Spoken Word Speech Language Services, LLC

08/06/2024

Here's to a wonderful, productive new school year! May the joy of the Lord cover our children (and their teachers!)

05/27/2024

Playing matters...it builds skills!

05/23/2024

Fun ways to improve your toddler's communication

Do you have a toddler at home? You may be surprised to learn that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on special toys, technology, or so-called educational products to encourage your child’s speech and language skills.

05/20/2024

Celebrate communication! It's Better Hearing & Speech Month🥰 Here are some developmental guidelines if you're concerned about your child's speech/language development:

ASHA's communication milestones are designed to help you know what to expect as your child grows and develops—and to know when to seek the guidance of an audiologist or speech language pathologist.

04/03/2024

Celebrating Autism Awareness!
https://tacanow.org/family-resources/presuming-competence-in-autism/?fbclid=IwAR268RAEmffBfL6dknYuAZ0VJyU7PzaGEhJ_XOnfIXBATzGpkAHE6oqAITA_aem_AU2Q4inI2XmAIftW0WcpAxOlomYQEg9wqCvXXE43jJC7_uUHFFh9U4QThpiZ8mQQC2AP0t15lbQyShj_cq6y4HNr

Presuming competence means valuing all people, including those with autism, as whole individuals with the right to express their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

04/08/2023

07/09/2022

Important information to think about...Cari Ebert is a speech language pathologist who specializes in working with autism and apraxia. Here she shares important facts about autism - not a disorder or disease to be cured.

11/14/2021

10/22/2021

A friend shared this story about her child, Dominic, who was born with Down Syndrome. I've never met them in person, but I love Rose and Dom.😍 Rose Godfrey is with Brian Godfrey.

"Nine years ago, I got a call from the midwife to say that the ultrasound showed that this sweet child of mine had bilateral choroid plexus cysts. That meant that he had a little fluid filled spot on each side of his brain in the area called the choroid plexus.
By itself, one cyst in this area is not a concern, but two....well, two can mean that there is something atypical in development.
Based on all the information we had at the time, the midwife thought we had a very good chance of having a child with Trisomy 18. For those who don't already know the story, that means he would have an extra copy (trisomy) of the 18th chromosome.
I spent that very long weekend Googling and praying and wondering what the future would hold. The prognosis was dire. Life expectancy --at least at that time--was typically only a few days, and males were often stillborn because of that extra copy of the 18th chromosome.
Brian took the older kids out for a drive while I processed. I sat at the computer and put two songs on repeat: My Life is in Your Hands by Kathy Troccoli and I'll Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns. I read and sang (off key, of course) and cried and snotted all over the keyboard. And I had peace.
Of course, as you know, Dominic didn't have Trisomy 18; he has Trisomy 21 (more commonly known as Down syndrome). His extra copy of the 21st chromosome colors every part of him, and yet, he is so much more than a conglomeration of chromosomes. He is a gift of the purest form.
I tell this story, or a version of it, often because it is so important for me to share the beauty that my son brings to our lives. I wrote this post a few years ago and just updated it today to reflect the change in time.
There is not one thing I would change about Dominic. I am immeasurably blessed to be his mother.
Psalm 139, verses 13-16 says this (and I think that Dominic easily could be saying this):
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
*****
October is Down syndrome awareness month. I have trouble containing all this awesomeness in one month, as you well know."🙂

07/18/2020

“The original plan was to go to the FBI Academy. My dad was in law enforcement. I thought I was going to study behavior and catch criminals. I started working in a group home for adults with special needs when I was at Auburn. That was just for fun, but I fell in love with it and got my master's in applied behavior analysis. I moved to Mobile on a one-year fellowship and my mission in life became to make the bay area the best place to raise kids with special needs. I was 25 when I adopted my oldest boys. They were toddlers and both had autism and Fragile X. Everyone told me I was crazy and it was a bad decision. But adopting my sons was the best thing I ever did. My children are 18, 17, 4, and 2. The world will always stop for them and they will always come first.

I started a program in 2009 for kids with special needs and saw where the deficits are. I launched The CORE Project in April. Our goal is to create a program that doesn't exist. We want to follow a child from diagnosis to death. As a parent of children with special needs, my biggest worry is always what is the next step? What happens when my kids turn 21? Right now there is a cliff when they become adults and most educational and support services go away. Parents are forced to quit their job or give up their child to the custody of the state because they can't care for them. The child goes into a group home. Our goal is to help keep kids at home as long as they can. We are creating a place where special needs children will be safe and receive quality care while we optimize learning at every stage of their life.

Our program is also about enhancing the quality of life for the whole family. It is a big dream and we are going for it. We are getting 15-20 referrals a week. My staff works so hard. They get hit, punched, bit, and everything else for a living, but they care so much for those we are helping. We have clinic-based services that provide therapy. We educate parents about how to help their kids. We have CORE Academy, a private school. CORE stands for Creating Opportunities Reaching Everyone. There is no discrimination. No matter the age, ability, or disability, if you need us, we will provide services for you. CORE Life is a quality job training program that will benefit my son and hundreds of kids like him who have potential and abilities that people don't know exists. He is worth more than stocking shelves. He is non-vocal. I taught him how to set crab traps and he takes them down to the local crab shop and sells them. It is meaningful and productive for him. That is the life I want for my son.

There is a fear of what happens to the child after the parents pass away. There is also a never-ending fight of where do my kids fit in. What happens when they aren't invited to birthday parties anymore? When I had my first biological son, I had to make choices of do I stay home with my special needs kids because the babysitter canceled or do we go as a family to watch my son play baseball? What if they have a meltdown? What if they are head-banging on the concrete and I can't get them up? So many what-ifs. Some families can't go out to eat or church together. Kids who haven't had a haircut in ten years. My boys live pandemonium every day. Change is hard for them. Routines change, and losing predictability or stability sets them off. The entire world is facing right now what they face every day.

There is strength in community. The more we enhance this community with passion and drive, the greater connections we will make. It takes many people to raise kids with special needs and we need support. We have to put our feet on the ground and do the things that make this world a better place. We need community experiences for our children and more places that will welcome our families. We want to get our kids out into real life and train them. Volunteer or help out a family who has a child with special needs. Take yourself out of your comfortable shoes and spend some time where things may be harder

I would risk everything if I knew it would make a difference in someone's world. Every child and adult deserves a chance. We have to take dis out of ability and focus on what these people can do. If we focus on what they can do, we are going to have a more productive society."

04/08/2020

04/04/2020

Celebrate their strengths!

01/06/2020

Looking to change your family dynamic?
Struggling with behaviors?
Join us as we learn to decode behaviors and increase connection within the family.

Registration is OPEN through January 21st.
TBRI - Empowered to Parent training
Location will be in Daphne.

Click to register: https://www.freedomplaceinc.com

09/27/2019

There are so many things to learn just by being present in the moment!

09/21/2019

The way words are received makes no difference in the processing of their meaning