The Crazy and Fascinating History of the English Language

The Crazy and Fascinating History of the English Language

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP News

The English language is the conduit of more human contact than any other language in the world. It is the official language of 58 sovereign nations in all six habitable continents. And when, for example, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Argentina played each other in the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the players largely communicated with each other and referees in — you guessed it — English. Yet we might take for granted how our language came to be what it is today. Together we’ll look at the history of English and the journey it has taken from Paleolithic times, when it was proto Indo-European, to the bewildering genealogy of the lexicon we use today.

[Illustration from Minna Sundberg’s web comic Stand Still. Stay Silent.]

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6 Best Speech Therapy Movies

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP News

The King's Speech -- Movies featuring Speech TherapyOk, I admit it: there are other professions that have garnered more attention than the field of speech therapy has, when it comes to portrayals of the field in major motion pictures. There have been a few more films about law enforcement and intelligence operatives, not to mention medicine and law, than have been produced about the great work speech pathologists do every day. Nevertheless, there have been some excellent movies made that feature the field of speech pathology as crucial to the film’s story. Since you probably know all about the story behind the Best-Picture winning The King’s Speech, I wanted to share with you five other films that feature the vital interaction of speech therapy and maybe give you a few fresh ideas for a Friday night in when you just can’t think of a movie to rent.

And I promise not to spoil the endings of any of these movies.

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Speech Evolution and the Origin of Language — or Why Humans are Awesome

Speech Evolution and the Origin of Language — or Why Humans are Awesome

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP News

How did we, as humans, come to dominate the earth? I fundamentally believe that the core reason our species is top dog, so to speak, is our ability to communicate complex thought processes with one another very efficiently. We are not the fastest species on earth; we are certainly not the strongest; and the pets we have in our homes generally have more acute senses than we do. Yet we have this ability, unique in nature, to speak. This has allowed us to master the art of cooperation and in turn, to exploit natural economies of scale. From an evolutionary standpoint, these complementary skills for communication — one a cognitive skill (language) and the other a motor skill (speech) — are a tour-de-force of coordinated systems. Speech evolution and the origin of language may not be something you think about everyday, but read on to understand why you are even more awesome than you realized.

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Helping my Child with Speech Therapy: Private or School-Based

Helping my Child with Speech Therapy: Private or School-Based

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP Parents' Corner

In a recent blog post, “I Think my Child Needs Speech Therapy – Now What?”, I outlined the process of securing speech and language therapy services for your child. But let’s say your child has just begun or has been in therapy for some time? What then? Do you find yourself wondering, “how should I be helping my child with speech therapy?” This post is dedicated to providing tips for parents on how to maximize the services they are already receiving. Whether your child is receiving school-based or private therapy, there are many things a parent can do to empower themselves and ultimately, to make therapy more efficient.

[Photo: skyseeker, CC]

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Parent Teacher Conference Questions for School Speech Therapy

Parent Teacher Conference Questions for School Speech Therapy

by Gordy Rogers, M.S. CCC-SLP School

I’m always filled with a tiny modicum of dread whenever I really feel the passage of time, even if it’s only a couple of months’ time. This is how I feel about the fact that parent-teacher conferences are upon us – my kindergartner’s conference (and personally, as a parent, my first ever!) is scheduled for Nov. 7th. I’ve spent much more time on the other side of this interaction, as a school-based speech-language pathologist (SLP) primarily in NYC charter schools. Here are 7 critical parent teacher conference questions so parents can get the most out of these crucial and relatively infrequent interactions with their child’s SLP.

[image by woodleywonderworks]

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