Wings for Autism will be at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport on October 15th!

What is Wings for Autism you ask?  It is a program that creates a rehearsal situation of what the airport experience is like for individuals with autism and their families including entering the airport, obtaining boarding passes, getting through security, and boarding a plane.  We are thrilled to proud supporters of this awesome program.  Paige, Megan, and I will be volunteering at the event.  If you will be there or if you just happen to have a flight that day be on the lookout for us and come say hi!  If you would like more information about Wings for Autism check out the link below.  We are looking forward to working with such an awesome program and hope to see some of our clients and their families at the airport.  

The Arc - Wings for Autism

-Cassee

AAC on Primetime!

Outside the bubble of speech-language pathology and special education, not many people witness Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in action.  Thanks to a new sitcom called Speechless, that's about to change.

The show stars a teenager with cerebral palsy who uses AAC as his primary method of communication.

This article, from the Disability Scoop website, is a great overview:  

Aside From Laughs, ‘Speechless’ Committed To Raising Awareness

And here's a quick sneak peek at the AAC used on the show and how it works.

Newborns Cry with their Mothers' Accent!

Recent research suggests that babies are learning, or at least paying attention to, language while in the womb.  Multiple studies have been conducted comparing the cries from babies in their first week of life.  It was determined that the tone of the babies cries mimicked the tone of their mother's language!

For example, the cries of babies from Mandarin speaking mothers were more melodic, with higher high tones, lower low tones, and more rapid pitch changes.  As compared to German babies, whose cries did not have as much variation in tones.  Mandarin is considered a 'tonal language' - meaning one word can have multiple meaning depending on the tone that's used, therefore the baby is exposed to a large variety of tones while in the womb.  Whereas the German language is much more limited in it's tone variations.

This discovery suggests that newborns are already learning the nuances of speech before they're even born!

Meet Megan!

Hello everyone! My name is Megan and I am the newest addition to Rock Therapeutic Services! I thought I would dedicate this post to sharing a little bit about myself. I am 22 years old and a recent graduate from Eastern Washington University with my Bachelor’s in Communication Disorders. I grew up in Bonney Lake, WA and enjoy spending time with my family, working out, traveling, camping, and cooking with my boyfriend Mat.   

The transition from being a full-time student to working full-time was bizarre. My entire life, all I have known is how to be a student. The thought of not attending classes in the fall made me want to crawl into a hole and never come out, which I felt was common feeling among most of my fellow peers who were in same situation. I knew that I would not be attending graduate school in the fall and wanted to immerse myself into the field to gain as much experience and knowledge as I could. What better way than becoming a speech-language pathologist assistant, right? Somehow, I was lucky enough to be hired by Rock Therapy and am in charge of scheduling evaluations, therapy sessions, and will soon be a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA). I could not be more thankful for the opportunity that this clinic has given me.

During the two years in my undergraduate program, I had some idea of the population I wanted to  work with. I had nothing against working with kids but I felt that I was better suited to work with adults. Within the first couple of weeks working at the clinic that quickly changed. I immediately fell in love with all the kids, especially the younger ones! That really peaked my interest in the possibility of specializing in working with birth to three year olds as well as tongue thrusts in the future. I still have much to learn but am so thrilled and grateful that I have the opportunity to do it in such a supportive, friendly clinic with incredible clinicians and co-workers here to help me along the way. 

Feel free to come say hello the next time you are in the clinic and have a wonderful weekend!

--Megan