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The Language of Connection: How Speech Therapy Unlocks Potential with Lauren Lee, SLP · Inchstones with Sarah | Autism Advocacy & Caregiver Stories

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Hi, everyone. Welcome to the Inch Stones podcast. And today we have a incredibly special woman, a person, a human who has been brought into mine and my children's life in the form of a speech language therapist. Today I have Lauren Lee with us from Creative Speech Solutions. And Lauren, you are more than a therapist to us. You are a person in our world. And I'm so thankful for you. So if you could please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about how you became, Lauren Lee, a speech therapist.
• 0:31
  Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me, Sarah. So I am so honored to be here today speaking to all of you. I actually have a personal story about how I became a speech therapist. I feel like everyone kind of has their own journey, how they found the field. And I first heard about speech therapy as profession because my younger brother received services, he received early intervention services. And, um, I had the opportunity to kind of interact with speech therapists in my own home in, in that sense. And I didn't really understand what was going on at the time. But as I grew older, I, you know, understood that my family had shared with me that my brother had a speech delay. And I was interested from then on. And it turned out that I have an aunt as well who's a speech therapist based out of Chicago. So I was able to observe her as early on as high school. And I had this feeling that that was my calling, my background. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. And so I have a preschool teaching background as well. And being just in the space of young children and supporting their families has always been something so critical to me and from a personal standpoint as well. I grew up with a Cantonese speaking nanny. And so I grew up in a bilingual home where I was exposed to Cantonese and English. And as I grew up in a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood, I felt like my family sort of pushed away from that bilingualism. And I really lost that ability to speak Cantonese. And where I can receptively understand a lot of it expressively, that's much more challenging for me. And coming from a speech therapist background, knowing now about brain development, especially when I have a multilingual family or other cultural differences I might come up with, I'm really such a proactive advocate now for, you know, multilingualism because of something that, you know, kind of happened in my life.
• 2:37
  Speaker A: Right. That's powerful. I didn't know that. I thank you for sharing that. You're welcome. So tell me about being. Because, you know, for me, the therapists in my life with Millie and Mac are such an integral part of the extended family because of the amount of time and care and planning that goes into it. Talk to me about those small things that go beyond just the lessons and the planning and your actual work that allow for connectivity in the relationship building with the children you serve. And you know, specifically kids like autistic children like Millie and Mac.
• 3:17
  Speaker B: Sure, yeah. So I feel like every one of us has an individual story to share. And especially when working with children, they are the purest part of themselves. And so one thing that's really, really important for me not only is getting down to a child's level and really being able to see, you know, eye to eye with them, yet trying to figure out what is intrinsically motivating to them, what is their passions and how can we lean into that because that's where true learning can be done, through play and through all those naturalistic opportunities. And if a child is fully engaged and they share that smile with you, they share that joy with you, that makes me feel joyous as well, just seeing them light up and their connection to something. And so in a session for me, I try a myriad of different things. I try to expose children to different textures or you know, from a sensory standpoint, if it's like sand or play, DOH or water play or movement activities, because we don't know exactly what's going to click for them until they have that opportunity to explore. So I feel like I'm trying different stories or trying different activities and you know, when there is that connection, it's well beyond worth it. And then you can share those memories and activities and opportunities with families too. And it's just really what you're speaking.
• 4:48
  Speaker A: To is really allowing for the range of what connectivity can mean.
• 4:53
  Speaker B: Absolutely.
• 4:53
  Speaker A: Because I really believe that from a parent standpoint to a educator, to a therapy standpoint, the relational bond has to allow for the range, specifically when it comes to a child with non speaking autism, because you're not going to find it quick and it's not going to develop immediately, overnight. You have to be able to allow for that testing of the range and allowing for the, the ability for you to pick up on the smallest of reactions or connect. Like you saying the smile, the eye, the, the surprise, the elation or the, the smallest desire to like I saw them look at X or I saw them light up about. Yeah. To share a small story, I believe recently you said Millie really enjoyed when you whispered during a story. Yes. Can you expand on maybe that from a, from a broader sense, like had you had you done whispering before? Or how has it. Was it something that you thought maybe she really does like the highs and lows of a voice?
• 5:59
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 5:59
  Speaker A: Maybe. Maybe explain that a little bit.
• 6:01
  Speaker B: Sure. So we love to sing so many different songs or read so many different stories. And so I was thinking, you know, how could I change this activity just a little bit to, you know, still have it, be comfortable for her and predictable, yet vary it to see what her reaction might be like?
• 6:20
  Speaker A: Right. So.
• 6:20
  Speaker B: And Millie has, you know, great navigational skills on her aac. So I was noticing that we were talking about different descriptive adjectives, loud and quiet and, you know, big and small. So I tried to make my body movements or my vocal tone kind of match the descriptive words that I was teaching or in the activity that we were doing. So when she said quiet on her aac, I said, I'm gonna make myself quiet. I'm gonna start whispering. And then, then she looked at me and she smiled. Then she hit quiet again because.
• 7:01
  Speaker A: Because it was, you know, it. It's these. What's seeming. What I always say, it's. It doesn't seem like a big change to you, but it was a big change to her.
• 7:12
  Speaker B: Right.
• 7:12
  Speaker A: That doesn't mean that it was less like it's, It's. It should not be noticed or celebrated. I always think that that's why the inchtones. For me, it doesn't really matter how small of that change was noticed and celebrated and was a point of connection. And I love that story because I think it allows for parents to understand that in all these little sessions that they're getting to do for their children, those are the small things that will continue to build on each other that aren't seen in a typical child's development or maybe just because life is so fast paced for a typical child that we don't slow down enough to do it or to find that. But that's what I love about being a parent to autistic children is that those small little things that I now got to learn because of your practitioning and. And expertise on it, that when I got home that night and read a book, I whispered, and you could tell that she's like, hey, we did. That's what I. No, no, no, I did that with Lauren. It's like, well, I can do that too, you know, but that's where I feel like it. Take that the village mindset of the growth of these children that seems so small or might seem so minuscule have such deep connective value, Right?
• 8:23
  Speaker B: Absolutely. And that was a great example about how something that we were able to talk about, you're immediately able to put in the practice to talk about that carryover and looking at a child development from, you know, all different facets of their life. Because what I like to say is that therapy shouldn't just be in the four walls of a therapy room. Right. It should be able to be generalizable to the community or different activities when you're at home. And just some of that generalization piece is so important. It's wonderful to hear that there are so many ways that, you know, we can continue to collaborate on those things.
• 8:57
  Speaker A: Yeah. Taking it from the, from the therapy room and outside, talk to me about the differences that you see specifically with children. And I, and I get use Mac and Millie because in my mind, I think they're so, they're so different. They're. Their diagnoses are exactly the same. And yet they present as humans and as children so differently. Boy, girl, two and a half years apart. But even their own growth in desiring and how they desire to communicate is wildly different. And I oftentimes have parents, whether online or in peer situations, say, well, how did you get Millie to desire to learn the AAC and the programming so much? And I'd say that's Millie that, that was led by Millie. Mac has a complete, completely different path and it's going to look completely different because we, I feel, in a way, a lot of ways, we're still trying to navigate what works for him as a, as a different communication pathway. Because I think what I, what I really want to demystify is that like, oh, it's all the speech therapist and the parent saying, Millie's going to use this and, and we're going to charge forth and do it. It's, it's. That's innate to her and her desire to learn in a way that we found that she likes. Whereas Mac, you know, Tricia, your, Your coworker that's also work with them, used to say, Mac, when originally shown the programming on a. As an ac, was like, can, are we done? Can we be done? I'm done. And it, it cracks me up to this day because it's like, that's him though. He. There's a movement. There's a young, feral little boy that just can't. You know, there's an ADHD diagnosis coming. You know, the are so many different compartments. How do we take in the whole child and then also implement in different communication styles and ways?
• 10:43
  Speaker B: Sure. Yeah, that's A great question and just sort of a great topic of conversation. But I like to say that communication is all modalities, right. For everyone. Whether we use gestures, whether we use maybe an eye roll, you know, or something like that. Or a shoulder shrug. Right?
• 11:00
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 11:01
  Speaker B: So, but that could also be the non verbal communication. That could also be, you know, how we're changing our vocal tone. That could be us pointing towards something, speaking, singing, using an aac. I think about communication from a total communication standpoint, all modalities. And so looking at either low tech AAC picture symbols or high tech AAC with a vocal output is just another way to help support children's expressive and receptive language. Whether that's through those picture symbols, the vocal output, like I was saying, it just kind of depends. And so there's so many different modalities. There's so many different, you know, ways that you can use AAC to just support a child. And like you said, that might look different from child to child and that's totally okay. I think that's to be, to be expected. There are, you know, wonderful ways of modeling AAC where you're just, you know, lowering the communication pressure. You're just using those buttons or those phrases to add to the activity and to what you're doing. And you know, children might look towards the device, they might then, you know, gesture and select themselves. And all that comes with time. So each child is kind of on their own journey with that. As you were saying as well, have.
• 12:30
  Speaker A: You, have you noticed a difference in boys versus girls at all? I know this is like not scientifically based at all, but I, as someone who sees it so much in my day to day, I find that there's such a innate young boy learning. It looks so different. And then when I think about typically developing girls and boys and how girls tend to be a lot more straight and narrow educational path, like do you find that boys, younger autistic, non speaking boys are different users of those different modalities? Or do you find that it's really, it's just child specific?
• 13:05
  Speaker B: I do find that it's child specific. And I think maybe as I, you know, work with different children and different families, you know, later on in my career and if you ask me that question, maybe I'd have a different response.
• 13:14
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, of course.
• 13:16
  Speaker B: But it just kind of based on my, you know, growth and experience. Now I do find like that each child's communication profile and their standpoint is very, very unique.
• 13:25
  Speaker A: Right. Do you find that the parents that explore those different Modalities and being. Allow. Allowing for that range to happen. Well, then the child does feel more comfortable in growing with a aac.
• 13:42
  Speaker B: Yes. I mean, I. I feel as though a lot of conversations that I have with families are, you know, what does me introducing an ac. What is that going to do to the child's vocal. Vocal output. Right. That is a big thing.
• 13:53
  Speaker A: I'm so glad we're talking about that.
• 13:55
  Speaker B: That's a big, you know, I feel like sometimes fear or maybe anxiety point for families. And so, you know, I always say, if a child is verbally telling me something, I wouldn't then ask them to go do it on their aac. Either it's one or the other, or you can model both, but minimize that communication pressure, like I was saying.
• 14:15
  Speaker A: Right.
• 14:16
  Speaker B: And so kind of using it as an additional tool, not the one and only if you don't want it to be. Right. So always having it as.
• 14:24
  Speaker A: Say that again. Yeah, say that again. Just because I think that's huge. Is that. Because I remember thinking that, okay, if I. If we. If we introduce this app on a mini iPad to be a voice specifically for Millie, what does that do in terms of. This is. This is a. This is years ago, Sarah. So years ago, I'd be like, is that limiting her desire to talk? And what I realized is, no, it's not. It's literally like a second language for her. And I believe that it's probably expanded whatever side of the brain is in control of this, that she has even a more robust language center than a child that just speaks. How can. What would be like a. Like a phrase that you would. That you find that's really helpful to remind parents that are fearful that it's going to become the device over a desire to express, you know, vocally.
• 15:21
  Speaker B: I would say that at the end of the day, it's how your child wants to express themselves. Right. So the more tools that we can provide for them, the more ways that they're going to figure out what is their voice, what does their voice sound like? What could that be? And looking at the potential of adding something as opposed to feeling like we're taking away something.
• 15:42
  Speaker A: Yes. You know, I think that you touched on a word that is. That resonates a lot in those early years as families are maybe going through early intervention and having these teams set up for them when their child is newly diagnosed. Is fear. Is fear around the future. And it has a lot of fear around all these services, but specifically speech services, because we are so. We are so rigid as A society in only having a vocal communication. What do you feel like parents can do to expand that acceptance and sort of rid themselves of that fear? What are some things that might just on the first uptake, like maybe downloading the app just for them to explore at first, I know that was big for me. Like, what does that even look like? Like, I didn't even know what that looked like. I. I came from thinking that, okay, if my. If Millie and Macker and speech, they're going to be giving those binders, the proloquo sort of, you know, pick exchange wasn't at all what ended up becoming what's used for them.
• 16:49
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 16:50
  Speaker A: But it's this anticipatory fear of like, well, I can't do that. I don't want to. Like my kid. Can't I. How do I add that to my plate? Sure. What are some things that. To maybe dissipate that fear about the what ifs?
• 17:03
  Speaker B: So one thing that I always say to families is, this is one conversation of many that we can have about this. So this is an ongoing discussion. You know, I'm going to share some resources with you. Let's look at an application together. Let's spend some time exploring. And I'm just going to be silent for a couple minutes. I'm just going to give you that opportunity to feel whatever it is that you're feeling, to ask me what other questions you might have. And if you don't have any questions right now, that's okay. We can always set up another time to connect about it, because I can only imagine the amount of information that we can process at once. And so giving those repeated opportunities. Hey, I just wanted to check in about something that I brought up to you the other week. Is there anything that you'd like to ask me about it? Mm, just kind of giving them that space.
• 17:52
  Speaker A: Right.
• 17:53
  Speaker B: And then picking small times of the day. So let's say it's the first time that you're getting an AC device in your home and you think, oh, no, now I have to model every single second of every single day I can.
• 18:08
  Speaker A: That's. That's.
• 18:09
  Speaker B: Yeah, right.
• 18:10
  Speaker A: That's.
• 18:10
  Speaker B: That's really unrealistic.
• 18:12
  Speaker A: It's unreal. It's completely unrealistic.
• 18:13
  Speaker B: And I. I'm learning that more and more because, you know, there's so many things that we are expected to do in a day. Take care of ourselves, assist our children, get the home in order, drive, you know, to different practices, whatever it is that your day might look like. And so those Small wins those inch stones. Right. May be picking five intentional minutes of your day to sit with your child on the device and maybe model during an eating time, maybe model during a reading time. Just kind of starting small, kind of like building a habit. Right. You're picking small, intentional times, and then you can see yourself increase it maybe a few times a week or multiple times a day when you're ready and comfortable and always checking in with, you know, your team to see how else that they can support you with that as well.
• 19:05
  Speaker A: I found for me, and specifically Millie, because she has such a desire to, you know, grow her, you know, her voice, the. The outdoors, and being outdoors facilitates that desire for her to utilize her AAC a lot. And I feel like the growth of her mind and how she shares that with me happens mostly in nature. And I can. I guess I go back to the original point of, like, it's seeing the child. So I know that for Mac, that's likely gonna look different as we learn about why, the modality that he chooses and how he learns. Right. And I think that, you know, in a population of children like my two, it is such a small minority, it takes a lot from the parents in the home to do that too. And I think that the way in which you're able to teach us parents to do that is so critical. And I'm so thankful for the mindset. I've always said, give me. Give me the practitioners who have just exited their programs, because I believe that the younger generations that, like the one that, you know, with like Gen Z, you guys have an emotional capacity to accept these different differences, to accept these different ways of communication versus older generations. And I. I'm so thankful for the women and men that are, you know, speech language pathologists that are younger who have. You have that in your bag of tricks already.
• 20:43
  Speaker B: I feel like our profession, you know, changes all the time with new research as well. So even though I've been a practitioner, now kind of going on into my third year, I still feel as though what other research can I catch up on? Right?
• 20:56
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 20:56
  Speaker B: We're continuously growing and changing in all professions and figuring out best research and best practices. And I feel like that's a hallmark of, you know, so much of, you know, our professionalism and what I'm able to contribute as well, and figuring it all out in real time.
• 21:13
  Speaker A: Figuring it out in real time and being okay with figuring it out in.
• 21:16
  Speaker B: Real time, not feeling like you have to know everything.
• 21:19
  Speaker A: Right. And I think that that to instill that is why I am even launching this and having these conversations is. You don't have to have all the answers now. You're allowed to ask for help and it's allowed to evolve.
• 21:32
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 21:33
  Speaker A: You know that change is the only constant in all of this. And if we just can surrender to that, even when it comes to device usage, lengthening of the times that children are being exposed to different kinds of communication, generalizing in a home, like it's all going to change. And that's the only constant? Yes. You know that's the only constant. I'm so thankful for the work that you do and I believe that what you shared today is so helpful. Specifically, I always say for those that are just newly going through and kind of making, expanding, creating these teams for their children, you know, I, I am so lucky. I believe that the people in these one on one conversations are going to help the mothers and the fathers who are really at those foundational points to know that it is beautiful the teams that you can create. It is beautiful to have so many different therapists and educators. You know, what feels like a microscopic eye on your children is actually a version of love. I believe it's a version of love. And you finding your purpose as a speech therapist, it's allowed for that love to be injected into my family. And hopefully now that people get to hear you speak, will be injected into theirs. So thank you so much.
• 22:49
  Speaker B: Thank you so much, Sarah.
• 22:50
  Speaker A: You're a wonderful inch zone in our, in our whole journey and I hope that you, you will be a milestone marker. I know that for sure. So, Lauren, thank you for your time today and for all that you do. And here's to next time on inch zones. Bye, guys.