Functions of Behavior
Let me start off with a brief story. I have two cats at my house. One recent weekend, I kept hearing these strange scraping noises from the steps. I got up and looked briefly- one cat was pushing his water dish around and blocking the steps. Now that I had the noise figured out, I…
Alive Inside
Earlier this week a Youtube video was making the rounds being posted on world renowned blogs and making its way through facebook page posts. The documentary “Alive Inside” follows the wonderful doctors and patient care specialists as they discover the power music has to “awaken” minds considered closed. Life for an Elder in a nursing…
Reading changes your brain
One of the areas which we treat at this clinic is literacy- reading and writing skills. Most kids who struggle with reading don’t enjoy doing it and are not very motivated to read outside of the necessary reading for school. As an avid reader myself, this makes me sad because I want everyone to love…
Become Aware: Autism
Working with children on the autism spectrum is one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life. When a child makes a meaningful connection by pointing, using a gesture, making eye contact, a smile, a word, he/she enters a circle of social interaction with another person. Children on the autism spectrum are affected in…
Is it too late to get articulation therapy?
Many adults may think they can’t “fix” their speech problem at “their” age. Well, that’s not true! Anyone can learn a new way to use sounds, no matter how old they are. Articulation of sounds depends on how one uses their tongue, lips, jaw, and voice. For an adult who has a “lisp”, with some training,…
Do Seattlites Have Accents?
An post on MSNBC helped anser the question, “is there a Seattle accent?” For the majority of people in Seattle they would say “no” however University of Washington linguist Betsy Evans has a different answer, “maybe.” Evans work with colleague Alicia Beckford Wassink studied thousands of Seattle voices, and found a few distinct pronunciations that…
World Autism Day
Did you know 1 in 88 children are affected by autism? The Autism Speaks organization has started an annual campaign “Light It Up Blue” to help raise awareness on this growing public health concern. Today they encourage you to join in lighting up the day with blue by wearing the color, lighting your front porch…
Hearing Loss and Falls
In a recent research study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine they found that older adults with mild hearing loss have a significantly higher risk of falls than those with normal hearing. The study used data on 2,017 people ages 40-69 and tracked their hearing and balance from 2001-2004. The data showed that 14%…
Lost and Sound
SXSW (South by Southwest), the famous music, film and interactive festival took place a few weeks ago, and a jew of a film came out of the festival with glowing reviews. Lost and Sound is a documentary that follows three hard of hearing individuals as they search to find the sounds of their lives through…
Springing Toward a Better You
Thank you to the SSG members who attended the March meeting last week. It was truly enlightening to discover how several members have sprung outside their comfort zones to improve their success and self-confidence with public speaking. Two members enrolled themselves in various speaking groups within the community, including local Toastmasters clubs. Not only have these…