a time of significant social struggle and self-doubt.  We take for granted the number of times in any one given day we are required to answer, comment, question or defend ourselves with clarity and ease.

Lakeshore Speech Therapy is fortunate to have Wendi Willmer as part of our staff.  As a Board Certified Specialist in Fluency, Wendi possesses in-depth knowledge on how to treat stuttering in people of all ages. Sensitive to the struggles teens and young adults experience with stuttering, she is offering two six-week small group sessions to help students..  One group is specifically designed for the needs of students in grades 6th thru 8th and another for students in grades 9th thru 12th. While working in a group setting, not only will the students learn new techniques to control stuttering, but practice those skills they do have; all the while creating a network of friends that truly understand what they are going through.  Class sizes are limited and registration is open until Wednesday, September 12, 2018. Find more information at https://www.lakeshorespeech.com/events/.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC

Summer, don’t leave us!

There’s still plenty of Summer left, but it’s getting to be that time of the year when our attention must turn back to the hustle and bustle of the school year.  For those not at that point or past that point, it’s that time of year that there seems to be some sort of switch from the lazy hazy days of Summer to the fast and furious time of Fall.

The types of clothes you are wearing will change, the leaves will change, and your schedule will change.  Much like our blog in June, it’s time to ask a few questions about these changes. Will you focus on a few activities or many? When is your child her/his best – morning? Late afternoon? Early evening? When do you have the most support? From whom? Spouse? Friend? Parent? In-law? How can the change to the Fall be less dramatic? Crock-pot meals? Pre-frozen meals? Assigning chores to everyone? Only you have the answers. However do yourself a favor, ask those questions and give yourself some REAL answers, you’ll be the better and so will everyone around you!

Lakeshore Speech has a number of amazing programs available for children this Fall season.  Ranging in areas of focus from Reading Tutor Groups to Social Skills Groups to Fluency Groups, we have something that your child might need or want to make a smooth start to the school year and the Fall.  Please check-out www.lakeshorespeech.com/events  for a full listing and explanation of our programs.

Lakeshore is also beginning to set up Fall schedules for private therapy.  Please contact Kelly (krigo@lakeshorespeech.com or (440) 471-7190) to arrange a therapy day and time that works best for your family’s schedule.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC

A Fresh New Look!

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Lakeshore’s waiting room has a new look!  

We are so excited for you to see the new decor at Lakeshore.  Please make sure to check out the parent resource area. Here you will find information about activities and opportunities in our area for  your child and you and your family. This area will also house any information important to your weekly visits. Vacation reminders, quick check-out documents such as making payments, program fliers and more will be in this area for your convenience.

We now have media streaming information pertinent to Lakeshore Speech, therapy, informational resources and the like.  Please email VernaAnn at vkotansky@lakeshorespeech.com if you have an idea for information to be included.

As we continually strive to make Lakeshore a comfortable place not only for our clients, but for those who are waiting, we ask you to be aware of the following requests:

  1. Remember to bring quiet activities for children who will be waiting.
  2. Do not let children touch the hardware/locks on the windows.
  3. Refrain from discussing sensitive material about yourself or your child in the waiting room.
  4. Feel free to email or talk with Ellen (espear@lakeshorespeech.com) or Kelly (krigo@lakeshroespeech.com) if you have any suggestions or if there is something we could provide to make your time in our waiting room more comfortable.

Enjoy the day!

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.

5 Minute Activity to Practice Language in the Summer

It’s getting hot out there! It’s a great time to turn the heat up on your child’s language skills in everything you do.

No need to put down your ice cream cone or even get out of the pool; you have everything you need to enhance your child’s language skills!  Language is everywhere, so working on language skills is always at your fingertips. Whether you are camping, at the pool, at the beach, at the amusement park or coloring with chalk on the sidewalk, working on direction following skills, vocabulary skills, sentence development and articulation skills is a snap!

Ideas to take 5 minutes to Practice Speech-Language Skills

For your own sanity, set aside a small amount of time (5-10 min) to focus on a specific skill during an activity.  As you become more comfortable incorporating these therapy moments, you can expand on the amount of time. Choose a small part of the larger skill your child is working on in speech therapy (ask your Speech Therapist to help identify these specific skills if you need help). In the time span you have allotted,work with your child on the language skill and when the time has expired, STOP working! Over time, ‘working’ on the skills will become second nature.  Your child won’t even realize she/he has been ‘doing their speech homework’. Here’s a little example to give you a more clear idea.

Location – ice cream stand/shop

Speech Skill – closing lips for the M sound (the larger speech goal is producing words with B, P, and M).

Time allotted: 5 minutes

Parent: “Let’s play an ice cream game after 5 licks, you tell me how it tastes.  You say, ‘mmmm’.”

Child (in a perfect world, where ice cream doesn’t drip down arms and onto shoes): licks ice cream 5 times, says ‘mmmm’.

Parent: “Great!  Now, after 5 licks you tell me again how it tastes.  You say, ‘mmmmmmmm’.”

Child (again in the same perfect world):licks ice cream 5 times, says ‘mmmm’.

5 minutes is up!

Parent: “That was a fun game!  Let’s finish our ice cream.”

There is a high probability that your child will continue the ‘game’ without being prompted.  Chances are high that others, especially siblings, will want to ‘play the game’ too. Now the 5 minutes you had set aside will grow to 10 minutes!

Remember to be kind to yourself!  Don’t try this suggestion when all forces are against you!  Once a day, twice a week, whenever you can sneak in a few extra minutes of practice–it will pay off quickly!

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC

New Faces at Lakeshore Speech!

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Lakeshore is growing!

Ellery Martinko is now the proud Mama of handsomely adorable baby boy!  The newest member of the Lakeshore family is keeping Mommy Ellery busy, however, he is allowing her to return to Lakeshore to see clients.  We couldn’t be more thrilled for Ellery and her family! Congratulations!

Mary Clare Carson has returned to Lakeshore for the Summer months.  Mary Clare took some ‘time off’ from Lakeshore  but is back!  We are excited to have her back for the Summer! Her friendly smile shines as bright as the July sun! Welcome back, Mary Clare!

Neysa McKenney is new to Lakeshore Speech, however is NOT new to serving children. Neysa joins the Lakeshore Team with over 35 years experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist.  We are delighted to have Neysa working with us and our Lakeshore Families.  Please help us welcome Neysa to Lakeshore!

You can read more about these wonderful women and all the therapists at Lakeshore by following this link: About Lakeshore Speech.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.

The Month of Better Speech and Hearing – May!

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Learning more about our therapists

In our continued tribute to Better Speech and Hearing Month, it seems only fitting to recognize that Speech-Language Therapists are masters at being flexible in designing individual services for their clients as well as the location for which these services are delivered.  

The Stories That Got Us Here

Ellen’s flexibility was outstanding when she delivered speech services in her client’s home…….which was residence to more than 25 cats…. all of which were “Range Free”. Being ‘range free’ means no rules or expectations. Let that sink in for a moment, you know it did….straight through the carpeting! It’s safe to say, Ellen’s been the cat’s meow for quite some time!

Early in VernaAnn’s career, she would travel to 8 different Amish farms in Lancaster, PA.  Be it that she was ‘English’ these Amish families would not allow her in their homes to deliver speech-language services to their children.  This did not deter VernaAnn from traveling to these farms every week, where she delivered services on the front porches from August to November!!!  Eventually, VernaAnn gained the trust of these families and was welcomed her into their community…. and homes for therapy!

Elizabeth hasn’t had the experience of delivering speech services in a strange place where I worked, however her first job was in a very diverse school in Chicago.  She had a group of 3 boys that focused on social skills. While this seems like a pretty normal occurence for a school speech therapist, the fact that the boys’ native languages were Urdu, Bengali, and Polish made service delivery a little different.  Something is to be said for the universal language of charades!

One would not think that the great outdoors and Speech Therapy are a mix. Gina, however is an expert in this combination.   One summer she would provide therapy services a girl while she was at a day camp in the MetroParks. There was nowhere to sit, so we walked a little way to a picnic table in the middle of a very woodsy area. Suffice it  to say mosquitoes, bees, 90 degree weather, and speech therapy do not mix!

In Mary’s experience-rich career, she has delivered services in a myriad of locations.  None of which are the ideal location you read about in the college textbooks. Mary has delivered speech services under a stairway – no distraction there; in the basement of a century old building next to the boiler – so quiet and acoustically perfect (NOT!); in a parking lot – not that’s what you call fast service; on-line – because, technology  and of course the proverbial “speech closet – which is the smallest place in a school where everyone who enters describes it as ‘cozy’. Rest assured in a shoe box or the Taj Mah Hall Mary’s speech services were delivered with the utmost quality!

Have wheels, will travel!  Speech-therapy knows no vacation.  Ellery has delivered speech services on the open road.  Actually, in the backseat of a 12 hour ride to North Carolina.  You might consider bringing your speech-therapist on vacation, we are pretty sure that being the Aunt of this adorable client might have had a little something to do with Ellery’s dedication.  

Wendi has experienced the ups and downs of delivering speech services…..on a trampoline of course!  Co-treating with a Physical Therapist resulted Wendi’s need for some creative therapy techniques. Wendi gave new meaning to bouncing right along!

No weather or location or animal or language can keep these dedicated women from doing their jobs… delivering amazing speech-language therapy services!

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!

college logos 1May is Better Speech and Hearing Month.   

It’s the time of the year when we in the field like to increase awareness of communication disorders and the role your friendly Speech Therapist or Audiologist plays in providing life changing therapies.  While May is a great time to better understand the field of speech-language pathology and audiology, it also provides us opportunity for us at Lakeshore Speech Therapy to share a little bit more about ourselves.

Our Amazing Team

The team at Lakeshore represents a total of over 100 years of experience in the delivery of speech-language therapeutic intervention.  100 years!!!! Individually this outstanding team is dedicated to improving communication for young and old. But where did they get their start? Where did they begin as college freshman and end as professionals with a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology? Let’s find out:

Ellen Spear holds her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Marquette University!   Goooooo Golden Eagles!

VernaAnn Kotansky received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the State of University of New York at Geneseo. Gooooooo Knights!

Elizabeth Lazowski received her Master’s degree from  Northwestern University and is a proud Wildcat!

Ellery Martinko is a proud Viking, graduating from Cleveland State University with her Master’s degree.

Mary Yutzy proudly received her Master’s degree from the University of Akron.  Way to go Zips!

Gina Perciavelli  graduated with her Master’s from Ohio University.  Bobcat’s in the house!

Wendi Willmer graduated with her Master’s from Kent State University.  Golden Flashes all the way!

From Eagles to Knights, Wildcats to Vikings, Zips to Bobcats and Flashes, Lakeshore therapists represent their colleges well!

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech

A Duo Made for Success: OT and Speech Therapy

April is also the month to recognize and honor Occupational Therapists!

Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy are the carrots and peas of the therapy world.  OK – Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy might be more like the carrots and peas, however OT and Speech are a close second.

What is Occupational Therapy?

OT provides therapeutic intervention for a plethora of needs children with speech-language deficits may encounter.   From sensory to visual motor to social needs to strength to feeding to many many more, our fellow therapists work to make the lives of their clients as independent and fulfilling as possible.  Speech therapists appreciate and NEED the input of Occupational therapists to develop therapeutic intervention that address the WHOLE child.

Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy work hand in hand

We at Lakeshore Speech would like to give a standing ovation to Occupational Therapists!  If you would like more information on Occupational therapy, please feel free to inquire of your Speech Therapist as well as The Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.

How to Celebrate Childhood Apraxia of Speech

What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

Childhood Apraxia of Speech is some degree of disrupted speech motor control.In other words,  a child diagnosed with CAS experiences  difficulty rapidly and accurately moving and sequencing  the tongue, lips and palate for the required movements for continuous and intelligible speech production.  While the data on incidents of CAS in children is lacking, the estimates of some sources indicate that CAS is low incidence with perhaps 1 – 10 in 1000 children affected or 3 – 5 % of speech-impaired preschoolers.

What does this look like at home, one the playground, in preschool?

A child with CAS may experience a limited number of vowel sounds, difficulty imitating mouth movements and/or words/sounds, or a variety of errors that may be unusual or idiosyncratic.  Children with CAS may or may not experience receptive language deficits.  Depending on the child, negative behaviors associated with not being understood may also be evident.

What does a parent do?  Where do you go?

An experienced Speech-Language Pathologist in the area of CAS can help navigate families and children through the CAS journey.  As a parent/caregiver, do not feel intimidated asking if your SLP has experience in the area of CAS.  The therapists at Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC. are happy to answer your questions about CAS as well as provide specific therapeutic interventions.

February is CAS awareness month.  If you would like more information, please feel free to ask your Speech-Language Pathologists as well as visit The Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America.

Yours in Speech,

Lakeshore Speech Therapy, LLC.