 |
|
Interview with Rachel Arntson, CCC-SLP, Founder of Kids’ Express Train,
LLC
Who Doesn’t Love to Sing?
Develop Language Using
Children’s Love for Music
 Linda
Schreiber: I’m visiting with Rachel Arntson this morning
about a motivating way to develop children’s communication
skills using music. The company is called Kids’ Express Train
and I’m going to let Rachel Arntson, the company co-founder,
explain how Kids Express Train is a resource meant to develop
speech and language skills. Rachel, tell us a little bit about
yourself and how you got into the business of Kids’ Express
Train.
Rachel Arntson: Well I’ve been a speech-language
pathologist since 1980. About six years ago, I looked for songs
that would help my students practice speech production. I always
like to give parents something fun to do with their kids at home
because I believe home practice is such a key factor in helping
kids develop their speech and language skills. And I’ve always
loved music and feel that it certainly feeds my soul, and I
thought it would feed a child’s soul, too. So I had this mission
to find songs that were simple enough for my young students, who
were at the beginning stages of communicating, to sing. Well, I
just couldn’t find any songs that were simple enough. So, with a
music background, a love for songs, and a little experience in
song writing, I just decided to write my own songs and, with my
business partner-to-be,
Chez Raginiak,
I developed a CD. That’s how Kids’ Express Train came to be. The
purpose of the first CD really was for use as a home practice
tool, but it has become much more than that. I get emails all
the time from preschool teachers and speech-language
pathologists who use the music in the classroom and in
intervention.
Linda: I noticed at your website that you have more than
one CD.
Rachel: Yes, we now have six CDs and we’re working on two
Spanish CDs (available as
of 2009). And I’m very excited about it. I have a lot of
students that are Spanish speaking, and I want to start them
singing in their native language.
Linda: Your company byline is “Simple songs that kids can
simply sing.” That says a lot about what you are trying to
achieve. Tell me a bit about the content and the lyrics of the
songs.
Rachel: For every song I have written, I really had a
particular child in mind. But most children are interested in
the same kinds of things, so the songs are pertinent to all
kids. For example, I had one little guy who loved puppies and I
wanted to teach him action words. So I used a puppy to develop
that song of action words combined with the word “puppy.” I do a
lot of repetition in my songs, and I do what I call “chains of
three,” which is similar to what you’d hear in the old
rock-and-roll tunes--like in the Beatles song “She loves you;
yeah, yeah, yeah,” where everything is repeated in chains of
three. Their tunes are so enticing; they make you want to sing
along. So I wanted to do the same thing with children’s songs.
And some students might not be ready for sentences or phrases
yet. They might be saying single words, so if I take that single
word and duplicate it two more times, that gets the chain in the
process of verbalizing in phrases. At least it gets it going.
The children repeat the word three times, and then it helps them
get to the phrase level. And topics are very kid-friendly, like
babies and bubbles, milk and juice, puppies, and monkeys. And
the action is anywhere from sound imitation, like coughing and
sneezing and blowing, to more complex multisyllabic words and
some phrase repetition.
Linda: Do you have children singing the songs?
Rachel: Our songs have adults singing, and then we use
the cue “your turn” to tell the children to repeat what was
sung. It’s a constant turn-taking interaction throughout the
music.
Linda: What age range are you hoping to target?
Rachel: The plan was to target children in early
intervention--birth to three--but so many of us work with other
age ranges. I wrote the songs with the idea of making them
enticing enough that siblings and parents would want to sing
along. But, it turns out, they’re not boring for preschool
children, and in fact, if you look at our sales, our buyers seem
to be primarily preschool teachers, a lot of teachers of
children birth-to-three, and then early elementary teachers.
If children have speech and language concerns, age is not
necessarily the factor that determines whether the songs will be
helpful or not. I’ve written songs like “Hissing Snake” that
works on the s sound and there are lots of children who are
school-aged who need to practice saying the s sound. And there
is “Fish, Sharks, and Shells,” another song that emphasizes s
and sh sounds. The songs are truly simple enough for younger
children but have some complexity for early elementary children
as well.
Linda: Your songs develop communication, including
vocabulary and phonology for children who have language and
phonological disorders. Would typically developing children
enjoy the music?
Rachel: Absolutely! The songs are for kids of all ages
and all developmental levels. Some of the songs develop early
literacy skills. For example, I have a song called “Sing and Eat
the Alphabeat.” It groups words according to specific letter
sounds--like pizza, pickles, and popcorn for--so children can
begin to hear beginning sounds and develop their phonemic
awareness. And phonemic awareness is an important precursor to
reading. So these songs are not just for kids with speech and
language delays. That’s kind of the beauty of them I guess.
Linda: And would the music be appropriate for children
who are learning English as their second language?
Rachel: Yes, because our CDs are so interactive; and
create so much imitation, practice, and repetition; and use
common vocabulary; and simple sentence structures; I believe the
CDs would be excellent for English language learners.
Linda: You have received an award from the
Therapy
Times MVP issue. Can you tell us about your award?
Rachel: Well, Therapy Times is an online newspaper that
focuses on a variety of different therapies in the medical
field. And every year, a group of products that have been
suggested by their readers are given this award. I guess people
just loved our products and sent emails nominating our CDs. As a
result, we were chosen as one of those products that
speech-language pathologists love to buy.
Linda: Congratulations Rachel. The award is a great stamp
of approval for you.
Linda: Rachel, you have a website (www.expresstrain.org)
that not only features the CDs, but also has lots of free
things. Tell us what readers might find at your site.
Rachel: I’m not a music therapist; I’m a speech-language
pathologist who loves music. So the website, although it does
focus some on music, has other information on topics such as
using music to develop language, or enhancing the speech and
language skills of children who have apraxia or autism. And this
information is free for downloading. I have also written other
song lyrics, and parent questionnaires, and student observation
sheets that you can download; and there are some free pictures
on the website. Those are all free as well. At the home page, go
into the “free stuff” page and those things will be right there.
We also have a free e-newsletter and in the newsletter I give
free pictures that might enhance a particular song, or I might
write an article about a certain technique that I would use in
my music, etc. I get emails all the time on how my songs are
used, so I’ll put ideas like that in the newsletter too. And
that’s free.
Linda: And people can sign up to receive your
e-newsletter at your website, correct?
Rachel: Yes, right on the
homepage.
Linda: Rachel, we all know that music really motivates
children and makes language learning lots of fun. It is a great
tool for parents, too. You’ve got me thinking about the
possibilities. Can I go to the website to hear a sample?
Rachel: Oh yes, you’ll have to listen to the
rock-and-roll songs especially. I’m sure you’d appreciate it.
Rachel: I should mention that I believe strongly in using
visuals with the music so each musical CD comes as a set with a
CD-ROM. And the CD-ROM includes pictures and activities that
correspond to the songs.
Linda: And interested readers can learn more about how
music can enhance children's expressive language skills by
watching your presentation on speechpathology.com:
The Role of Music in Enhancing Children's Expressive Speech and
Language Skills, available for
ASHA CEUs.
Linda: Rachel, thank you so much for your interview
today. Best wishes as you develop more musical resources for
children. |
What Music Can Bring to Speech Pathology
By Rachel Arntson, MS, CCC-SLP
What can I do in speech and language therapy that helps children stay attentive;
motivates them to vocalize; teaches them to imitate motor movements, speech
sounds, words and phrases; and gives parents enjoyable practice materials for
home and daily routines? The answer is to sing a simple song.
Not everyone realizes what the gift of music can bring to our speech pathology
world. The techniques and activities I have learned over the years are endless,
and I learn more every day. Using music in speech therapy goes well beyond
The Wheels on the Bus. I challenge everyone to be creative.
Finding a "verbally enticing" song is my passion. I search for songs that help
my students practice verbal imitation. Few tunes are slow and simple enough to
help children at the early stages of communication. My voyage for finding the
perfect speech practice song took me to the most unlikely places.
Sammy, a 2-year-old with autism, intermittently used about five words to
communicate. Verbally, he was very quiet during play. He primarily communicated
through screaming, whining and gesturing. When he heard music, Sammy would dance
but never vocalize because it was too difficult to combine gross motor movements
with the oral-motor movements of singing. In addition, his favorite songs were
too complicated for him to sing.
Searching for verbally enticing activities in order to substitute more
functional vocalizations for Sammy's crying and screaming, I asked his mother to
select a favorite song and suggested she hum while listening to it when her son
was within listening range. After just one week, Sammy's mother was thrilled to
report that her son had starting singing what he could without being concerned
about following the melody or knowing all the words. It was the "permission" he
needed to explore vocally. Humming quickly moved to vowel singing and
consonant-vowel productions.
The controlled vocalization of humming can be shaped into other verbalizations
as well. If you have a child at the early stages of verbal practice, explore the
possibility of using music, especially humming. There is nothing better than
watching a child proudly sing a song that he can simply sing.
Rachel Arntson works in the Infant-Toddler Program of the Osseo Public School
District, in Maple Grove, MN, and is co-founder of Kids' Express Train LLC. For
more information, visit her Web site at
www.expresstrain.org
|
