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From: J Scott Yaruss
Date: 01 Oct 2008
Time: 23:20:39 -0500
Remote Name: 96.235.31.54
Hi Kristen - Thanks for the email. For tension analogies, I start with nonspeech activities, like too much tension in the muscles when walking, coloring, shooting a basket, writing on the board, and more. Then we do those same things but with our muscles too loose. Next, we move to the "in between" tension in the nonspeech activities. Finally, we bring it back to speech. The key is to make the analogies concrete by showing the child how too much tension makes it harder for him to say what he wants to say, how too little tension makes it impossible (we need some physical tension to control our muscles for speaking), and how just right makes it easier! There are lots of ways to introduce analogies into treatment to make these concepts more accessible to children. That's part of the fun of therapy ;-) Again, thanks. Scott