Melanie Sarris: April 2009

April 2009

04/03/2009

Voice Disorders

Voice refers to the use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound. Frequently in children, a voice disorder may be the result of overusing or misusing the vocal folds, resulting in hoarseness or even loss of voice.

04/03/2009 in Voice Disorders | Permalink

Websites

Information about Voice Disorders

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/voice.htm

Stuttering Information

American Speech-Langugage-Hearing Association

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/stuttering.htm

Atlanta Area Stuttering Specialists

http://www.stuttering-specialist.com/

Stuttering Foundation of America

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/

Language Websites

Basic Concepts

Basic Concepts Match Basic, Match I & II, Basic Spatial Concepts Match

http://www.quia.com/pages/worldowords.html

Language Placement Cues: in, on, under, beside picture match-up

http://www.quia.com/pages/allpicturesfun.html

Associations

What 2 Things Go Together, Which One Doesn’t Belong

http://www.quia.com/pages/havefun.html

Associations Pictures – 40 of Level 1 and Associations Pictures-medium difficulty

http://www.quia.com/pages/allpicturesfun.html

Articulation Practice Websites

Articulation – See a video and diagram of how specific sounds are produced!

http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Eacadtech/phonetics/#

Articulation - Picture matching, concentration games, word guess, word scrambles, word search, flash cards for s, z, sh, ch, r, l, j, g, k, th, f, v, m, and n sounds:

http://www.quia.com/pages/havemorefun.html

Articulation - Sound discrimination, Battleship, word challenges, word search, picture match-up, word jumbles:

http://www.quia.com/pages/speechersclass.html

Articulation – Memory games, color/move/say, word and picture puzzles, skill building games, challenge games for f, v, g, k, l, m, p, r, s, sh, ch and th:

http://www.juniorsweb.com/slp/index.asp

Phonemic awareness – rhyming, phoneme substitution, phoneme deletion, syllables

http://www.quia.com/pages/havemorefun.html

http://www.quia.com/pages/pbordasphonemic.html

04/03/2009 in Websites | Permalink

Meet Mrs. Sarris

Hello! Welcome to this 2011-2012 school year! I am excited about all of the learning that takes place here at Vaughan.

This is my fourth year here and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to work with the students, parents, faculty and staff here! I have worked as a speech-language pathologist since 1978. I attended Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, and completed both my bachelor's and master's degrees at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi. This is my 17th year in the Cobb County School District. Before coming to Vaughan, I worked at Birney Elementary School and Bells Ferry Elementary School. Prior to working in Cobb, I worked in other school systems in both Mississippi and Georgia, a speech and hearing clinic, nursing homes and hospitals, centers for preschoolers with multiple disabilities and served children through my own private practice. In addition to holding a teaching certificate, I am licensed by the Georgia Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and am nationally certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

My husband and I have been married for twenty-seven years and we have two sons. My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family at home. When I'm not busy with my family or with school, I enjoy gardening and I operate a calligraphy business from a corner studio in our home.

04/03/2009 in Mrs. Sarris | Permalink

Fluency Disorders

Fluency means the rhythm of speech. Stuttering disrupts the fluency of speech. Children who stutter may repeat sounds or words, prolong sounds, or may have complete blocks in which a word will not come out. Stuttering is sometimes accompanied by other behaviors such as eye blinks, facial grimaces, or other body movements in attempts to say a word.

The Cobb County Library System (www.cobbcat.org) has several resources for parents of children who stutter:

If Your Child Stutters: A Guide for Parents (Book)

Therapy in Action: The School-Age Child Who Stutters (Video)

Stuttering and Your Child: Questions and Answers (Book)

Stuttering and Your Child: A Videotape for Parents

Let's Talk About Stuttering (Book)

Check the posts under the websites category of this blog to find stuttering resources online.

04/03/2009 in Fluency Disorders | Permalink

About Speech-Language Therapy

Speech-language pathologists (also known as speech therapists) are professionals who are educated to assess speech and language skills and to treat speech and language disorders. In the public school setting, speech-language pathologists work with children who have articulation disorders, language disorders, fluency disorders, and/or voice disorders when the disorder negatively impacts performance in the classroom.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association gives helpful suggestions for encouraging speech and language development at:

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/Parent-Stim-Activities.htm

04/03/2009 in Home | Permalink

Language Disorders

Language includes skills in the areas of semantics (vocabulary/the meaning of words), syntax (the structure of sentences), morphology (changes in word forms so that the words mean something different), and pragmatics (social language skills). Language involves understanding what others are saying and expressing thoughts and ideas clearly.

04/03/2009 in Language Disorders | Permalink

Articulation

The word "articulation" means how we say sounds. For example, we say the "m" sound by closing our lips and vocalizing. There is a normal progression of sound development, and when children do not learn to say sounds correctly, this can impact such skills as communicating with the teacher and classmates. Skills in academics can be impacted as well.

04/03/2009 in Articulation | Permalink

Melanie Sarris

Vaughan Elementary School

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