I told him not to worry, I was a speech-language pathologist with lots of experience with minimally verbal kiddos. Challenging behaviors began even before take off: screaming, hitting me, and grabbing for my things. The father repeatedly apologized, but did little else. 2/
-
-
Prikaži ovu nit
-
I asked him how his son preferred to communicate. He didn’t seem to understand. Perhaps this was a language barrier, but I think instead the child had very little experience with communication therapy. I put away the talk I was working on & asked if I could try. He nodded. 3/
Prikaži ovu nit -
I tried to see if he was stimulable for a communication board. I started by pulling up some standard images for basic nouns on my computer but I could tell that screens really bothered him. So I summoned my god-awful drawing skills and tried to create a (very!) low-tech board. 4/
Prikaži ovu nit -
And by god, it clicked. I made symbols for the things he was grabbing, for his favorite stuffed penguin, and for his dad. He took to it very quickly. I introduced way more symbols that I normally would, but hey, how often do we get an 8-hour session?! 5/
Prikaži ovu nit -
By the end of the flight, he had made several requests, initiated several times, & his behaviors had reduced quite a bit. The father was astounded – clearly no one had ever tried an AAC approach with him. I gave him the paper & showed him how to use it, and he nearly cried. 6/
Prikaži ovu nit -
This was the human desire for communication, pure and simple. To connect with another person and share a thought. Communication is a basic human right, and I was overjoyed to help someone find it. What a privilege and a gift. 7/
Prikaži ovu nit -
As I face the upcoming job cycle and the nearly endless imposter syndrome of academia, this was precisely the reminder I needed about why I love studying language/communication development. It was a good day to be an
#SLP! 8/8Prikaži ovu nit
Kraj razgovora
Novi razgovor -
-
-
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. My son, now 24, has MR and apraxia of speech and when he was younger it was very hard for him to make himself understood. Now, he never stops talking

-
My grandson has apraxia of speech. Very few people understand him. Your grandson grew out of this? Is understandable now? Wow.
- Još 9 drugih odgovora
Novi razgovor -
-
-
Please unroll
@threadreaderapp -
Saluti there is your unroll: Thread by
@RachelRRomeo: "I just had such an affirming experience. On my 8hr intl flight back from a conference, I sat next to a father/son. In br […]"#SLP https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1166817555257942016.html … Share this if you think it's interesting.
- Još 1 odgovor
Novi razgovor -
Čini se da učitavanje traje već neko vrijeme.
Twitter je možda preopterećen ili ima kratkotrajnih poteškoća u radu. Pokušajte ponovno ili potražite dodatne informacije u odjeljku Status Twittera.
, speech-language pathologist
, & avid marathoner/triathlete. She/her