I’M ASSUMING SHE HAS BUILT UP HER BREATH SUPPORT ENOUGH THAT SHE CAN SAY SINGLE WORDS ON COMMAND? & DOES SHE HAVE ANYONE WHO MODELS ANY TOUGH CONSONANTS 4 HER?

PERSONALLY, IN THE BEGINNING, WHEN I WAS LEARNING SINGLE WORDS & 2-3 WORD PHRASES, I FOUND THE SPEECH PROGRAM “SIGHTS & SOUNDS” (FROM BUNGALOW) INVALUABLE, & USED IT DAILY. “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 1” WAS MY FAVORITE. IT DOES SINGLE WORDS. I SIMEOUTANEOUSLY DID “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 2,” BUT IT WAS HARDER & I HAD 2 GROW INTO IT. IT DOES PHRASES, BUT IN BOTH PROGRAMS, I HAD THE VERSION WHERE I COULD CREATE MY OWN LISTS (WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND–I RARELY DID ANYTHING ELSE!), & I THREW IN A FEW SINGLE WORDS ON MY “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 2” CUSTOM LIST, 2 GIVE ME A BREAK!

NOW, I CAN SAY THE VOWELS, & ABOUT 1/2 OF MY CONSONANTS. I STILL USE “SIGHTS & SOUNDS,” BUT I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE: SENTENCE SHAPER 2. I THINK IT IS THE MOST VERSATILE PROGRAM, & MAYBE I’M BIASED (BECUZ I AM A BETA TESTER 4 THEM), BUT THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS GREAT. THE PROGRAM WAS RECOMMENDED TO ME BY BUNGALOW (WHO ALSO HAS FABULOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE, & THEIR WEBSITE RECOMMENDS PROGRAMS 4 U, & LET’S U DO FREE TRIALS OF ANY PROGRAM I’M MENTIONING). BUNGALOW STATED THAT SENTENCE SHAPER WAS THE NEXT STEP UP FROM SIGHTS & SOUNDS. IN MY TRIAL, I DIDN’T SEE IT, BUT TOOK THEIR WORD 4 IT, & BOUGHT IT. IT CAME WITH A FREE TUTORIAL WITH THE LADY WHO HELPED CREATE IT, & THAT REALLY OPENED MY EYES!

I ACTUALLY SLUR MY WORDS, BUT W/THIS PROGRAM, I DIDN’T. I CRIED THE 1ST TIME I HEARD MYSELF SAY A SENTENCE! HERE’S SOMETHING I MADE (U NEED THE EDITING VERSION IN ORDER 2 DO THIS):

WHAT I DO:
THE PROGRAM USES PICTURES & MY VOICE TO MAKE A “WORKBOOK.” I HAVE PICTURES WITH SENTENCES TYPED ABOVE THE PICTURES. EACH PICTURE IS A PAGE IN THE WORKBOOK, AND I TRY TO SAY EACH TYPED SENTENCE. HOWEVER, IT IS OVERWHELMING FOR ME TO THINK THAT I NEED TO SAY THAT ENTIRE SENTENCE, SO I START SMALL. I SAY A WORD SEVERAL TIMES & RECORD THE GRUNTS I MAKE (THEY ARE “SNIP-ITS”). THEN I CHOOSE A “SNIP-IT” (WORD) 2 KEEP. THOSE GRUNTS ARE WORDS THAT FORM A SENTENCE. I PUT THE “SNIP-IT’S” IN ORDER SO I SOUND LIKE I’M SAYING A SENTENCE, & THEN THEY ARE COMBINED TO MAKE A “BEAN.”
IN THE PROCESS, I AM MODELLED BY MY OWN VOICE HOW NECESSARY IT IS 4 EACH WORD 2 BE SEPERATE. & I SEE HOW 2 SEPARATE MY OWN WORDS. SO, I MAY SAY A HURRIED, SLURRED SENTENCE THAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS. BUT SOMETIMES, IF I SAY IT AGAIN, TRYING 2 HAVE BREAKS BETWEEN THE WORDS, & I MAY BE SUDDENLY UNDERSTOOD!
I FIGURE THIS PROGRAM WILL GROW WITH ME A LONG TIME, BECUZ, EVENTUALLY, I CAN HAVE SENTENCES BE “SNIP-ITS” THAT CAN BE COMBINED 2 FORM PHARAGRAPHS (“BEANS”).
I ALSO HAVE THE PROGRAM “SPEECH SOUNDS ON CUE.” THEY HAVE A NEW USA EDITION THAT IS JUST WONDERFUL. DEPENDS WHERE THE STROKE SURVIVOR IS IN THEIR JOURNEY TO REGAIN SPEECH, BUT THIS PROGRAM LETS U CHOOSE A LETTER 2 WORK ON IN THE ALPHABET, AND MODELS THE LETTER, AS WELL AS EXPLAING IT. GREAT, IF THE STROKE SURVIVOR IS THEIR OWN SPEECH THERAPIST! OTHERWISE, THEY CAN HAVE YOU OR A FRIEND MODEL (MY MUSIC THERAPIST IS A GREAT MODEL!), & THE SURVIVOR CAN USE A MIRROR 2 SEE IF THEY ARE DOING IT RIGHT.

THE PROGRAM THAT SEEMS ALMOST USELESS IS “NUMBERS & SOUNDS,” BECUZ I CREATED A LIST OF NUMBERS ON “SIGHTS & SOUNDS 1.” PLUS, I SAY THE NUMBER REP I’M DOING IN PHYSICAL THERAPY, & U COULD COUNT MONEY & SMALL ITEMS FOR YOUR OWN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY.

ALL OF THE PROGRAMS I MENTIONED CAN BE FOUND AT BUNGALOW’S WEBSITE, THOUGH SENTENCE SHAPER ALSO HAS A WEBSITE. THERE’S A LINK TO BUNGALOW ON MY WEBSITE. ANOTHER USEFUL TOOL: FINDING SLOW, FAMILIAR SONGS (LIKE “OLD MCDONALD OR THE ABC SONG) ON YOUTUBE & SING ALONG…I SANG “PRIMARY” SONGS IN MUSIC THERAPY FOR A YEAR (I STARTED JUST BY SAYING”MOO” IN THE RIGHT TIME, NEVER MINDING THE PITCH) BEFORE I GOT ANY SPEECH PROGRAMS. USE SONGS THAT ARE DEEPLY INGRAINED. ALSO LISTEN 2 CLASSICAL MUSIC. IT BUILDS BRAIN CELLS, & U CAN SLOW DOWN & INCREASE YOUR BREATH BY TRYING 2 LET YOURSELF INHALE & EXHALE SLOWLY, BUT GRADUALLY LENGTHENING IT.