Avery’s Speech Journey

As the Patient Advocate here at Wilson Pediatric Therapy & Learning Center, I am very excited to introduce to you my youngest daughter, Avery. Avery has been enrolled in speech therapy at Wilson Pediatric Therapy since January 2022, and we thought it would be a fun adventure to take you along on her treatment journey!

First, a little background information. Since infancy, Avery has had severe ear problems, which profoundly affected her ability to hear language clearly, thus affecting her ability to mimic and process sounds during that critical age of language development between 1 and 3 years old. Did you know that 1/3 of children receiving therapy for speech and language delay have a reported history of recurrent ear infections? When Avery was just one and a half years old, she received her first set of ear tubes after suffering from an unresolved ear infection that lasted over six months, despite several courses of antibiotics. After seeing two ENT specialists, one of her doctors performed a tympanometry test that measures the exact pressure of each ear and concluded that Avery had "the worst ear pressure [they] had ever seen." I was shocked!

Since then, at just six years old, Avery has already had four sets of ear tubes surgically placed and her adenoids removed. The most recent set of tubes is called a "T tube," They are said to be a more permanent solution than the traditional tubes, which may fall out within just a few months.

Avery has always struggled with forming sounds such as "R," "L," and "TH." She was enrolled in speech therapy through a program at her school during her preschool years; however, during the initial school closures during the pandemic, her treatment plan was derailed. At her 1st grade parent-teacher conference, her teacher explained that she sometimes had to resort to asking Avery's classmates to translate what she was saying. That's when we realized just how much her speech issues had regressed and that they needed to be addressed as soon as possible to get her back on track. The older the child gets, the more difficult it is to teach them to form new sounds.

After nearly two years off of speech therapy, SLP Meghan Baumgartner reevaluated Avery at Wilson Pediatric Therapy in January of 2022. Meghan now sees Avery every week, sometimes in person and sometimes via Telehealth.

Telehealth has been integral in allowing us to keep Avery in weekly treatment sessions, as we live out of town and the commute back and forth made it nearly impossible to maintain progress without Avery missing school every week. The convenience of dialing in first thing in the morning to get her therapy in before school has been monumental.

To give you a better idea of how Avery is doing, I interviewed her SLP, Meghan, for her insights:

How would you describe Avery's progress since she began therapy under your care in January?

Avery has made steady progress in her understanding of how to articulate the /r/ sound since she began therapy in January, demonstrated by explaining exactly what the tongue and lips need to do to articulate the /r/ sound. She continues to develop her overall awareness of the /r/ in conversational speech, exhibited by occasionally self-correcting in conversation. Building awareness of targeted sounds is an indicator of success! We have gotten a much closer approximation to the /r/in the last several weeks, with even a few true /r/ sounds!

We know that each patient is unique. What approach(es) seem to work best for Avery?

Repetition has been beneficial to Avery, ensuring a strong foundation in the understanding of how to articulate the /r/. Tactile interventions that have been beneficial in helping Avery understand how to achieve the tension in the tongue that is required to make the /r/ sound are the use of plastic flossers. These help position the tongue and manually assist with creating the tension in the tongue. Avery has benefited from explicit verbal instructions and feedback as well as visual supports with drawings and hand gestures.

What are ways you use Telehealth to address Avery's specific therapy needs when she cannot come into the office for her appointments?

Telehealth has met Avery's therapeutic needs due to high parent involvement and participation. Avery's mother has followed suggestions to have flossers ready when they cannot come for an in-person appointment, has been of assistance to provide support and encouragement directly to Avery, and has been willing to clarify or model an oral placement or exercise.

What is your favorite part about being an SLP?

My favorite part about being an SLP is supporting children and their parents on the child's journey toward greater independence, confidence, and success as it relates to their speech and language skills. It is so rewarding to hear feedback from parents about the differences they see in their children secondary to improvements and growth that I have had the honor to play a part in. Communication plays such a vital role in our ability as a human to connect with other humans, and what is life besides our relationships and the love we share with others?

I concur that I see the most engagement and improvement in Avery's progress when I am equally engaged and actively involved in her sessions, as outlined and directed by Meghan. Avery works best with consistent feedback and encouragement, so my support has been a critical part of keeping her engaged. Meghan has been wonderful in being patient with Avery's struggles and is always a positive presence even when Avery is not feeling the most motivated. She is excellent at finding ways to keep Avery interested and even excited to do her sessions.

Avery loves being a mommy to her baby dolls when we can meet in person, and Meghan uses that interactive playtime to enhance further the skills and fundamentals they work on virtually. Keeping our weekly appointments, whether in person or via Telehealth, is very important in building on Avery's progress each week. If she misses a week, I notice that her motivation and engagement dip a bit the next time we meet, so it takes a bit to regain her momentum.

We are very excited about the progress Avery is making! She is already more easily understood, and you can tell she is more aware of her phonetics and how she is shaping her mouth when she speaks. We know firsthand, by experiencing WPT’s culture from the inside out, that the therapists and staff here genuinely care enough to go the extra mile to help our kiddos. Helping kids is their passion, from corner to corner in the clinic. I highly encourage anyone considering therapy for their child to give Wilson Pediatric Therapy a try! The professionalism, flexibility with telehealth, and tangible compassion are unmatched (just ask Avery! She will tell you all about it, and we bet you will understand her just fine thanks to her continued progress!)