IICA Speech

Happy Friday Everyone! Humming is used to address a variety of voice disorders such as functional (e.g., muscle tension dysphonia) or structural voice disorders (e.g., vocal nodules). Humming can promote activation of the respiratory muscles, minimizes force on the vocal folds, and allows the vocal folds to vibrate on their edges only. This exercise can be used to warm up and cool down your voice, before and after extended voice use (e.g., presentations, long work m...eetings, singing, etc.). Here are a couple of exercises and tips to implement while humming:

HOLIDAY CLOSURE DATES: We will be closed for the following dates - DECEMBER 24TH - JANUARY 3RD. We will resume our normal schedule on Monday, January 4th. We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Happy Wednesday! Here is a little midweek brain break for our hard-working kiddos and families. Let's help them leap into the Holiday season!

Tis the Season to be Playful! For our children, their main occupation is play. To help our children learn and grow through playing, here are some ideas to enhance play and learning. View the American Occupational Therapy Association PDF below for more ideas on how to promote learning through play, and how Occupational Therapy can adapt and tailor play to your child's sensory, physical, and social needs. Source and PDF:... https://www.aota.org//Learning%20Through%20Play%20tip%20sh See more

For all the fantastic moms Out there...

One of the fundamentals to voice therapy is focusing on resonance. Resonance refers to amplification of sounds through vibrations of the vocal folds. Voice therapy focuses on teaching a patient a new way to use their voice by manipulating parts of their vocal tract (e.g., lips, tongue, nose, larynx, and pharynx) while focusing on feeling vibrations in the front part of their face. ... Forward resonance enhances the sound of one’s voice, creating a clear vocal quality.

As we come closer to the end of the week, here is a little visual When our children are experiencing sensory dysregulation or are just having a plain hard day we can help them through co-regulation. The adults in the lives of each child can help them find their calm and groundedness. By approaching them with an example of calm, we can help to guide them to a safe secure place to recover to.

An insightful article that discusses the science of masks and how it affects speech, voice, hearing, and overall communication. Food for thought, what speech, voice, and/or hearing difficulties have you found when wearing a face mask? What do you do to compensate?

We are very excited to announce that we are expanding speech and feeding services into Kalispell, MT.We are very excited to announce that we are expanding speech and feeding services into Kalispell, MT.

This year has been very challenging in so many ways and our therapists have proven that they are in fact super heroes! Here’s a blast from the past ... Happy Halloween from all of us

Happy Halloween Weekend to all! Here is a fun crafty to bring the spooky inside- playdough pumpkins! Playdough is fantastic for sensory exploration, fine motor manipulation, hand strengthening- you name it. Work on utensil usage and follow directions by having your kiddos help you with the recipe. ... Happy spooky making Super easy too if you want to try with little ones: 1 part flour (1/4 cup per person) 1 part salt (1/4 cup) 1/2 cup water (a little more as needed) Powder paint for the fun color Glitter if you’re feeling adventurous

https://youtu.be/Rmtr1IU9ELg This is a creative way to do the ABCs and gives children more options for what they want to be when they grow up!

"[Teachers] are already at a higher risk for vocal fatigue because of their increased voice use for their job. But now that we add a mask, it is harder for listeners to hear. Teachers in turn need to project their voice to get louder and be heard. By the end of the day, they may start to experience vocal fatigue or changes in their vocal quality."

Happy World OT Day! Occupational Therapy is a profession that focuses on holistic, client centered patient care. Each day occupational therapist work together with people in need, families, and communities to learn, adapt, grow, and bring the life back into daily living!

"While they are some of the rarer forms of vocal and speech problems, voice disorders affect an estimated 1 million children in the United States. Most of these children develop voice disorders due to unhealthy communication practices, such as yelling and straining the vocal cords." https://www.speechbuddy.com//say-what-voice-disorders-in-/

For those who have students, children, or they themselves have varying sensory needs. Environmental adaptations and physical strategies can help promote success in our current educational climate .

What is Voice Therapy? Voice therapy is provided by a Speech-Language Pathologist with specialized training. The goal of voice therapy is to restore the patient to a level of function that allows them to meet communication and voice demands in social and occupational contexts. SLPs treat voice problems over a variety of settings for voice use, from professional singing and speaking voice use to casual voice use. Voice therapy includes patient education on how the voice works... and how it can be impacted, teaching of vocal hygiene practices, voice and respiratory exercises, and home practice. In order for voice therapy to be effective, the treatment must result in increased awareness from the patient by demonstrating an ability to identify when they're engaging in inefficient and compensatory voice use habits and consistently applying the voice techniques learned through treatment in everyday life.