Hi! My name is Liz Smithson, I am a speech language pathologist with over 20 years of experience working with people with speech and feeding disorders across all ages. I am also a mom of 3 amazing children and 1 precious dog. I have a masters +30 from the University of South Carolina and have […]
Ask A Therapist: Cranial Dystonia & Embouchure Disorder
Quick answer: Cranial dystonia is a broad term for dystonia affecting areas of the head/face (often including jaw, face, and tongue), which can impact chewing, speech, and swallowing. Embouchure dystonia is a task-specific dystonia that can affect brass/woodwind players and may show up only when forming the embouchure or playing. Because TalkTools’ Oral Placement Therapy […]
Avoiding Backsliding: The Active Effort of Practicing Good Habits
Quick answer: When routines change, even strong skills can “backslide.” Practicing good habits helps us most. I STOP, pause my cues, and remember Elizabeth can do it and knows she can. Practicing good habits has been on my mind a lot lately. I am about 4 months out from the fall that broke my leg. […]
A Parent’s Perspective: The Journey of Feeding & Mealtime
Quick answer: For Elizabeth, feeding was less about food variety and more about the motor planning steps of self-feeding. What helped was breaking utensil use into small steps, practicing often, and staying patient as dyspraxia and sensory needs made habits hard to change. Mealtime today: slow and steady As I watch Elizabeth eat her dinner […]