HELP ME SAY IT: A Parent's Guide to Speech Problems

by Carol Barach ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 1983

Emphasizing the importance of parental effort and support, this sympathetic and informative book on speech problems is a true guide: comprehensive, well-organized, appreciative of personal concerns, and--the ultimate test--fluent and articulate. Speech pathology professor Barach (Tenn. State U.) reviews normal child development patterns before turning to the full range of communication problems, from the most common articulation errors (wabbit for rabbit) to more complex cases. In each area--cleft palate correction, deafness, language delay, language formation problems--she provides a description of specific manifestations as well as typical parent reactions; she also identifies areas of controversy, both within the profession and between parent and clinician. For example, in the chapter on deafness, she describes the oral/manual controversy, then discusses both the recent emergence of Total Communication as a favored alternative and also its mixed expectations for success. Similarly, in the chapter on stuttering, she includes the often disputed psychoanalytic theory, explains her own attitude toward it, and firmly concludes that the clinician must concentrate on remedies--even of symptoms--rather than on causes, because relieving the pain must come first. Parents will find here, in proper measure, reassurance, basic facts, specific ideas, likely remediation schedules, and lists of further resources, plus a few tantalizing speculations from the field. Up-to-date, prudent, and consistently accessible.

Pub Date: Oct. 12, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION