Speech Training for Toddler

Dear Client,

Patience is the first thought I had about you after reading your 2 year-old daughter's speech question regarding her breathing interfering with her verbal communication.

You reminded me of how much patience I needed to help train my 2-1/2 year-old-child speak and breathe correctly so she could be understood by others. Her speech was garbled because of the cleft pallet she was born with.

Her speech therapist suggested I teach my daughter how to speak correctly through repetition and patience.

The theory was to begin a daily routine of saying unhurriedly and lovingly the same word correctly over and over whenever I fed her. She was a very slow eater due to the amount of food that inadvertently went through her cleft pallet instead of being chewed and swallowed.

Sometimes I’d sing the word or say it in a higher or lower voice to get her attention. Her eyes were on me all the time when she ate. She began to speak in my tone of voice, and breathe in and out like me.

Three months later she repeated the word correctly and clearly. I was ecstatic and wanted to shout to everyone that my child got it. Anyone could understand her.

In the months that followed I began to utter new words and, instead of three months she’d repeat the new expressions in a week or two.

I still required lots of patience but hope filled me with enthusiasm and renewed energy.

Good luck. Thank you for writing.

Woman Wants Ex to Suffer

Dear Ruth,

I have a friend who is going through a very nasty divorce. Within 3 weeks of moving out she found out she had to have major surgery. She is having a very rough time.

She does an "exercise" that she believes channels all her struggles and anger to him so that he "suffers" like she does. She says she visualizes herself breathing in peace then blowing out all her suffering into his conscious mind.

I don't think this is helping her at all, it keeps her from healing.

What do you think and how can I help her let go?

Worried Friend

Dear Worried Friend,

You are absolutely right!

Whenever a person sends hate, all the hate goes through the sender first, causing her to suffer more.

Sending anger this way may not cause the target person any harm, but will definitely cause the sender more problems.

The best way to get even is to show your ex-husband how happy and successful you are without him.

Instead of wasting time and energy injuring herself, I recommend your friend begin living a positive thinking life, with healthy friends.

Meditation and visualization will help her begin the healing process.

Help! My Friend Wants to Kill Herself

Dear Ruth,

I am worried about my friend. I call her many times a day fearing she's taken her life. I keep trying to come up with new ideas to solve her problem, but all she wants to talk about is how unhappy she is, and how she wishes her life was over.

When she doesn't use my ideas, I get discouraged and drained. I'm getting just like her, dwelling on her problems is overwhelming to my family and me. I think she needs a therapist, but she refuses to see one. What should I do?

Overwhelmed

Dear Overwhelmed,

You are a caring, empathic woman, who is taking on the emotions of your friend. The more you listen to her, the less confidence you have. She has a problem that only she can fix. She needs professional help on a psychological level. You are not a therapist and that’s what she needs.

Only she can save herself and all you’re doing is giving her the opportunity to dwell on her fears. It’s time to severe the tie.

Think of her as a small child (6) who has awakened from a nightmare. You’re trying to save her from drowning, but neither of you knows how to swim in such deep water. If she doesn’t want to get help, give her the phone number of a suicide hot line. They’re more trained than you are to talk about suicide prevention.

Be strong and take charge of your thinking.

WHAT IS ENERGY HEALING?

Our entire body is one big energy field. Hidden beneath the physical surface, are levels of emotions, thought patterns and learned beliefs. Imbalances and energy blockages on these levels manifest as emotional discomforts and even physical illnesses.

The most effective way to treat an illness is to uncover its root cause and begin the healing process from the deepest emotional level. Conventional medicine takes a different approach to healing and can encounter difficulties in determining the actual cause of a disease. Energy healing compliments traditional treatments offering a holistic solution encompassing body, mind and spirit.

www.infinityinst.com

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin