PROMPT

[Guest guest]

http://www.promptinstitute.com/

If you e-mail them they can give you the name of SLPS who are

qualified. Our SLP took the class in FEB and in order for her to pass

she had to send a video tape of herself working with a child (my

son). SHe had to fill out forms and the evaluator sent back responses

and gave the approval to take the next class. SO yes they take it

very seriously.

I definitely see improvements since starting this method. She also

uses other tactile cues and something called LIPS program which

she'll say " Use your skinny sound " and he knows that is for " s " .

I think the best SLPs combine all techniques to help the individual.

Good luck.

--- In @y..., " rubytoys89801 " <jennifer@r...>

wrote:

> > How can I find out about the prompt method and who is

certified?

> Is there a phone number- a website?

[Guest guest]

We have had a good experience with PROMPT. Our private SLP just took

her 1st class in Feb and is taking another one for her certification

soon. Prior to PROMPT she was still awesome but this technique really

seems to work well. Now his school SLP doesn't use it at all and is

also effective with other visual and tactile cues.

The bottom line is what works. If the best PROMPT SLP has no repoire

with your child and you don't see any progress then maybe it isn't

the best thing. But if it seems to work I would stick with it

especially if your child likes her and is doing well.

Good luck.

> Dear Group,

>

> This is my first time to post. I only recently joined the group

and I am

> amazed at all the wonderful information you have to share. Thanks

so much!

>

> I have a question: My son's private therapist uses the PROMPT

techniques

> when working with him and she thinks they make a huge difference in

the

> outcome of the therapy. We are paying big bucks to see her and I

was

> wondering if I found a therapist who did a good job in every other

way but

> didn't have PROMPT training if that would have a really negative

effect on

> his progress. How many of you are getting PROMPT therapy for your

kids?

> What's your opinion of its effectiveness?

>

> Oh, one more thing, do you all just mix the ProEfa in juice? I've

given

> capsules in a teaspoon of honey and that seems to be okay with him

even

> though he still chews up the capsule, the honey seems to mask the

taste.

> Does that sound right?

>

> Thanks so much for helping a newcomer!

> Diane, mom to Arman, 3.5 y.o., adopted in 5/01 from Kazakhstan,

diagnosed

> with moderate apraxia; and Aidana, 2.5 y.o., adopted same time-same

place,

> slight speech delay but no apraxia.

[Guest guest]

Diane, I'm interested in what others say in response to your question

about PROMPT therapists. Congratulations on your beautiful kiddos from

Kazahstan; mine were adopted from China. I am still in the process of

finding the right therapist and approach for my daughter Kara. So far she

has seen a therapist at our local children's hospital and one who lives

nearby--both very nice people and obviously competent therapists, and both

are not sure whether or not apraxia is actually my daughter's issue. I

heard about Prompt through this list and through their web site found the

person who appears to be the only Prompt-certified therapist here in San

Diego. She met with my daughter yesterday and I was able to observe--I was

amazed at what she able to assess and accomplish in one hour. After the

first 20 minutes or so she said she didn't think Kara had apraxia...but

after another 15 minutes (and Kara had warmed up and talked more) she turned

to me and said that once Kara started trying to put 4 or more words

together, she could see that there were some motor planning problems and

that she was probably at least mildly apraxic. There was more accomplished

in this 45 minute session than in any of the 10 or sessions we've had with

other therapists so far. So, this is who Kara will be seeing and yes, she

is 3 times the cost of the other therapists, which is scary. But I do think

it's the hands-on prompting will get the results, and none of the other

therapists we've seen so far do that.

I'm just a newbie to this though and would love to hear what others have

to say.

Kara qualified for service through the school district and I have the

first IEP meeting today, please wish me luck. I will probably come back to

this list to ask for advice once I hear their report and recommendations. I

also look forward to hearing again what other feel about PROMPT.

In answer to the question about ProEfa in the juice, Kara loves

Gatorade and would drink it by the gallon if I let her. I've limited her to

one big glassful per day and put the ProEfa in it. It does make it a little

oily, but she drinks it happily since she knows it's the only Gatorade

she'll get that day!

Best wishes to everyone,

Janice

mom to Liana, age 6, first grade

mom to Kara, age 3.5, expressive speech impairment and, as of yesterday,

mild apraxia

[Guest guest]

Janice: I have heard only good things about PROMPT, but do not know how

to find a PROMPT therapist in my area. Do you have the website or a phone

number as to how to find a PROMPT therapist for a specific area?

Good luck with your Kara, it sounds like she is making great progress.

Kim

[Guest guest]

What is the PROMPT technique?

is qued and prompted but this sounds like it is something

more than just the standard stuff.

Thanks

Heidi - mom to 6, 4 (DSI, Apraxia) 5 months

--- In @y..., " DMon98 " <dmharrison98@y...>

wrote:

> We have had a good experience with PROMPT. Our private SLP just

took

> her 1st class in Feb and is taking another one for her

certification

> soon. Prior to PROMPT she was still awesome but this technique

really

> seems to work well. Now his school SLP doesn't use it at all and

is

> also effective with other visual and tactile cues.

>

> The bottom line is what works. If the best PROMPT SLP has no

repoire

> with your child and you don't see any progress then maybe it isn't

> the best thing. But if it seems to work I would stick with it

> especially if your child likes her and is doing well.

>

> Good luck.

[Guest guest]

Diane -

We give Josh his fish oil supplements in applesauce or yogurt

(disgusting thought but he seems to like it!) at breakfast and at

dinner. As for PROMPT, I just looked into a PROMPT therapist in

Illinois (only one remotely near our area) because I think it might

be better than the therapy he is getting through school. He has made

advances - a lot since the fish oil started - but I want to try to

push things along and PROMPT appears to be a very good method. It's

not that the types of therapies that are being used at school

(integrating large motor movement with sounds, music therapy using

sounds and mouth shapes, starting work on dipthongs, etc.) but I'd

like to see even more results, if possible.

Hope that helps some.

Sherry, , (typical 15-year-old), and (4 and

trying very, very hard!)

[Guest guest]

Sherry: I believe you are located in the Chicagoland area. Could you

please let me know who you use for PROMPT therapy? I am way north of the

city and am looking for someone trained in PROMPT.

Thanks. Kim

>Diane -

>We give Josh his fish oil supplements in applesauce or yogurt

>(disgusting thought but he seems to like it!) at breakfast and at

>dinner.  As for PROMPT, I just looked into a PROMPT therapist in

>Illinois (only one remotely near our area) because I think it might

>be better than the therapy he is getting through school.  He has made

>advances - a lot since the fish oil started - but I want to try to

>push things along and PROMPT appears to be a very good method.  It's

>not that the types of therapies that are being used at school

>(integrating large motor movement with sounds, music therapy using

>sounds and mouth shapes, starting work on dipthongs, etc.) but I'd

>like to see even more results, if possible.

>Hope that helps some.

>Sherry, , (typical 15-year-old), and (4 and

>trying very, very hard!)

[Guest guest]

" hello all..my 5 year old son gabi (verbal apraxia, oral-motor " low tone "

and s.i. disorder) recently started Prompt. his therapist says she gets no

sounds out of him; same with his therapist at school. after today's session,

he came into the kitchen and said several words: " i want " ; " bye-bye " , " go

away " -and she seemed amazed. i told her he alks often at home - not a huge

vocabulary - but nevertheless he does..anyone have this experience where

your speech-delayed child seems to

clam up with the speech therapist?leslie "

Yes, our daughter would never say anything to our 1st SLP because she did

not " like " the SLP. She talks more to our new slp than she talks to me. She

is very motivated to talk to our current slp, whereas she was never

motivated to talk to our ex-slp. (therapy with her was not motivating -

therapy with the new slp is fun and VERY motivating)

I have *heard* that prompt is a very physical - really in your face type of

therapy. (but I have never seen it 1st hand) Maybe your son is not receptive

to it? Different approaches work for different kids.

Traci, Hawaii

..

[Guest guest]

Yes..........my daughter goes to group therapy 2 times a week. They sing and

play little games. I thought she wasn't getting anything out of it because she

would just sit there and look at them like they were crazy.....but then one day

we came home and she starter singing the songs that they had been singing

earlier. She has Apraxia so of course everything wasn't clear but it was the

song. But she still wont sing in group. Oh well.

mom to Blanton 9.4 (ADHD,TS,OCD)Kesley 2.11(Apraxia,VUR...repaired)

>

> From: " leslierita333 " <lrvogel333@...>

> Date: 2003/03/14 Fri PM 09:15:25 EST

>

> Subject: [ ] Prompt

>

> hello all..

>

> my 5 year old son gabi (verbal apraxia, oral-motor " low tone " and

> s.i. disorder) recently started Prompt. his therapist says she gets

> no sounds out of him; same with his therapist at school. after

> today's session, he came into the kitchen and said several words: " i

> want " ; " bye-bye " , " go away " -and she seemed amazed. i told her he

> talks often at home - not a huge vocabulary - but nevertheless he

> does..

>

> anyone have this experience where your speech-delayed child seems to

> clam up with the speech therapist?

>

> leslie

[Guest guest]

Hi Traci, , and others,

There is a lot of good press about PROMPT therapy and many therapists are

enthusiastic about it. However, I thought I'd share my experience. I am an SLP

in private practice and I have taken many courses and trainings, as well as a

1:1 mentorship, specifically focused on childhood apraxia and oral motor

treatment methodologies. I have a strong background in neurology, motor speech

disorders, and the ongoing research and treatment

threads currently being developed in childhood apraxia. I signed up for the

PROMPT training ($500 for 16 hours) after having heard it mentioned many times

as a " must " for treatment of childhood apraxia.

After the first day, I was appalled. The presenters seemed to have no

background in neuroanatomy or physiology, could not answer basic questions about

the muscles involved in " PROMPTing, " and frequently assured us " it just works "

without further elaboration.

The workshop (first day -- all I attended) consisted of watching videos of

therapists demonstrating the Prompts (including a very impressive looking X-ray

film of one adult Prompting another, non-disordered adult), having the

presenters read from the manual, and having the presenters show us how to do

each move, which we were then supposed to practice on each other. When asked,

" what if the child still can't make this sound with the

Prompt? " we were told, " Don't worry, it will work. " When probed further, " what

if the child simply cannot make the sound? " we were advised to use another

therapy method until the child could produce the sound, then use PROMPT after.

(HELLO???) When asked " What if the child doesn't like being Prompted and won't

let me? " they said, " Just make it a game, they will like it. "

Initially, we were told that although PROMPT was not for everyone, it would work

where other methods failed, and was best for those toughest cases where the

child was completely unintelligible or even nonverbal. PROMPT was supposedly

good for even the lowest cognitive level, and for any disorder (apraxia,

dysarthria, phonological disorder, functional articulation disorder, etc.) I

had no luck getting either presenter to explain

exactly how Prompt worked, what was the theory connecting a push on this muscle

to production of that sound, what happened inside the mouth when you did

mylohyoid Prompt #3, etc. After some friendly arguing with the presenters, they

finally agreed that PROMPT was more of a cueing system, rather than a way to

establish sounds not yet in the child's repertoire. Otherwise all I got was

some apologetic assurance that even though it was

hard to believe, it really did work, and I should just try it and see.

I don't do anything to a child that I cannot fully explain to the parent.

Period. (Imagine coming to therapy and asking, " why are you holding his chin

that way? " and hearing, " I don't know, really, I just learned how to do this in

a workshop with some great people, " or, " I'm not sure, but I think it might

help. " )

The articles provided in the handout supposedly contained research demonstrating

the effectiveness of PROMPT; but one described no research and the other a study

involving only three adults, which had no control group or comparison to any

other therapy. I'd be happy to share my letter of complaint that describes in

more detail what the presenters said and what they could not answer, if anyone

is interested.

I corresponded with Deborah Hayden, the creator of PROMPT, several times and was

given the web address to help answer some of my concerns. She wanted me to

understand " PROMPT is not just a technique, it is a philosophy. " I could find

no other research anywhere on PROMPT, just lots of the same descriptions of the

whole program (types of prompts, how to do them, what they supposedly fix).

Ultimately I came to feel PROMPT was popular

because it looks good (since it's so hands-on, it must be doing something!), and

it plays on 1) professionals' desperation in treating some of these very

tenacious speech problems, and 2) their relative lack of knowledge of the

physiological and neurological underpinnings of motor speech disorders. I later

received a full reimbursement of my fee and was told " no one else complained

about the workshop. "

Physical touches to the face can be effective as cues to remind some children

what needs to move or stay still to produce certain sounds. Oral motor

techniques can certainly be helpful in treating certain difficulties. I just

want to share with parents that when you hear " make sure your SLP is trained in

XYZ therapy because it's the best for apraxia, " to take that with a grain of

salt. It isn't the therapy techniques or theories

that make excellent therapy, it's the therapist.

Deborah Van den Beemt, MS CCC-SLP

in NH/VT

> " hello all..my 5 year old son gabi (verbal apraxia, oral-motor " low tone "

> and s.i. disorder) recently started Prompt. his therapist says she gets no

> sounds out of him; same with his therapist at school. after today's session,

> he came into the kitchen and said several words: " i want " ; " bye-bye " , " go

> away " -and she seemed amazed. i told her he alks often at home - not a huge

> vocabulary - but nevertheless he does..anyone have this experience where

> your speech-delayed child seems to

>

> clam up with the speech therapist?leslie "

>

> Yes, our daughter would never say anything to our 1st SLP because she did

> not " like " the SLP. She talks more to our new slp than she talks to me. She

> is very motivated to talk to our current slp, whereas she was never

> motivated to talk to our ex-slp. (therapy with her was not motivating -

> therapy with the new slp is fun and VERY motivating)

>

> I have *heard* that prompt is a very physical - really in your face type of

> therapy. (but I have never seen it 1st hand) Maybe your son is not receptive

> to it? Different approaches work for different kids.

>

> Traci, Hawaii

[Guest guest]

" Hi Traci, , and others,There is a lot of good press about PROMPT

therapy and many therapists are enthusiastic about it. However, I thought I

d share my experience. I am an SLP in private practice and I have taken many

courses and trainings, as well as a 1:1 mentorship, specifically focused on

childhood apraxia and oral motor treatment methodologies. I have a strong

background in neurology, motor speech disorders, and the ongoing research

and treatmentthreads currently being developed in childhood apraxia. I

signed up for the PROMPT training ($500 for 16 hours) after having heard it

mentioned many times as a " must " for treatment of childhood apraxia. "

Deborah, Thanks for writing in! I was actually considering flying to the

mainland (I live in Hawaii) to meet with a slp trained in prompt.

Fortunately, our current slp (who is very well known and respected here in

HI) really did not " like " the method and urged me to look into it further.

What I found out has kept me right here in HI. I have *heard* (have not seen

it 1st hand) these kids are in a headlock with their faces being manipulated

very physically. My daughter would have been very turned off by this and I

would have been very disappointed and I would be out 3000+ dollars. Our slp

and I did decide to purchase the SRJ horn and straw kits with videos for

some oral motor therapy. Thanks for writing and assuring me that I made the

right choice to stay put!

Traci, Hawaii, mom to Kennedy almost 3, apraxia and dysarthria

[Guest guest]

My daughter, who turned 4 in January, spoke mostly in either a whisper or

a very soft voice during her first 3 months of therapy--she started last

April. By the end of the summer, she seemed to have adjusted and now

responds well but it sure seemed to take a long time. Prompt has made a huge

difference for her; she works hard during her hour session and it is

literally a hands-on, in-your-face method; but from the beginning I knew

that this was the right therapy for us so I persevered. She did eventually

open up and now participates fully and bless her heart, she has come a long

way, with a long road still ahead.

Keep us posted on how it goes,

Janice

mom to Liana, age 7 and mom to Kara, age 4 (apraxia)

San Diego, CA

_________________________________________________________________

Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

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[Guest guest]

Deborah,

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderfully detailed report! I could not

agree with you more!! It TRULY is the therapist and how they relate to your

individual child that is crucial for ANY therapy to work! What I found with

Micah over the seven years that he had therapy was that the therapists that

helped him the most number one, had a great rapport with him and number two

used cues, oral motor, hands on but as far as I know none were actually

formally trained in " prompt " . Your words are objective and very helpful to

parents really seeking to help their children without actually going

bankrupt!

Carol

[Guest guest]

My son 4.8 has also had a great experience with PROMPT. His SLP uses

other methods of cueing, both visual and tactile. What I did notice

was that after she went to the class he seemed to catch on much

quicker. His prompts also tended to fade quicker.

Not every method works for everyone, but I have to say in our case I

have only seen positive results.

denise

>

> My daughter, who turned 4 in January, spoke mostly in either a

whisper or

> a very soft voice during her first 3 months of therapy--she started

last

> April. By the end of the summer, she seemed to have adjusted and

now

> responds well but it sure seemed to take a long time. Prompt has

made a huge

> difference for her; she works hard during her hour session and it

is

> literally a hands-on, in-your-face method; but from the beginning I

knew

> that this was the right therapy for us so I persevered. She did

eventually

> open up and now participates fully and bless her heart, she has

come a long

> way, with a long road still ahead.

>

> Keep us posted on how it goes,

>

> Janice

> mom to Liana, age 7 and mom to Kara, age 4 (apraxia)

> San Diego, CA

>

>

>

>

> _________________________________________________________________

> Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.

> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[Guest guest]

Deborah once again thank you so much for your insightful message. I

applaud you for your respectful view on the parents and your

commitment to be able to both answer their questions and to explain

the reasons why for you are using a particular technique as you

are. Both Dakota and Tanner's therapists were like you, and as you

know I encourage parents to question " why " even when explanations

are not offered. So here you are as a respected speech professional

asking " why " !

In your message you raise a few important issues, however I'll just

address your concern as to " why " the professionals you spoke to from

the PROMPT Institute were not able to answer your questions as

to " why " PROMPT therapy is important and perhaps even better than

other techniques out there to help bring our population of children

a smile and a voice. And...is this true?

The upcoming apraxia conference

http://www.cherab.org/news/nc2003-conference.html should be

quite interesting since most of the speakers I asked were either

neurodevelopmental doctors, or well known SLPs who stand behind

various techniques that have been found to be beneficial for our

children in their own light -alone. For the first time ever -I asked

Kaufman CCC-SLP -Kaufman technique, Sara CCC-SLP -oral motor

technique, and Deb Hayden CCC-SLP -PROMPT technique, to present on a

panel on how their therapies 'may work together' (and with others too?!) Each

of these

therapists and many others we spoke to while we were working on The

Late Talker book. It's sad in my opinion that this has not been

done up till now. Especially when I found the best therapists are

those like you that study outside the box and combine several

techniques to most appropriately help each individual child.

Deborah you too attended The First Apraxia Conference hosted by

CHERAB http://www.cherab.org/news/scientific.html and were able to hear the

interesting

lecture by Dr. ph Hibbeln (M.D., Chief, Outpatient Clinic

National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH, Bethesda,

land) His lecture opened my eyes to a few points in the

neurological aspects affecting our children with communication

delays and impairments.

Since that conference I've stated -a multi sensory approach is best

since the brain responds to multiple stimuli. To translate what I

understood being said (and expand on it if I can be so bold) since

there may be a type of blockage in learning in the brain, for say

speaking, and since the brain responds to multiple stimuli, then

together a multi sensory approach may help enable a child to learn

how to speak faster since they are utilizing various areas of the

brain that may not be affected by the impairment -than traditional

speech therapy alone. After all, most of us learn to talk without

speech therapy. Most of us learn to talk just by listening to and

observing others. We already know that one or both of these senses

can be impaired in say a deaf or blind person. So other senses can

be utilized to help. In the case of deaf and blind people -a touch

cue effect was found to be helpful. Isn't PROMPT therapy a type of

touch cueing?

" Inviting a person who is deafblind to touch you as you speak, the

thumb lightly on the lower lip and the fingers extended along the

throat where the sounds vibrate, can allow her to make

discriminations of vocal vibrations that can increase accessibility

of language (this hand position is called the Tadoma position).

Having activities represented by tactile cues and/or object symbols

can be one of the first symbolic ways of indicating to a child what

is about to happen and can serve as an early way of making language

tactually accessible "

http://www.tr.wou.edu/dblink/hands.htm

What I found interesting is that when I researched this online -

almost all I found on multi sensory approaches to learning were for

educational sites, not for speech pathology sites even though touch

cue and PROMPT would be considered part of a multi sensory approach -

(as would auditory therapies etc) two examples: http://www.rlac.com/

and http://www.slingerland.org/newsletters/00-multi.htm

I would believe the answer you were looking for from the PROMPT

professionals would encompass what Dr. Hibbeln and many educators

lecture on. PROMPT and other touch cue therapies can be beneficial

as part of a multi sensory approach to help children with

communication impairments.

Children with multi-faceted communication impairments like apraxia

can each present with varying symptoms, from just one symptom to

many, and then each with varying degrees of severity from mild to

profound. In addition -as you point out some children have other

conditions co-existing such as the child with severe tactile sensory

integration dysfunction which may make a PROMPT or other touch cue

therapy session difficult.

I also wonder why when it comes to apraxia specifically almost all

mention PROMPT and not " touch cue " even though almost all speech

professionals have their own version of touch cue that they at times

use whether they are PROMPT certified or not.

Perhaps Deb Hayden will explain how and why PROMPT is unique from

other forms of touch cue if it is? Perhaps we should once again

share your concern -this time with my (attempted) reply with Deb

Hayden to let her clarify or comment?

=====

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I hope to be able to attend the Conference in May. I look forward to seeing

you again!

Deborah Hayden was willing to correspond with me more to answer some specific

concerns I had, and I still plan to write to her. I am hoping that the two

presenters I had were simply less well informed and less able to explain about

PROMPT. However, in the research I've done, I still find little description,

research or explanation of

PROMPT at the level I am looking for. I don't doubt that SLPs trained in PROMPT

can get good results using PROMPT techniques or benefit from understanding and

taking the whole-child view that PROMPT describes. Yet there is a real need for

more evidence based practice in our field. I hope that Deborah Hayden, and

others with promising

theories or techniques, begin to have some well designed research studies put

together. It's one thing to see a particular method work with one child or for

one therapist. It's another to put that method to the test with many clients

and therapists to tease out exactly what makes it helpful and for whom and under

what conditions, and

compared to what other methods.

Deborah, perhaps we can work together on such a project in the future.

I had the pleasure of meeting Sara Rosenfeld- at the last ASHA convention

and had a chance to talk to her about both her program and PROMPT. I know you

will really enjoy having her at the conference in May.

A multi-sensory approach is useful (and often welcome!) for any person learning

something new. It can be critical for our kids who, as you said, need more

pathways used to bypass those that are not making sense for them.

, please invite me to comment whenever you feel I might be helpful. I

usually don't post anymore because all the lists I'm on just keep growing and

growing! Just reading is keeping me busy! (You can't relate, can you?) :-)

Yet if you ask for me, I won't be able to resist adding my 2 cents.

Deborah Van den Beemt, MS CCC-SLP

in NH/VT

> Message: 10

> Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 13:45:52 -0000

> From: " kiddietalk " <kiddietalk@...>

> Subject: Re: Prompt

>

> Deborah once again thank you so much for your insightful message. I

> applaud you for your respectful view on the parents and your

> commitment to be able to both answer their questions and to explain

> the reasons why for you are using a particular technique as you

> are. Both Dakota and Tanner's therapists were like you, and as you

> know I encourage parents to question " why " even when explanations

> are not offered. So here you are as a respected speech professional

> asking " why " !

>

> In your message you raise a few important issues, however I'll just

> address your concern as to " why " the professionals you spoke to from

> the PROMPT Institute were not able to answer your questions as

> to " why " PROMPT therapy is important and perhaps even better than

> other techniques out there to help bring our population of children

> a smile and a voice. And...is this true?

>

> The upcoming apraxia conference

> http://www.cherab.org/news/nc2003-conference.html should be

> quite interesting since most of the speakers I asked were either

> neurodevelopmental doctors, or well known SLPs who stand behind

> various techniques that have been found to be beneficial for our

> children in their own light -alone. For the first time ever -I asked

> Kaufman CCC-SLP -Kaufman technique, Sara CCC-SLP -oral motor

> technique, and Deb Hayden CCC-SLP -PROMPT technique, to present on a

> panel on how their therapies 'may work together' (and with others too?!) Each

of these

> therapists and many others we spoke to while we were working on The

> Late Talker book. It's sad in my opinion that this has not been

> done up till now. Especially when I found the best therapists are

> those like you that study outside the box and combine several

> techniques to most appropriately help each individual child.

>

> Deborah you too attended The First Apraxia Conference hosted by

> CHERAB http://www.cherab.org/news/scientific.html and were able to hear the

interesting

> lecture by Dr. ph Hibbeln (M.D., Chief, Outpatient Clinic

> National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, NIH, Bethesda,

> land) His lecture opened my eyes to a few points in the

> neurological aspects affecting our children with communication

> delays and impairments.

>

> Since that conference I've stated -a multi sensory approach is best

> since the brain responds to multiple stimuli. To translate what I

> understood being said (and expand on it if I can be so bold) since

> there may be a type of blockage in learning in the brain, for say

> speaking, and since the brain responds to multiple stimuli, then

> together a multi sensory approach may help enable a child to learn

> how to speak faster since they are utilizing various areas of the

> brain that may not be affected by the impairment -than traditional

> speech therapy alone. After all, most of us learn to talk without

> speech therapy. Most of us learn to talk just by listening to and

> observing others. We already know that one or both of these senses

> can be impaired in say a deaf or blind person. So other senses can

> be utilized to help. In the case of deaf and blind people -a touch

> cue effect was found to be helpful. Isn't PROMPT therapy a type of

> touch cueing?

>

> " Inviting a person who is deafblind to touch you as you speak, the

> thumb lightly on the lower lip and the fingers extended along the

> throat where the sounds vibrate, can allow her to make

> discriminations of vocal vibrations that can increase accessibility

> of language (this hand position is called the Tadoma position).

> Having activities represented by tactile cues and/or object symbols

> can be one of the first symbolic ways of indicating to a child what

> is about to happen and can serve as an early way of making language

> tactually accessible "

> http://www.tr.wou.edu/dblink/hands.htm

>

> What I found interesting is that when I researched this online -

> almost all I found on multi sensory approaches to learning were for

> educational sites, not for speech pathology sites even though touch

> cue and PROMPT would be considered part of a multi sensory approach -

> (as would auditory therapies etc) two examples: http://www.rlac.com/

> and http://www.slingerland.org/newsletters/00-multi.htm

>

> I would believe the answer you were looking for from the PROMPT

> professionals would encompass what Dr. Hibbeln and many educators

> lecture on. PROMPT and other touch cue therapies can be beneficial

> as part of a multi sensory approach to help children with

> communication impairments.

>

> Children with multi-faceted communication impairments like apraxia

> can each present with varying symptoms, from just one symptom to

> many, and then each with varying degrees of severity from mild to

> profound. In addition -as you point out some children have other

> conditions co-existing such as the child with severe tactile sensory

> integration dysfunction which may make a PROMPT or other touch cue

> therapy session difficult.

>

> I also wonder why when it comes to apraxia specifically almost all

> mention PROMPT and not " touch cue " even though almost all speech

> professionals have their own version of touch cue that they at times

> use whether they are PROMPT certified or not.

>

> Perhaps Deb Hayden will explain how and why PROMPT is unique from

> other forms of touch cue if it is? Perhaps we should once again

> share your concern -this time with my (attempted) reply with Deb

> Hayden to let her clarify or comment?

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has heard or used the PROMPT method with children with

autism. Would appreciate any feedback, good or bad...

Please e-mail me privately.

Thanks,

Prue