WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.439 Get value you can't argue with at Tesco with their 2 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:05.559 amazing club card prices. Serve up something special with our 3 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.320 finest meal deal for two starring one main, two sides 4 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:11.279 and dessert for only sixteen euro like succulent Board be 5 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:13.800 approved Virus Shang the Strip loin Steaks with pepper corn 6 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:17.600 butter or Delicious Virus Chicken Parmesana served with creamy potato 7 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:20.760 gritam and our mix of rainbow root vegetables. And enjoy 8 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.839 Goozillionaire or salted caramel cheesecake. Can't argue with that shop 9 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:28.399 in store or online Tesco. Every little helps available the 10 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:29.879 most doores prices very and express. 11 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:33.079 Do you know what real power is? It's knowing you're 12 00:00:33.119 --> 00:00:35.840 on the same rate for energy all day, every day 13 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:38.759 with a smart all day plan from Board Gosh Energy, 14 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:41.159 save up to eight hundred and eighty euro on dual 15 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:43.640 fuel plus get a two hundred and thirty five euro 16 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:47.960 welcome bonus switch today at Boardgosh Energy, dot Ie Board 17 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.640 Gosh Energy. Know your Power. 18 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:52.719 Estimation Annuel bill of twenty six hundred and twenty nine 19 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:55.159 euro new customers only Thurship centis kent Off Smart All 20 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.799 Day Electricity Unit rates in twenty nine percent of gassinuates, 21 00:00:57.880 --> 00:01:01.520 SEAPORTCOSH energy, dot E for fullties, and cs. Hey hey there, 22 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.079 what's up. It's the bee that is trapped in your 23 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:06.239 car that does not understand that you open the back 24 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:09.200 window for it. Ali Ward, I'm here, amusing my mouth. 25 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:12.560 I'm saying sounds to tell you about an episode that 26 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:15.159 I have been hoping to do for about a year 27 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:17.599 or so at least. So we're getting right into it. 28 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.000 So this ologists got a master's in speech language pathology 29 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.280 from Northern Illinois University and works as a pediatric speech 30 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:30.120 pathologist for early intervention. That means tiny kiddos after her name. 31 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:35.079 There are a bunch of letters m A, CCC, DASH, SLP. 32 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.200 I had Google them to learn that they meant Master 33 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:42.159 of Arts, Certificate of Clinical Competence in speech language pathology. 34 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:45.000 It's very fancy and like the rest of the world 35 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:49.079 doing nothing but bathing in hand sanitizer and looking at 36 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.599 their phones. In the beginning of twenty twenty, I saw 37 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:55.959 a video of a dog named Stella, a chocolate brown 38 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:59.599 Healer mix, just asking to go to the beach using 39 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:03.239 a talk buzzer, and life kind of slowed down. I 40 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.280 wanted to melt into the floor and contemplate talking dogs forever. 41 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:09.759 So I started following the Hunger for Words Instagram and 42 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:14.240 I would hear this ologist and her partner shake training 43 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:18.400 Stella with this expanding vocabulary. The day's finally here. I've 44 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.560 been waiting this whole time. We have her onologies. It's happening. 45 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.479 She's here, not Stella, the dog is not here. The 46 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.719 speech language pathologist is okay. But first, I have an 47 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:30.080 announcement for you. I'm gonna make this quick, but this 48 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.520 one is really big, so please hold on to your 49 00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:36.639 one collective butt. I'm finally doing a live show, y'all. 50 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:38.919 Why not? How bad could I screw it up? We're 51 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:42.400 going to find out on May eighteenth, twenty twenty one. 52 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:45.360 It's a virtual show. It's catching up with Dad board 53 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:49.639 Ologies live, and it is featuring the return of our 54 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:53.599 very first guest volcanologists, Jess Phoenix, and we're going to 55 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.919 be catching up on volcanoes that have gushed molten rocks 56 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:00.680 since I talked to her four years ago, how she 57 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:03.400 felt about running for office. Where in the world. She 58 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:06.919 has been hammering rock samples since she wrote a book. 59 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:10.759 She's been on CNN a lot, so May eighteenth live. 60 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:13.800 I might wear a ball gown. I might wear a 61 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:17.039 tattered yellow sweater. We will address questions that we never 62 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.759 got to, ones that we never thought to ask the 63 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:22.840 first time. I will probably swallow my words about a 64 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.960 Pixar short. I will definitely tell secrets and more. We 65 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:28.039 will be tying up a lot of loose ends, and 66 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.240 she will probably be addressing the Ologies community directly to 67 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:33.439 tell you how awesome you are. Anyway, a lot of 68 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:35.840 catching up to do. Tickets are twelve bucks or nine 69 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:38.639 dollars if you're a patron. Links for the live show. 70 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.159 Tickets will be writing the show notes. There's a limited 71 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:44.159 edition shirt design too. I'm going to be doing some 72 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:46.439 one on one meet and greets available to patrons only 73 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.199 because I love them. You can join if you want 74 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:51.159 Patreon dot com slash Ologies, but the live show is 75 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:54.400 for everyone, So tickets in the show notes spread the word. 76 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:57.199 May eighteenth Also, thank you to anyone leaving reviews. I 77 00:03:57.319 --> 00:03:59.599 read them all, and then I prove it by reading 78 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:02.879 a still drippy wet one to you each week, such 79 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:06.759 as this one. It's short aav VAA for three two 80 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:11.319 one says unapologetically passionate about science. This is a safe 81 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:14.319 place for nerds. A very short review, straight to the point. 82 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:16.639 If you leave a review, I have read it, so 83 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:18.439 keep leaving them. I love them. I shaish you. 84 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:18.639 Well. 85 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:22.000 Okay, so we're gonna get into speech pathology. Pathology comes 86 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:26.199 from the Greek for disease. But as you will learn, 87 00:04:26.360 --> 00:04:30.519 communicating is really individual and it takes all forms. Sometimes 88 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:33.120 it's a baby giving hand signals. Sometimes it's a dog 89 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:36.480 named Bunny having an existential crisis on TikTok. But before 90 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.040 you email me, this may not be the only speech 91 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.319 pathology episode we ever do I don't know. This is 92 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:44.480 a weird one because not only is speech pathology a 93 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.759 huge field, as you're going to learn, but this ologist 94 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.120 is probably the first human being in the world to 95 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.480 have legit conversations in English with her dog. So this 96 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:57.480 is not a normal episode. This is a weird episode, 97 00:04:57.519 --> 00:04:59.920 and there's no way it can be comprehensive in terms 98 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:03.839 of all speech language pathology and therapy, and also canine 99 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:06.759 cognition and cats who are pissed at you. So just 100 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:09.800 consider this a mishmash grab bag of a little bit 101 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:11.759 of both. So you're going to learn the difference between 102 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:16.000 speech and language, how we communicate without words, if you 103 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:19.600 should teach babies sign language. How patient is the right 104 00:05:19.639 --> 00:05:22.399 amount of patient when training a pet to speak? How 105 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:27.879 speech language pathologists use different types of communication devices, contagious accents, 106 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:32.959 pronunciation troubles, and a step by step manual to find 107 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:36.720 out what is on your pet's minds. Perhaps so, prepare 108 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:38.959 to tune in and speak out about your newfound love 109 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:41.519 for language and communication with someone who has a hunger 110 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:46.800 for words. Speech language pathologist and Spella's mom, Christina Hunger, 111 00:05:47.279 --> 00:06:09.639 m a CCC SLPI. First thing I always ask is 112 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:11.720 if you could say your first and last name and 113 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:12.519 your pronouns. 114 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:16.639 Yes, my name is Christina Hunger and my pronouns are 115 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.480 she and her great. 116 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:23.959 And speech pathology. Oh, people are excited about this. People 117 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:27.160 have wanted to hear this for so long. And I'm 118 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.000 not even completely sure what the field encompasses, which is 119 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:32.319 why I'm excited to talk to you. Can you tell me, like, 120 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:34.199 what does this speech pathologist do? 121 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:36.279 That is a great question. 122 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:41.560 And speech pathology is such a rich, versatile field. We 123 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:45.879 can work with anyone from a newborn all the way 124 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:50.439 through the geriatric population. So it's a very, very wide field, 125 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:54.879 but with the underlying themes of helping people communicate better, 126 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:58.959 So helping people who have speech and language and swallowing 127 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:05.480 disorders communicate and even eat and swallow to their fullest potential. 128 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:10.000 So I've always worked as a pediatric speech pathologist, but 129 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:13.959 there are people who work in the schools, in clinics, 130 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:16.279 in hospitals, and nursing homes. 131 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.360 I didn't realize that it goes kind of all ages. 132 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:24.639 Yeah, so some people work with newborns who are in 133 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:28.800 the NICU who were born too soon and their swallowing 134 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:33.079 mechanism hasn't been developed yet, so the speech pathologist helps 135 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:37.639 with feeding and supporting that. There are speech pathologists who 136 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:41.519 work in nursing homes or in hospitals with people who 137 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:46.959 have had strokes or who have dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's. So 138 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:51.399 it's a really cool field because you can really find 139 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.399 your best fit job and really find a population that 140 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:57.279 kind of speaks to you and that you can get 141 00:07:57.319 --> 00:07:58.079 excited about. 142 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:04.639 Obviously, newborns aren't going out and giving speeches, but they 143 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.800 of course need to use their soft ballad and tongue. 144 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:12.519 I imagine, so is it about more than just making words. 145 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.399 Yeah, So that's another misconception about our field, is that 146 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.720 it's just speech sounds and it's just talking, and that 147 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:23.120 is a really big part of our fields. But speech 148 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.800 therapists are also the medical health professionals who help with 149 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.199 feeding and swallowing disorders. So that's something that I had 150 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:34.799 no idea about when I was even still in college 151 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:39.399 studying communication sciences and disorders. I didn't even really fully 152 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.879 realize that was part of our scope of practice until 153 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.559 getting to grad school and until having a whole class 154 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.639 about it. So it's definitely more than just speech sounds. 155 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:57.279 There's feeding, swallowing, cognition. There's the whole difference between speech 156 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:00.960 and language. So I worked with a lot of kids 157 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.000 before they're even able to speak, working on their language development, 158 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:09.039 which also surprises people that someone could see a speech 159 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:10.799 therapist before they're even talking. 160 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:14.120 Yeah, what is the difference between speech and language? 161 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:20.080 So speech is just the actual verbal production of speech sounds, 162 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:24.799 whereas language is the actual concept of the words and 163 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:29.879 the meaning of the words. So someone can have perfect 164 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:34.279 language development, but maybe they have a speech disorder in 165 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:38.639 which they're pronouncing words a little bit off or they're 166 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:42.639 making speech sound airs, or some people can have absolutely 167 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:46.480 perfect speech but they have a language delay or disorder 168 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:50.279 where it's really hard for them to learn certain language concepts, 169 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:53.399 the meanings of words, and how to use them, but 170 00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:58.559 when they talk, it sounds absolutely perfect. So yeah, and 171 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:03.080 I love working on the language aspect of things. And 172 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.519 so I worked with a lot of kids who had 173 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:11.000 some pretty severe disorders and disabilities which really impacted their 174 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:16.639 language development and helping them say words through different ways 175 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:21.519 in aac just using different adaptive devices to say words. 176 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:24.080 If you're not able to talk with verbal speech. 177 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.200 How much of talking is the tongue? I always wonder 178 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:30.000 about that. How do we even know how to use 179 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.039 this big, floppy, flippy thing in her mouth to make 180 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:33.960 all the sounds? 181 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:35.480 It's a great question. 182 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:39.919 So that's actually something that is pretty like a hot 183 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:43.279 topic in our field because there used to be a 184 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:47.080 lot of people who thought just like tongue strengthening and 185 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:51.360 how you position your tongue in your mouth was how 186 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:54.679 we formed speech sounds. There was a lot of therapy 187 00:10:54.799 --> 00:11:01.080 focused on like oral motor exercises, which was just strengthening articulators, 188 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:05.039 so the muscles that you're using to make sounds without 189 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:09.120 pairing them with speech. But in recent years there's been 190 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:12.279 a really big shift in the fields, and there's been 191 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.879 this bigger awareness that focusing just on like the muscle 192 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:21.480 movements without pairing it with a sound actually doesn't help 193 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.799 as much as just treating the mechanism as a whole 194 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:29.240 and treating as you're talking, in the whole process of 195 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:31.879 making sounds, not just moving the muscles. 196 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:35.320 What is an articulator, Well, I'm using a bunch of 197 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.879 mine right now to tell you that they are structures 198 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:40.799 that help a person who speaks form words. So the 199 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.320 main ones are the lips, the roof of the mouth, 200 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:45.720 the back of the roof of the mouth, your teeth, 201 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:48.879 your uvula also known as the dingle dongle at the 202 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:51.240 back of your throat that helps you not snort food 203 00:11:51.320 --> 00:11:54.039 up your sinuses. You also have a glottis which is 204 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:57.120 the opening between your vocal cords, and of course the tongue, 205 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.360 which is made up of four muscles and bring it 206 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:03.440 to your creepy skull and then four more to move 207 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:06.279 it around to help you do things like eat pudding 208 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:08.360 and trash talk your sister in law. 209 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.200 So it was this awareness that It's not just about 210 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:17.039 how you can move the articulators. It's your brain telling 211 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.840 the articulators what to do in the context of making 212 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:21.360 a sound. 213 00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:28.639 And I'm wondering because I know I personally have interfaced 214 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:30.960 with speech pathology because I had to go to a 215 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:35.960 speech therapist when I was the little kid. Oh I remember, 216 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.639 I didn't realize that that saying qq train was not 217 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:42.519 the way you're supposed to say it. So side note 218 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:48.000 that sound is called a voiceless palado aveolar sibilant africate, 219 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:52.600 of course, also known as my sister and I went 220 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.759 to a speech pathologist. But what drew you to the field? 221 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:57.679 Did you have any personal experience with it? 222 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:01.519 I didn't actually have any personal experiences with it, but 223 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.159 I knew when I was in college I wanted to 224 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:08.080 do something in a health related field, and I also 225 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:12.600 was really interested in education. But I felt like careers 226 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.759 that were strictly in the medical field or strictly in 227 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:19.759 the education world, like teaching, just didn't quite fit what 228 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:22.759 I was looking for. And a friend just recommended that 229 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:26.799 i'd take a class in the Communication Sciences and Disorders major. 230 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:29.519 She said, you know, I think you'd really be interested 231 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:32.399 in this. It's fascinating and I didn't really know too 232 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:36.320 much about speech pathology speech therapy, but as soon as 233 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.240 I took my first intro class, I was absolutely hooked. 234 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:44.559 I love this idea that there were professionals out there 235 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:48.000 who could work with kids every week to help them 236 00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:52.519 gain communication skills and help them talk. And it was 237 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.240 just like this light just switched on in my brain 238 00:13:55.320 --> 00:14:00.240 where I couldn't stop thinking about it. I shadowed speech therapists, 239 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:04.799 just this realization that that's what I was really wanting 240 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:05.120 to do. 241 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.919 And now she's arguably one of the most visible speech 242 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.559 pathologists in the world. Well, she isn't as visible necessarily 243 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.639 as her pop Stella, who's typically the one on camera. Well, 244 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:22.080 Christina's voice gently, patiently encourages Sella to express herself via 245 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:27.600 a board full of buttons. That button, by the way, 246 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:32.559 what is that called AACE A AAC. 247 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:38.000 Yeah, so it stands for augmentative and alternative communication AAC, 248 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:42.879 and that means using any other way to talk besides 249 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.879 verbal speech. So, if we go back to the difference 250 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:52.200 between speech and language, verbal speech is one way that 251 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:55.799 we express language, but there are so many ways that 252 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:59.120 people can say words. We can use sign language, we 253 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:03.159 can type, can write, we can use gestures, we can 254 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:07.080 point to pictures that symbolize a word. There are communication 255 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:10.879 devices where you can push a button and the device 256 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:14.279 says a word. So these are all different ways that 257 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.279 we can say a word that just aren't verbal speech. 258 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:20.279 And that's one of my absolute favorite parts of my 259 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:24.519 field and what I've really gotten into now with Stella. 260 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:30.159 But that's what I've loved most about being a speech therapist. 261 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:36.279 And the buttons, did you use those with patients? Clients? 262 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:40.600 Obviously before that? What type of situations are those used in? 263 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:45.120 So the buttons that I used, I hadn't specifically used 264 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:50.279 with kids, but pretty much these buttons are just really simple. 265 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:53.559 You press down and it says a word that I 266 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:56.879 had already programmed into it, like recorded my voice saying 267 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:02.840 outside or play, for example. So I wanted to use 268 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.759 some type of aac with Stella, and again that's just 269 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.399 another way to say words. So I was thinking, if 270 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:14.159 Stella's understanding words, I wonder if she could say words 271 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:16.799 if she had a different way to say them, because 272 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:20.960 she's obviously not developing the verbal speech skills like humans too. 273 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:25.720 So I thought about my work with kids, and the 274 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.279 devices that I used with kids, and I didn't think 275 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:31.960 any of them were really the right size for Stella 276 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.519 to hit with her paw, and so I just happened 277 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:39.240 to find these buttons that are just recordable and that 278 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.120 they were at the perfect size for Stella to hit 279 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.279 with her paw. So I didn't use those specific ones 280 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.279 with kids. But it's just a type of AAC. 281 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:51.919 So these buttons are about the size of an English 282 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.559 muffin or the easy button from the Staples commercials. But 283 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:59.480 egg mcmuffins can't talk, and easy buttons are really hard 284 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.639 to take apart and hack. And there are other recordable 285 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.160 buttons sold as AAC devices, but they cost her one 286 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.279 hundred and fifty dollars each. But the ones Christina found 287 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:12.400 when Stella was just a little flupy droopy puppy were 288 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:15.200 nineteen dollars for a four pack and they were made 289 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.680 by Learning Resources. And my guess is that this company 290 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:23.079 had no idea what happened overnight or how much business 291 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:26.200 was about to boom. And they currently have twelve thousand 292 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.880 reviews on Amazon, most of which are about people's stocks. 293 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:33.759 At what point did you say, Okay, I'm just going 294 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:36.519 to try this. What did Jake think about it? Can 295 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.279 you take me back to like the first day that 296 00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:41.759 you're like, Okay, well we're going to use speech pathology 297 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:45.079 to see what our beautiful dog would like. 298 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:49.400 Yes, so some background and fell I've said it before, 299 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:55.759 but I was really hugely obsessed with my field, and 300 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:59.559 it was just this passion that I don't think a 301 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.759 lot of people have the privilege of experiencing. I think 302 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:04.759 a lot of people have jobs that they like, but 303 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.920 it's not this burning passion within them. 304 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:11.160 So Jake wasn't too. 305 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.720 Surprised when I had this idea because he was used 306 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:17.839 to me coming home from work and just gushing about 307 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:20.480 the kids that I saw and what I was doing. 308 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:24.759 And I would ask all these questions and ask him 309 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:27.559 for his advice, and he's like, I don't know, you're 310 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:31.039 the speech therapist. But I loved hearing these stories. So 311 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:33.720 when I said, you know, I have this idea. You 312 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:36.440 know how I work with kids and I teach them 313 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:40.480 to talk using communication devices. What if Stella could say 314 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:41.920 words if she had a device? 315 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.640 I mean, why not? Right then? 316 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.039 So I was really really excited about it, and I 317 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.240 really don't think Jake was too surprised because I talked 318 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:53.359 like this a lot about my field, so he was 319 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:57.039 ready to see what was going to happen. He was 320 00:18:57.079 --> 00:18:59.519 really excited to give it a shot too. He's a 321 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:03.880 pretty adventurous and curious person as well. 322 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:06.200 What was the first button that you tried? 323 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:11.599 I started with outside, and then just a few days 324 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:15.920 later I added play and water as well. What I 325 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.319 really noticed when I brought her home. I ordered the 326 00:19:19.319 --> 00:19:21.920 buttons like four days after she came home, so this 327 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:25.559 was super early on and having Stella that I had 328 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:29.319 this idea, and I was just thinking about how dogs 329 00:19:29.400 --> 00:19:32.640 understand words that we say to them, and how they 330 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:37.519 already communicate so strongly with gestures and vocalizations. And I 331 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.000 was thinking, you know, I work with kids right before 332 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:45.759 they start talking, and they have all these language development 333 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:48.880 skills that occur before words, and I saw so many 334 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:51.920 of them in Stella, and I just kept thinking, if 335 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.960 if she were a toddler, I would expect her to 336 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.640 be starting to say words soon. So I tried these 337 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:02.839 simple words outside, play, in water because they were already 338 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:08.279 concepts that she was expressing through gestures and vocalizations. And 339 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:14.440 research shows in humans a direct correlation between a child 340 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:18.160 gesturing for a concept and then shortly after being able 341 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.680 to say the word for it. You can picture a 342 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:24.240 baby who raises his arms in the air to gesture 343 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:26.880 that he wants to be lifted up, and then eventually 344 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.680 learns how to say the word up for that concept. 345 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.559 So I tried to pick words that Stella was already 346 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.440 demonstrating gestures for communicating. 347 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:39.599 So at this point, Stella was only about eight weeks old. 348 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:43.240 So an outside button is something that a little potty 349 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:46.119 monster definitely needs, for sure, But she was just so 350 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:49.119 teeny tiny, could it? A little furry baby pas even 351 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.599 pressed down on anything, just so little. When she started 352 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:57.720 to get up and go toward the buttons and then 353 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:00.920 hit you know, outside or player water, what was your 354 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:01.799 first reaction? 355 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:03.119 Oh? 356 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.240 Well, actually Jake was the one who saw her first word. 357 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:09.279 I didn't even see it, but he ran up and 358 00:21:09.359 --> 00:21:12.160 I was asleep and he recalled this story to me. 359 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:16.160 I saw her say a word the next day outside, 360 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:21.039 and I was so thrilled because it took weeks to 361 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:23.319 get to that point. It wasn't like I just set 362 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:26.599 the buttons down and she started pushing them. It didn't 363 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:28.720 work right away, and I didn't know if it was 364 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:29.440 going to work. 365 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:30.400 So when I. 366 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:34.480 Actually saw that she sat outside when she needed to 367 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.359 go to the bathroom and she was standing by the door, 368 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:41.240 I was just so thrilled that this was going somewhere, 369 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:43.599 and that if she could start to say a few 370 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:46.839 simple words, I wondered, like if she could continue learning 371 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:47.759 more vocabulary. 372 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.960 So a dog talking in this case English, asking to 373 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.039 poo poo outside? So what is life? Is anything real? 374 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:56.599 Nobody knows. If it had been me, I would have 375 00:21:56.680 --> 00:22:02.079 celebrated this by hijacking a barge and lighting cannons of 376 00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:04.559 illegal fireworks, and then I would have purchased a tr 377 00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:06.920 for myself to wear until the day I died. But 378 00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:10.680 Christina slightly more understated, a little more humble. 379 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:12.400 So it was a really cool moment. 380 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:15.279 How many words does she have? 381 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:18.559 Now? She is using close to fifty words. 382 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:26.319 Oh fancy, So that is something I never anticipated when 383 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:31.039 I started this. I really just had the simple question, 384 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:36.200 could Stella use a few different words to express some 385 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:39.319 basic needs so that you know, we weren't sitting there 386 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:42.519 trying to decipher her wines And I just wanted her 387 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:46.400 to be able to be understood more and express herself 388 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.960 to the best of her abilities, but I had truly 389 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:54.400 no idea how far this would go, and probably how 390 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:56.720 far it can go beyond what I've even done with 391 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:57.680 Stella so far. 392 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:01.599 Now, the average four year old knows about five thousand 393 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:04.759 words in their native language, and as an adult, our 394 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:09.480 vocabulary averages between twenty to thirty thousand words. We learn 395 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:12.440 about one new word a day until we're middle aged, 396 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:14.880 at which point I guess we finally have nothing to 397 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.359 prove or nothing to say to anyone. If you listen 398 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:20.319 to this podcast, you may have learned palado flee or 399 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:24.039 sibilant effrocate or not. It's fine if you didn't. Now 400 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.960 Stella keeps adding to her vocabulary, which means that the 401 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.240