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Tag: MONICA PURDY

5 & 5.1 YEARS: GETTING EASIER TO UNDERSTAND

5 Years How in the world is this little gal 5 years old? Seriously. It has hit me pretty hard that I don’t have any little ones at home anymore. We are on to the next stage in life. As I look back on the past 5 years, I am grateful for how Belle has progressed and grown in many […]

December 8, 2017 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: DOWN SYNDROME SPEECH THERAPY, DOWN SYNDROME STUDENT, DOWN SYNDROME WALK, MONICA PURDY, TALKTOOLS PROGRAM PLAN

SPD: Know the Signs, Characteristics, & How to Get Help

TalkTools instructor Monica Purdy, MA, CCC-SLP & mom of three, nurse and author Michele Gianetti, RN have recently been published in Parenting Special Needs Magazine in the July/August 2017 edition. “SPD: Know The Signs, Characteristics & How To Get Help” is available for free through the online magazine. The article is valuable for parents of children with Sensory Processing Disorder, providing them with a downloadable […]

October 28, 2017 administrator From the Experts Comments (0) Details
Tags: MICHELE GIANETTI, MONICA PURDY, PARENTING SPECIAL NEEDS, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER CHECKLISTSENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER GUIDE, SPD

4.9 YEARS: FULL SUMMER MODE!

We are in full summer mode here! Belle has been enjoying some horseback riding lessons, swimming, cheering on her siblings at baseball games, and finishing up a great dancing year with a big dance recital. The recital took up a substantial part of the beginning of our summer, so that’s where all our pictures came from […]

August 1, 2017 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: ANNABELLE BEETSMA, CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME, DANCE RECITAL, DOWN SYNDROME, DOWN SYNDROME SPEECH THERAPY, DOWN SYNDROME THERAPY, GIRL WITH DOWN SYNDROME, HORN #6, LANIE BEETSMA, MONICA PURDY, OPT, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISES, SPEECH DEVELOPMENT, SPEECH THERAPY, SPEECH THERAPY FOR DOWN SYNDROME, TONGUE RETRACTION, VOCABULARY

3 Presentations at NDSC 2017!

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 […]

July 24, 2017 administrator From the Experts Comments (0) Details
Tags: AIRWAY, BRIAN HOCKEL, CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME, COMMUNICATION DISORDER, CONVENTION PRESENTATION, DOWN SYNDROMEDOWN SYNDROME CONFERENCE, HEATHER PETERSON, HEATHER VUKELICH, JENNIFER GRAY, MONICA PURDY, NDSC, ORAL PLACEMENT THERAPYORTHODONTICS, SENSORY DIFFERENCES, SENSORY INTEGRATION, SENSORY PROCESSING, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, SENSORY SYSTEMSLEEP APNEA, SPEECH CLARITY, SPEECH THERAPY

4.8 YEARS: WORKING ON TONGUE PLACEMENT

Here is Belle working on her spoon slurp exercises: And here working on proper tongue placement for sounds /t, d, n, l/ with the help of bite blocks. Belle had a fabulous time at our in-depth session with Monica Mitchell, our TalkTools speech therapist, this month. We worked through our entire oral motor program and assessed Belle’s progress as […]

June 9, 2017 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: /D/, /L/, /N/, BITE BLOCKS, DOWN SYNDROME, FEEDING THERAPY, MONICA PURDY, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISESORAL PLACEMENT THERAPY, SPEECH THERAPY, SPOON SLURPS, T, TONGUE PLACEMENT, TONGUE RETRACTION

4.6 YEARS: ENJOYING NEW FOODS

March has been an exciting month for Belle! We traveled to the beach to visit family and enjoyed some fun in the sun. She enjoys the plane rides and new restaurants and new foods like calamari and key lime pie. In our video this month, Belle shows off her gum chewing skills. She has improved […]

April 10, 2017 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: BLENDED SOUNDS, CHEWING SKILLS, DOWN SYNDROME, FEEDING THERAPY, GUM CHEWING, MONICA PURDY, OPT, ORAL MOTORORAL MOTOR PROGRAM, Oral Placement Therapy

4.4 YEARS: MAKING UP HER OWN SILLY PHRASES

Happy New Year! Belle’s year is off to a solid start! I am happy to report that we have been pretty consistent with our TalkTools oral motor program, created by Monica Purdy. We have been staying on track except for the 4 days that Belle stayed with her siblings and grandparents while we got away for […]

February 8, 2017 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: #TALKTOOLSWORKS, ABC, ABCS, ALPHABET, ANNABELLE, ARTICULATION, CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME, COMMUNICATION SKILLSDOWN SYNDROME, FOUR YEAR OLD, MONICA PURDY, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISES, Oral Placement Therapy, PARENTING, SIBLINGSSPEECH DEVELOPMENT, SPEECH THERAPY, SPEECH THERAPY AT HOME, SPEECH THERAPY HOMEWORK, TALKTOOLS CLIENT, TALKTOOLS HOMEWORKTALKTOOLS PROGRAM, TODDLER, TODDLER WITH DOWN SYNDROME, TODDLERHOOD

4 YEARS 1 MONTH: WORKING ON SPEECH ACCURACY AND CLARITY

We love working with Monica at TalkTools! She is full of knowledge and experience. When a speech issue comes up with Belle, and I am viewing it as a really big problem that we are going to be stuck on forever, Monica handles it so gracefully and gives me hope. She has years of experience with oral motor therapy […]

November 28, 2016 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: ABC, ANNABELLE BEETSMA, ANNABELLE UPDATES, ANNABELLE'S MONTHLY UPDATES, ANNABELLE'S PROGRESS, ARTICULATIONCOMMUNICATION SKILLS, FOUR YEAR OLD, MONICA PURDY, Oral Placement Therapy, SPEECH CLARITY, SPEECH DEVELOPMENTSPEECH THERAPY, SPEECH THERAPY AT HOME, SPEECH THERAPY EXERCISES, SPEECH THERAPY VIDEO, TALKTOOLS CLIENTTALKTOOLS EXERCISES, TALKTOOLS PROGRAM, TALKTOOLS THERAPY, TODDLER WITH DOWN SYNDROME, TODDLERHOOD, VOCABULARY

3 YEARS 10&11 MONTHS: GETTING BACK-TO-SCHOOL AFTER DISNEY WORLD MAGIC

3 Years 10 Months Summer continues in our household! This month, Belle has enjoyed swimming lessons (and lots of pool time), a slip’n slide party, BBQs, fairs, a trip to the lake, and a full week at Walt Disney World! While our hearts may be full, our routine is not. 🙂 However… Belle continues to do […]

September 30, 2016 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: ANNABELLE BEETSMA, ANNABELLE UPDATES, ANNABELLE'S MONTHLY UPDATES, ANNABELLE'S PROGRESS, ARTICULATION, BACK TO SCHOOLBACK TO SCHOOL ROUTINE, BELLE BEETSMA, BELLE UPDATES, CHILD WITH DOWN SYNDROME, COUNTING, DISNEYLAND, DOWN SYNDROME THERAPY, DOWN SYNDROME TODDLER, DOWN SYNDROME TODDLERHOOD, DOWN SYNDROMEDOWN SYNDROME CHILD, LANIE BEETSMAMONICA MITCHELL, MONICA PURDY, NUMBER PUZZLE, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISES, SPEECH CLARITY, SPEECH DEVELOPMENTSPEECH THERAPY AT HOME, SPEECH THERAPY EXERCISES, SPEECH THERAPY VIDEO, SUMMER SCHEDULE, SUMMER TIME, TALKTOOLS CLIENTTALKTOOLS EXERCISES, TALKTOOLS PROGRAM, TALKTOOLS THERAPY, TEACHING NUMBERS, THREE YEAR OLD, THREE YEAR OLD GIRLTODDLER WITH DOWN SYNDROME, TODDLERHOOD, VISUAL AID, VOCABULARY, WALT DISNEY WORLD

Ask A Therapist: Jaw Stability Protocol for Severe Underbite

Hi Therapists, What do I do for a 19 year old student with a severe underbite (a gap of ½ inch between top and bottom teeth) when trying to use the jaw stability protocol? Thank you. When you are working on the Bite Blocks for jaw stability and the Bite Tube hierarchy, you will want to make sure […]

February 25, 2015 administrator Ask A Therapist Comments (0) Details
Tags: ASK A THERAPIST, BITE BLOCKS, BITE TUBE SET, BITE TUBES, CHEWY TUBE, CHEWY TUBES, DENTAL STRUCTURE, JAW STABILITY, MONICA PURDY, OPT, Oral Placement Therapy, ORTHODONTY, TALKTOOLS, TALKTOOLS THERAPY, UNDERBITE