'Speeching'

Talk about a lesson in humiliation. Actually, it's not THAT bad. But I have had develop thicker skin over the past couple of weeks or so, and I have also began...begun?..began! to re-evaluate certain aspects of what I do. Let me 'splain.

Firstly, braces themselves don't really affect speech. I've learned that much. Yeah, you have to wear wax or build up some callasouses inside your mouth to really get used to them but they don't affect speech sounds. What affects speech sounds are all the appliances and thingamabobs the ortho likes to glue inside your mouth off and on throughout your Brace Lifetime.

Working at a small charter school I've seen lots of cool appliances. I've seen palate expanders, retainers, metal plates that extend down from the roof of the mouth on one side or the other to prevent the child from lateralizing his/her jaw, and these Medieval-looking pokey wires that curl back into a kid's mouth preventing him/her from either sucking the thumb or thrusting their tongue during swallow/speech. And then I have a bite plate which is sorta like a retainer but thicker I think. I can't take it out for 6-9 months. I'm hoping to get it out sooner...for good behavior, lol. Sorry, that was lame. So let's also take a minute to relate that to what I do. At this school I have kids from kinder through 8th grade. I've got kids in 1st through 8th with braces in various phrases. They start 'em young out here. I've got kids working on all the major sounds, too: k, g, s, z, sh, ch, j, zh, r, l, and blends. Depending on the applicance all of those sounds can be affected except for maybe the k and g. Every fricative and affricate is affected, all the time and in all positions for me.

But wait a minute you might say to yourself oh faithful readers. I have a speech-sound distorter in my mouth and I'm supposed to be working with kids who can't say most of the sounds I can't say either?? Hardy har har, that's hilarious, yuck it up, everyone does.

I'm pondering some career-influencing thoughts though:

ONE! It takes a good 2-3 months with a new appliance to get used it. Maybe this is true only for grown ups but I think it depends on the appliance.

TWO! I don't know if I'll ever be able to regain my pre-bite plate articulation for certain fricatives and affricates so if I can't how can anyone expect a child with the same or similar appliance to? Should I not be working with them because there's no point? Talk about LRE!

THREE! What happens to articulation patterns AFTER the appliance is removed? This plate is bulky. It's like having a hard piece of steak glued to the roof of your mouth. ALL THE TIME. How can anyone wear that long term and not sound weird during or after it's taken out?

FOUR! Maybe I should discharge or otherwise put on monitor any child who has funky appliances and are working with those kinds of sounds until 2-3 months post appliance removal. One student I know produced a frontal s, z, ch, sh, and j. He got that curled wire metal thing installed and I swear 2 months later, he's cured! My job is so easy.

FIVE!! What about kids with super severe tongue thrust? I'm thinking more and more that the school environment is not the best setting for those kids of kids. There is an appliance for that, too. Correct the thrust, correct the misarticulation, right? Right?

Good lessons I'm learning here, folks. Maybe after this I can say I 'specialize' in treating kids with braces and other orthodontia. Or not, lol.