Read What Others Are Saying About Teach Me To Talk- the DVD

Julie in Illinois writes:

“The DVD is great!  I wish I had had this when we first started down the path with Gabe who has been diagnosed with apraxia.  I love the part about not ruining the interaction and to keep it going with humor…this is SO important.  I can’t tell you how many times I probably lost Gabe in the process of working with him because it was too drill like.  The withholding concept is explained perfectly.  It was never explained to me as well as you did, I failed to keep it playful and as a result totally killed the communication with Gabe.  As you say in the DVD, you will miss the effectiveness and the child won’t learn anything…I plan on trying to keep things much more playful with him from now on when it comes to with holding.  I also like the emphasis put on signing with your child.  I was very hesitant to do this with my son at first, I was afraid it would hurt his speech development, but it helped him learn that he has to do something to get something, now anytime I hear someone say they are hesitant about signing, I pipe up and tell them to please consider it.  What a great DVD!  I am so glad you had me watch and review it for you, I think it will be a huge help to other parents like me!

Stephanie in Kentucky writes:

“Even when weekly therapy reports indicated a great deal of progress, we weren’t always seeing that progress at home. The Teach Me To Talk DVD has dramatically changed the number of words we hear. Seeing the techniques you use, and seeing how easy they are to incorporate in to our daily routines has been a blessing. I can get so many words and even phrases out of my both my toddlers by incorporating playfulness in to our daily activities. As a working mom, I’ve always felt as if I’m not as active in my children’s therapy as I should be. You DVD is finally helping me make that connection. Thank you so much for such a fantastic tool!”

Kristyn from New Hampshire writes:

“It was quite different from what I expected - in a good way - I hardly expected to see so much one-on-one with the kids and it was great!  What I especially loved was that it wasn’t just clips of the PERFECT session; you showed us what to do when a kid turned away, or lost interest, or was more difficult to engage (for instance, touching the child or changing their position). Let’s face it, sometimes kids have their own agenda!

It showed me the importance of being playful and exaggerated.  I like to think I do these things, but it re-energized me in a way.  I used the techniques right away!

I also liked the tips in the “withholding” section.  A lot of times, us Moms are instructed to do so (by putting toys out of reach and such) but sometimes it is difficult to judge just how much is too much or how long is too long.  You gave easy to understand tips to follow.  How to push just far enough tp elicit a response, but not so far as to discourage language or cause too much frustration.

It was great to see you working with a variety of toys - it gave me some new ideas….  Like you pointed out, sometimes a child’s attention can be held with anything - even the instructions to a game!!   It was great to see how you captured their attention in a number of different ways!

I love the embedded techniques throughout the DVD!!  Sometimes when I focus so hard on one aspect of my son’s speech, I forget that I need to keep it playful or that I can throw a choice in there to help him out!

What I liked most was the section on expansion…  I guess that is because it’s what I work on most with my son.  It gave me insightful tips on how to judge where my son might be at, how much I should expand, and just how I can do it.

Again, seeing these tips ‘in action’ was very beneficial.  When you have a child that is language delayed you want to do as much at home as you can - after all, our children are at home most of all!  And this DVD helped me do that.”

Holly from New Hampshire writes:

“When I watched the DVD, I felt like I was reliving my son’s life for the past 1 1/2 now…..

A lot of the therapy techniques that you use, some and or all of his therapists have used EXCEPT for a few things.  First, your enthusiasm it’s AWESOME!!!!!  I have never seen any of my son’s therapists be so upbeat and fun as you were in your video.  I wish they had been because I know my son would respond so well to that in therapy.  Any time I play with him at home and do some of the things you do with your kids, like tickling them and just being ’silly,’ his whole frame of mind changes and I can usually get him to try whatever it is again at least one more time. 

Secondly, the whole idea of using food during speech is awesome.  I will usually reward him with something after therapy especially if his self esteem is a little low that day or he’s just having an off day, but I never thought of buying something to use when working with him, nor have any of his therapist used food. ….

Thirdly, the signs you show are great and I might even start trying to use them with my youngest 11 months to see if it helps him.  My oldest son with apraxia was never taught signs and I was told at the age of 2 1/2 where he was communicating pretty well, so at that point there was no need to introduce them.  I wonder sometimes though, but of course, I didn’t know better at the time.  I wasn’t the specialist just the mom.  Boy, wished I’d known then what I know now - that’s for sure

I do think overall the video will be very helpful for parents with late talkers.  The ideas are great, and you really do show them how to do the things you are talking about which is very important…..” 

Rebecca from Tennessee writes:

“I am e-mailing to thank you for this DVD.  I bought it last weekend, and I wish I had had it a year ago.  My son is now 3 1/2 and just starting to talk.  I started asking the pediatrician about his speech at around 18 months, and he told me that boys just talk later.  I waited almost another year before I finally put him in speech.  I wish I had not listened to the bad advice.  He got speech for a little while through the state, and now he is going to speech at the school.  Although both of his speech therapists have been nice, they have  not told me all of the things I learned on this website, and especially now in the DVD.  Again, I wish this had been available to me a year ago when I first began to google for a product like this.  This last year would have been more productive for us.  Thanks again for putting it out and for your website!”   

  Ranjana, Pediatrician and Mom from Ohio writes:

“The DVD brought tears to my eyes (not your goal I’m sure, but there you go!). Each strategy you used - reminded me of my child.  It is amazing how simple techniques (most of which we take for granted) can help a non-verbal child become verbal.  Another thing I learned from my experience with being a mom, a pediatrician, having your guidance and the DVD - is that language, talking, speech, and articulation involve SO many other aspects of development. These include motor planning, a child’s tone, coordination, etc. etc.

I noticed some of the subtle things you do in the DVD (and during your sessions) to keep a child focused and engaged, such as your placement of the child (out of the “W” position and into “criss-cross applesauce!”), and adjust them to where they can get prompts and cues from your facial expressions. Some of these are inherent to you as a therapist (and your years of experience), but most parents/caregivers would not even realize the way that they position their child can affect their interaction/socialization with them.

Also, expanding your child’s play and interaction by utilizing a child’s strengths - such as a “visual learner,” or a more “oral-motor” learner, but yet introducing other sensory modalities that a child may not yet be comfortable with, such as auditory, or tactile senses.  All these sensory modalities are integrated more than we know, and are crucial pieces of the language developmental puzzle.

I think the DVD is a tremendous & invaluable guidance tool for parents, preschool teachers, caregivers, and other therapists (speech, occupational, developmental, etc) and should be used as an accessory aid for anyone involved in early childhood development.”

Kate, Developmental Interventionist in Louisville, KY writes:

“I have worked with quite a few speech therapists in my practice as a developmental interventionist.  In ten years, I’ve only worked with one that was universally appreciated by parents and young children alike!  Thanks to this DVD, you no longer have to live in our county to benefit from Laura Mize’s unique and effective approach.  For a minimal investment, she comes live to your living room to demonstrate her highly successful approach to speech and language therapy.  

Robyn St. Clair in Wyoming writes:
“Thank you so much for this DVD!  Our 3 and a half year old son has apraxia and only has 10-12 clear words. When I first started watching this DVD I wondered if I could ever be that animated. About 5 minutes into the DVD, my son walked into the room and was instantly fascinated. He sat with me and watched the rest with me! His reaction was truly amazing and our speech therapy will never be the same again!