Fiona Curtis Speech Pathology Services in Scarborough, Western Australia | Company
Fiona Curtis Speech Pathology Services
Locality: Scarborough, Western Australia
Phone: +61 481 274 527
Address: 53 Nola Avenue 6019 Scarborough, WA, Australia
Website: http://www.fionakcurtis.com
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25.01.2022 https://vimeo.com/479705819 The Australian Stuttering Research Centre has just published a series of videos and audio clips about the Westmead Program, the Oakville Program and also the Camperdown Program. The Vimeo link attached, gives you a good idea of how to use and how to introduce syllable timed speech. It should be useful to share with client's parents who lack confidence at using STS.... Here is a link to the resources page: https://www.uts.edu.au/asrc/resources/asrc-resources
25.01.2022 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my wonderful clients and colleagues. I look forward to working with you again in 2020. My practice will be closed from 31 December 2019 to 20 January 2020. Please email me on [email protected] if you have any enquiries in the meantime. Fiona xx
23.01.2022 https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au//COVID-19_-_Me Great news for clients with private health cover. Thanks Speech Pathology Australia for your advocacy on this.
23.01.2022 Thank you to Network 10’s The Project and the Australian Stuttering Research Centre for helping raise awareness of stuttering. Great to see The Camperdown Program featured.
23.01.2022 Here's a little something to keep us motivated. We all know that practice makes perfect... Likewise, dosage in therapy, including the Lidcombe Program, is critical to learning and maintaining a new skill. Effective instruction and good feedback is also key. Lastly, perseverence - not giving up - gets us over the line.... Hang in there, people. See more
22.01.2022 Lidcombe Program Basics Checking on home practice Before the parent and child demonstrates some home practice, we discuss the how things went at home in great detail. Setting, tracking and monitoring the treatment dose is key to making sense of the severity rating chart. Treatment can be adjusted and developed depending on whats happening at home. The parent knows from the outset that the home practice will be scrutinised. Some parents keep a log of what they do, knowi...ng they will be reporting on it! Before each session, I draft a checklist of questions based on my recommendations from the previous session. I will ask the parent about: 1. Talking Practice sessions Did these happen every day? How long were the sessions? What tasks were used? Dose - how many contingencies were given? What was the ratio of contingencies for stutters versus stutter free speech (SFS)? What was the severity rating (SR) during practice? What was the vibe? Was it fun? Any issues? e.g. was the SR too high? Was the child too chatty? 2. Everyday Talking situations What was the typical dose of contingencies each day? (minimum/maximum) How spread was the dose? What was the ratio of contingencies for stutters versus stutter free speech (SFS)? How did the child react? 3. Semi-structured conversations These are used to increase the daily dose and spread of contingencies. When a child has severe stuttering, it can be difficult to add in a daily dose of contingencies in everyday talking. Helping the parent to create moments of SFS by structuring conversations for a short time, allows a transition to using contingencies in everyday life and helps boost the overall dose of contingencies. I will ask the parent: Did these conversations happen daily? How did they elicit smooth speech? Was there any halo effect into the ensuing talking? What was the dose? After this, the parent then shows me what home practice looked like Ill talk about this next week.
22.01.2022 Great to see Prof. Mark Onslow and colleagues being cited in a US parenting publication.
21.01.2022 Interaction interaction interaction.....
21.01.2022 This is a really great piece from a person who stutters, giving others an insight into what it is like to live with stuttering. Here is what you can you do if you work with someone who has a stutter: 1. Listen and wait for the person to finish 2. Dont try to finish their sentence 3. Maintain eye contact, even if the person is stuttering... 4. Focus on the content, not the delivery See more
21.01.2022 The main take home messages here are: 1. that while we are still not certain about the causes of stuttering we do know that it is NOT caused by bad parenting and psychological factors such as anxiety. 2. It's really important to see a speech pathologist for advice as soon as possible. Don't wonder and worry. 3. Treatment before the age of six is most likely to eradicate stuttering. 4. Stuttering may become chronic and intractable if not treated in the first year or two after onset.
20.01.2022 Places are still AVAILABLE on our FREE online SAY: Australia STORYTELLERS program for teenagers who stutter! Dr Cameron Raynes is the award-winning author of 'T...he Last Protector', 'The Colour of Kerosene' and 'First Person Shooter'. Cameron also teaches history and creative writing at the University of South Australia, and is a person who stutters. From March to May this year, 7-8 teens will get the unique opportunity to be mentored by Cameron via weekly online sessions, in a safe space where they embark on a creative process to write about their stutter. The program culminates in an Author's event where participants will get the opportunity to share an excerpt from their story with a supportive audience filled with family and friends. With the permission of each teenager, the personal stories will be published in book form and online so that their stories can be an inspiration to other young people who stutter. Learn more at sayaustralia.org.au/say-australia-storytellers/ For further information about this program and to enrol, contact Rich Stephens at [email protected] or call 0401 723 461. #sayaustralia #everyvoicematters #itsreallyoktostutter #sayaustraliastorytellers #stuttering #stutteringawareness
20.01.2022 Today is International Stuttering Awareness Day. So if you find the famous spots lit up in green, just remember the millions of people who stutter and how you can make this world a better place for them or probably for all of us! #stutteringawareness #SAYaustralia
20.01.2022 Lidcombe Program Basics Here is the last post in this series about the basics of this treatment approach. Set up a plan for home practice for the coming week.... Theres nothing new about this. Speech Pathologists do this all the time. The home practice plan tends to evolve as the session progresses. Often, I start a list for the parent so that as issues, solutions, ideas and therapy strategies arise, they are written down. Its difficult to remember all that is said at any appointment without a written list. Having a written list also cements the importance and expectations about the quantity and quality of home practice. The list might cover: Talking practice ideas Dosage Wording for contingencies What to do in everyday situations I usually take a photo of the sheet so all the advice is documented in my treatment notes. I encourage parents to video me demonstrating treatment or explaining what to do at home so they can review that as need be. And, for the first time recently, a five year old client decided that his own idea for talking practice needed to be noted down - 'smooth talking motor bikes dad'. We can make that work! Love it!
19.01.2022 Speechies are gearing up for telehealth. Here are some resources to help you get going. Xx
19.01.2022 A terrific initiative:
19.01.2022 Here's something helpful for people who stutter at this time.
17.01.2022 Lidcombe Program Basics Here is a new series of posts about key components of the LP. Critics tend to see the LP as a cookbook approach to therapy. This is a long way from reality. The program maps out a range of essential components, but how this works with each child, each parent and each clinician, is very different. Clinicians use their experience and judgement to tailor the program to each child in a unique way.... This week I will look at the Severity Rating (SR) chart. Using the chart is a non-negotiable. Parents need to rate their childs stuttering each day. This means that they tune in to their childs talking more actively. The ratings help the therapist to track progress and make adjustments to the therapy process. Parents can use their phone to track digitally, if that is more convenient. If parents forget the chart, I ask them to take a photo of it and text it through later that day. The first part of all therapy sessions involves the parent and clinician chatting with the child and then agreeing a severity rating for that conversation. Initially, the SRs can seem a bit of a guess for the parent but within a few sessions, most parents get the hang of the scale and accurately rate their child in and outside of the clinic. After the talking sample is done, the chart is shared and I copy down the ratings from home. This data, combined with parent reports on home practice is key to how we move forward with therapy. When the ratings get lower, we know therapy is working. When the ratings stay put, we know we have to try different therapy strategies. Here is a sample chart. The ratings are: 0 = No stuttering; 1 = extremely mild stuttering; 9 = extremely severe stuttering. Happy tracking!
16.01.2022 Speech pathologists can support school age children who stutter in these challenging situations. Early intervention, to eradicate stuttering before the age of 6, is critical to avoiding having to cope with stuttering in later school years. Stay vigilant. Encourage friends and family who might be effected by stuttering to seek help.
16.01.2022 Here is a new video from the Lidcombe Program Trainers Consortium about early stuttering and an introduction to the Lidcombe Program for parents. There are lots of new information videos now on this site. Explore and enjoy! http://www.lidcombeprogram.org/?page_id=470 https://youtu.be/JVz42q8U8zg... http://www.lidcombeprogram.org/
16.01.2022 Speech therapy in the time of Coronavirus... Appointments You may be starting to wonder whether you should attend your next appointment with me.... All appointments are proceeding as scheduled at this stage. The only parents who should reschedule an appointment are those that need to be quarantined at home: - Children/parents who have returned from overseas travel and are in self isolation for 14 days after the date of return to Australia.. - Any child/parent who has had close contact with a known case of Coronavirus. If your child has symptoms of fever, runny nose, sore throat or cough, please reschedule your appointment until your child is better. To change or cancel your appointment, please call or text Fiona on 0481274527 Extra Measures I am trying to ensure that the clinic room is as hygienic as possible: - A sheet will be placed on the floor to reduce potential contamination of the carpet flooring. - I will be using only washable plastic toys and games for the time being. - Please help out by washing hands before the session starts, after you have arrived. - I may ask you to bring books and toys from home to reduce the amount of shared use of non-washable items. - Spacing between appointments will increase to allow me to wipe down surfaces etc. Tele-therapy Instead of meeting face to face, appointment can be arranged via video-conferencing using Zoom. Feel free to discuss this option with me. Currently, most health insurance companies do not provide rebates for non face-to-face appointments.
15.01.2022 Here’s something else for you, for Stuttering Awareness Day.
15.01.2022 This is the second post in a little series about all the fabulous inspiration that I get from the parents that I work with using the Lidcombe Program. The Lidcombe Program is all about close collaboration with the child's parents, working together to achieve great quality therapy, customised to the child. A couple of weeks ago, a mum told me about how she had developed a semi-structured talking activity called Smooth Imagination Stories. Her 4 1/2 year old son is right at th...e end of Stage 1 and is mostly SR 1 with occasional SR 0 (Yay!) He is very chatty and imaginative and she noticed that he tends to stutter a bit more when he is being creative and talking at length So she took that head on and they practised talking carefully about very imaginative ideas on the fly at any time of day. She prompted her son to start a smooth imagination story and they created stories together. Mum was able to use explicit and specific feedback about his smooth speech in that tricky context. Its so important to tailor this therapy to each child and in particular, at the end of Stage 1, to find ways to practise being smooth in situations that are relevant and challenging. The Lidcombe Program is not a Cook Book approach to therapy! Enjoy being creative, Peeps. See more
15.01.2022 Here's a piece from Valerie Lim, based in Singapore, and one of the Lidcombe Program Consortium Trainers, about stuttering and bilingualism. In my experience, stuttering varies between a child's first and second languages. Sometimes the second language shows less stuttering because the language level is very simple. As the second language develops, sometimes stuttering increases, reflecting greater language challenge for the child. Conversely, the first, most competent lan...guage, can show more stuttering because the child tries to do so much more with that language. For me, therapy needs to happens in the 'home language' as much as possible. Coaching and consulting with parents happens in English if possible. Clinicians - please feel free to get in touch with me if you need a list of translated parental verbal contingencies - I have a list that was created for the now obsolete Lidcombe News including Arabic, Mandarin, Dutch Danish, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish and Turkish. See more
14.01.2022 Evidence Alert! Check out the latest copy of jcpslp. Kate Bridgman and colleagues have published the results of a file audit looking at 40 consecutive stuttering referrals in a Melbourne-based private practice. This is a useful article about how clinical practice and outcomes can differ from research clinical trials. The main gap noted was that the clients tend to have other speech and language issues. We know that this impacts on the outcome and the rate of progress. The a...uthors reiterate that clinicians need to apply their expertise in clinical decision making - many clients are not represented in the research populations. This year in the WA Lidcombe Program SIG, we have focused on measurement in stuttering therapy. Although this was not the focus of the Bridgman et al article, using the 0-9 severity rating scale and other tools remains an area of practice that we all need to stay on top of... Our next meeting in September, will again focus on measurement, in particular how bias affects our ratings. Watch out for the agenda if you are interested. See more
13.01.2022 They are just like anybody else - they just have a slight difficulty with talking. Mark Onslow Professor Mark Onslow, Director and Founder, Australian Stuttering Research Centre, spoke yesterday on International Stuttering Awareness Day about spotting the early signs of stuttering and removing the stigma associated with it. Full video on the link below.... https://7news.com.au//international-stutter-awareness-day-
12.01.2022 Lidcombe Program Basics continued The parent and child demonstrate home practice. This is such a key part of each session. Most parents are uncomfortable to start with but the clinician should provide a safe and supportive environment where trial and error, failure and giving it a go are encouraged.... I always ask parents to bring in three things to each session: 1. The severity rating chart (see post on 20 February 2020)) 2. Some show and tell to help get a conversation going for the in-session rating (see post from 3 March 2020) 3. An activity (book, toys, cards, game) that worked well at home. Its important to keep treatment real by using materials that are in the home. Many times, I can chime in and we make adaptations and extensions with the tasks that are demonstrated. Seeing the parent do the therapy is an eye opener. At first, they require a lot of support. Most parents gradually become incredibly skilled at doing talking practice and I often find they are better at it than me after several sessions. Parents know their child best and engaging with parents through home practice demonstration is a great way to connect with them and their child. Sometimes I use video-playback to help teach key points. Mostly, its easier to offer comments in real time. While I am observing the parent and child, I tend to keep a tally of utterances that the child says: I = stutter-free - = stuttered Any parental verbal contingencies (PVCs) are noted below the tally mark e.g. P = Praise; A = Acknowledgment etc. I also note what scaffolding strategies the parent uses and what language level the child is at (e.g. single word level, sentences, spontaneous chat). This provides clear feedback to the parent about their dose of PVCs and how accurately they are using the PVCs. I would encourage all clinicians to spend time building capacity with the parent by having the parent show you what home practice looks like. Its a clinical game changer
12.01.2022 Lidcombe Program Basics - Speech Sampling Just like the severity rating chart, speech sampling is a non-negotiable component of Lidcombe Program therapy sessions. The beginning of each session involves listening to the child speaking in an everyday talking context. The sample can be elicited by the clinician, the parent or both. I tend to avoid providing toys and games at this time, as the child usually becomes engrossed in the toy so that the conversation can resemble p...ulling hens teeth What I do like to do though, is have the child bring a few things in to show and tell. Often the child packs a little bag with goodies that are sometimes even a surprise to their parents. Much more fun The child tends to be motivated to describe and chat freely about their chosen things. School aged children (5-7 year old boys) often bring in Lego creations to show me and while I usually find construction toys to be conversation killers, Lego show and tell works well for this part of the session. I often video the sample and this can help in a couple of ways. Firstly, the video can be used to compare with samples from previous sessions to discuss differences in severity ratings. Secondly, the video can be dissected with a parent to help teach and recognise different stutters, atypical stuttering and ambiguous dysfluencies. At other times, I ask the parent to tally stutters or we set up a coded look or gesture to help tune into the child's talking and be sure we are hearing and rating the same thing. Sometimes its necessary to tell the parent not to provide contingencies at this time as we are looking for a sample that reflects everyday talking and not what talking looks like with intervention. Lastly, we assign a severity rating and chat about how representative the sample is in comparison to the at-home-ratings. Please share any sampling strategies that work for you! See more
12.01.2022 6 Tips for Speaking With Someone Who Stutters by the Stuttering Foundation
11.01.2022 Go Kate! Great to see Speech Pathology Week highlighted here. Check out the beginning of the VC showing how the Lidcombe Program has been successful with Kates son. Happy Speech Pathology Week everyone.
10.01.2022 I am excited to announce I am ready to Zoom! Zoom is the tele-health platform I will be using to offer all clients online therapy sessions. Importantly, and in line with Government directives, all face-to-face appointments will be changed to Zoom appointments or telephone consults effective from today. I will be in touch with all clients before their next appointments to talk this through. Stay well and safe and I will 'see' you soon.
10.01.2022 Here's a little something that is working well in therapy sessions. Again, inspired by a client. This little boy loves to chat. The first part of a treatment session in the Lidcombe Program involves simply chatting and then the parent and the clinician are able to check that their severity ratings are the same. Each week this client loves to bring a little backpack full of things to show me and to talk about. The chat tends to be 'normal talking' as opposed to play talk or role play type talking and usually generates a substantial and representative sample of talking. I hope it works for you!
09.01.2022 I am pleased to let clients know that I will be open for face-to-face appointments from next Wednesday. I am permitted to remove my mask in the clinical context. If parents are happy for this to occur, the session can be conducted without myself or the child wearing a mask. If parents would prefer that I keep my mask on during the session, this is perfectly okay let me know and I will discuss preferences prior to commencement. I ask that all parents/caregivers, please wear... a mask while attending appointments. I have a QR code for the clinic - please register accordingly. I am delighted to be seeing everyone again! See more
08.01.2022 I love the positive spin here. Building a great relationship with clients is key key key to a great outcome.
06.01.2022 Check this out.
05.01.2022 Here is comprehensive overview of a recently published, long awaited study comparing a syllable timed speech approach - The Westmead Program - and the Lidcombe Program. There are some really useful comments that should inform and shape our clinical management and decision making here in the real world. For parents, its important to know what you are committing to. Many children require a lot of therapy time and that also means a lot of home practice too. I like to think that the parents and I are a team and that we work together all the way through their childs therapy journey. Talk to your speech pathologist about the best option for you and your child.
04.01.2022 Lidcombe Program Basics continued. Therapy ideas are demonstrated Ok so we finally get to the component where the clinician is working directly with the child.... Even then this should be a three way activity with the parent joining in and gradually taking over from the clinician. This allows the clinician to evaluate the viability of, and any issues with, the parent doing the same at home. Parents really look forward to watching me show a new idea for how to do talking practice at home. There are so many types of activities for doing talking practice at home. Some children and their parents need lots of variety to keep practice fun and fresh. Other children love Lego or cars so much that talking practice is continually tweaked around one theme. For structured talking practice, I tend to start with book shares. Next, I introduce picture cards and we start doing talking practice while we play memory, matching, Snap, Go Fish, fishing, trails, hide and seek, Kims Game and story creations. Picture card sets have endless possibilities. I posted about this here on 20th October 2018. From cards, I show the parent how to do talking practice with a puzzle. I like puzzles such as Orchard Toys Dolls House and I do the puzzle in a lucky dip format where we take turns at grabbing a piece and describing it so that the other person guesses which piece it is (from the picture on the box). From Puzzles, I then try out various games such as Crazy Chefs, Red Dog Blue Dog and Shopping List. These are all simple Bingo/Lotto type games. Other games like Guess Who, and Secret Square work well for many children. I also use construction games like Build a Beetle and Mr Potato Head. Next, I show the parent how to do talking practice with toys such as Lego, cars and Coles Minis in barrier games or more open instruction games. Active games with balls and scavenger hunts can also be adapted for talking practice. As the childs stuttering severity decreases, less structured talking practice is possible and also necessary for reaching the holy grail of carryover into every day talking. There are numerous other considerations besides what activity to use. One consideration is how to pitch the task for optimal therapeutic value. Much of my coaching, focuses on eliciting the right language level so that the child says as much as possible but without stuttering. I want parents to be able to flex up and down from single words to longer sentences depending on the childs capacity at that moment. Future posts will look at how to ensure that talking practice has impact. My Mantra is Are We Having Fun?. One aim of treatment is that when the child is much older, if they can remember going to therapy, they may recall that it was fun but not much else. Have Fun everyone!
04.01.2022 I am thrilled to be attending this conference. The last time I attended the Oxford Dysfluency Conference was in 2015 just before we moved back to Australia from the U.K. I never thought I would attend again. Silver linings to our Covid world
03.01.2022 Great news for clients who have medicare plans.
01.01.2022 One last share for Stuttering Awareness Day!
