AD DHUHA Speech Therapy Centre

Assalamua'laikum


Alhamdulillah. setelah pelbagai dugaan, onak dan ranjau yang dilalui, maka bermula pada Mei 2012, Ad Dhuha Speech Language Therapy Centre telah dibuka. Buat masa ini, saya cuma menumpang di kedai cermin mata Cahaya Insan Optometry (kedai cik abang). Apapun, tempatnya selesa dan sesuai untuk menjalankan terapi pertuturan-bahasa di situ.


Di mana???

Bila saya katakan saya "SPEECH THERAPIST", ramai yang tak tahu 'apa tu speech therapist?', 'macam physiotherapist ke?' ' ada ke course ni?' dan macam-macam soalan lagi. 


Sebenarnya, saya graduate dari UKM dalam bidang ijazah 'speech sciences'. Saya belajar selama 4 tahun di UKM dan bermula dari tahun ke-dua pengajian lagi, kami telah didedahkan dengan aktiviti klinikal (maknanya jumpa pesakit yang bermasalah). Saya kutip pengalaman klinikal dari pelbagai tempat. Antaranya, di hospital-hospital besar, Pusat Autism, Pusat Down's Syndorme, pusat kanak-kanak bermasalah pendengaran, Pusat Stroke, dan banyak lagi. 


Selepas habis belajar (sebelum majlis konvo), saya kerja sementara di HUKM. Dan selepas konvo, saya dapat tawaran kerja di KKM. Jadi bermula dari tahun 2005 sampai 2011, saya bekerja di Hospital KKM. Semasa bekerja, saya ada juga buat visiting ke sekolah-sekolah khas (bermasalah pendengaran).


Sehinggalah pada tahun 2011, bila anak bongsu saya yang berumur 1y/o+, kena pneumonia, dan kemudian frequent asthma attack yang agak teruk. Jadi, setelah berbincang dengan suami tercinta, saya mengambil keputusan untuk bercuti tanpa gaji, dan seterusnya berhenti kerja.


Dan dalam masa beberapa bulan ni, tahap kesihatan anak saya semakin stabil (walaupun kena ambil inhaler setiap hari, tapi tak seteruk dulu). Alhamdulillah.


Jadi, sekarang saya membuka pusat terapi pertuturan saya sendiri.

ni lah 2 org buah hati saya. Papa tolong tangkapkan gambar kami.
Gambar ni dekat KIDZOONA... Best main dekat situ.

Em, patient yang macam mana yang kami jumpa???


Speech therapist sebenarnya mengendalikan pelbagai kes yang berkaitan dengan pertuturan, bahasa dan komunikasi (dan juga penelanan). Ia bukan untuk kanak-kanak sahaja, malah pada semua peringkat umur. Sebab kalau kita ada masalah komunikasi, kualliti kehidupan kita akan terjejas, kan..


Antara masalah pesakit ialah:

• speech language delay (lambat bercakap)
• Autism
• ADHD
• Specific Language Impairment
• Down's Syndrome
• Cerebral Palsy
• Global Developmental Delay
• Hearing Impairment
• Stuttering (gagap)
• Voice problem (masalah berkaitan suara)
• Articulation problem (masalah sebutan)
• Aphasia (stroke / traumatic brain injury)
• Apraxia 
• Dysarthria
• dan macam-macam lagi.......

Antara pengalaman manis semasa saya bekerja ialah apabila pesakit saya yang tidak pandai bercakap langsung, akhirnya bercakap dengan lancar, dan boleh bercerita. Mulanya parents agak bimbang, risau juga anaknya perlu dimasukkan ke sekolah khas, Tapi, setelah menjalani terapi, anaknya menunjukkan perkembangan yang positif, dan akhirnya berjaya bersekolah di sekolah biasa.

Em, pengalaman yang lain pula ialah bila saya berdepan dengan beberapa orang bapa (ayah pesakit) yang meluahkan perasaan mereka kepada saya. Bukan perasaan lain ye.... :)  tapi, meluahkan rasa bimbang tentang anak mereka. Ada bapa yang tidak pernah mengambil tahu tentang anak (" buat apa saya sembang dengan mereka?" , "ayah saya dulu pun tak buat macam tu.", "tak pe, isteri saya boleh buat") dan macam-macam lagi. Ada juga bapa yang terlalu manjakan anak, sehingga anak tu tak tahu nak buat apa-apa pun, walaupun dah besar. ("Pn Zuraida, dah 20 tahun kahwin, baru saya dapat anak", "saya rasa saya yang kena terapi", "kalau boleh, saya nak dapatkan kerja kat sekolah anak saya belajar, tukang kebun ke, tender kantin ke")

Ada juga kes yang lain.. Hmmm...Ceritanya macam ni, ayahnya kena stroke, walau bagaimanapun, tak ada masalah yang teruk untuk berkomunikasi. Tiba-tiba selepas habis sesi, anak lelakinya masuk dan duduk depan saya. Katanya " Puan, berapa lama ayah saya boleh hidup sebenarnya?" . Huhuhuhu.. Terkejut jugak saya mendengar soalan tu. Saya tanya "kenapa?". Kemudian anak lelakinya tadi (dalam usia 20an) bagi tahu "ayah saya kata dia tak hidup lama dah. Katanya, doktor kata lagi sebulan aje. Ayah saya suruh saya kawin dengan si polan si polan. Katanya budak tu baik lah. Minggu depan nak suruh saya bertunang. Gila ape?? Masalahnya. saya tak nak kawin lagi. Saya tak kenal sangat pun dengan perempuan tu". 

Hmmm.. macam-macam cerita. Saya selalu anggap pesakit-pesakit saya umpama keluarga sendiri. Macam anak-anak saya sendiri. Dan hasilnya, setiap kali saya menjalankan terapi kepada kanak-kanak lain, perkembangan anak saya semakin bagus dan maju. Heran jugak! :)  Sebab saya buat terapi dengan orang lain, tapi anak saya yang semakin pandai. Mungkin itulah anugerah yang Allah bagi bila kita saling bantu-membantu.


Jika anda ingin membuat temujanji, anda boleh terus hubungi saya, sebab saya tak ada assistant pun lagi. Setakat ni pesakit pun tak berapa ramai lagi. Dan masa yang terluang tu, saya gunakan untuk bersama dengan anak-anak.


Sekian. Wassalam.


Pn Zuraida - 019-4477963
Email - aidaspeech@gmail.com

IS MY CHILD SPEECH DELAYED???

Each children develops in his own pace. The following table describes the age by which most children will accomplish various speech-related skills (taken from ASHA website).

Hearing and Understanding		Talking
Birth-3 Months Startles to loud sounds. Quiets or smiles when spoken to. Seems to recognize your voice and quiets if crying. Increases or decreases sucking behavior in response to sound.		Birth-3 Months Makes pleasure sounds?(cooing, gooing). Cries differently for different needs. Smiles when sees you.
4-6 Months Moves eyes in direction of sounds. Responds to changes in tone of your voice. Notices toys that make sounds. Pays attention to music.		4-6 Months Babbling sounds more speech-like with many different sounds, including p, b and m. Vocalizes excitement and displeasure. Makes gurgling sounds when left alone and when playing with you.
7 Months-1 Year Enjoys games like peek-o-boo and pat-a-cake. Turns and looks?in direction of sounds. Listens when spoken to. Recognizes words for common items like "cup", "shoe," "juice." Begins to respond to requests ("Come here," "Want more?").		7 Months-1 Year Babbling has both long and short groups of sounds such as "tata upup bibibibi." Uses speech or non-crying sounds to get and keep attention. Imitates different speech sounds. Has 1 or 2 words (bye-bye, dada, mama) although they may not be clear.
1-2 Years Points to a few body parts when asked. Follows simple commands and understands simple questions ("Roll the ball," "Kiss the baby," "Where's your shoe?"). Listens to simple stories, songs, and rhymes. Points to pictures in a book when named.		1-2 Years Says more words every month. Uses some 1-2 word questions ("Where kitty?" "Go bye-bye?" "What's that?"). Puts 2 words together ("more cookie," "no juice," "mommy book"). Uses many different consonant sounds of the beginning of words.
2-3 Years Understands differences in meaning ("go-stop," "in-on," "big-little," "up-down"). Follows two requests ("Get the book and put it on the table.").		2-3 Years Has a word for almost everything. Uses 2-3-word "sentences" to talk about and ask for things. Speech is understood by familiar listeners most of the time. Often asks for or?directs attention to objects by naming them.
3-4 Years Hears you when call from another room. Hears television or radio at the same loudness level as other family members. Understands simple, "who?," "what?," "where?," "why?" questions.		3-4 Years Talks about activities at school or at friends' homes. People outside family usually understand child's speech. Uses a lot of sentences that have 4 or more words. Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words.
4-5 Years Pays attention to a short story and answers simple questions about it. Hears and understands most of what is said at home and in school.		4-5 years Voice sounds clear like other children's. Uses sentences that give lots of details (e.g. "I like to read my books"). Tells stories that stick to topic. Communicates easily with other children and adults. Says most sounds correctly except a few like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th. Uses?the same grammar as the rest of the family.

Feel free to contact admin or any other professionals, if you have any queries. 

Zuraida Ahmad Shahime
BSc (Hons) Speech Sciences,UKM
Speech Language Pathologist.

Email : aidaspeech@gmail.com

HP : 019-4477963

WARNING SIGNS : Speech & language disorders / delay

When to get help

Call your child's doctor or a speech pathologist if your child:

Age:	Warning Signs:	Check Here
12 to 18 months	at 12 months, doesn't use gestures such as waving or shaking her head by 12 months, isn't practicing using at least a couple of consonants (p, b, etc.) by 12 months, isn't somehow communicating to you when she needs help with something at 15 months, doesn't understand and respond to words such as "no" and "bye-bye" by 15 months, can't say at least one to three words by 15 months, doesn't say "mama" or "dada" at 16 months, doesn't point to body parts when asked at 18 months, isn't saying at least 15 words

Age:	Warning Signs:	Check Here
19 to 24 months	by 19 to 20 months, isn't pointing out things of interest, such as a bird or airplane overhead by 20 months, isn't making at least six consonant sounds at 21 months, doesn't respond to simple directions by 21 months, doesn't pretend with her dolls or herself (brushing her hair, feeding her doll, etc.) by 24 months, doesn't imitate actions or words of others by 24 months, can't point to named pictures in a book at 24 months, can't join two words together at 24 months, doesn't know the function of common household objects — toothbrush, telephone, fork, etc.

Age:	Warning Signs:	Check Here
25 to 36 months	at 26 months, uses no two-word simple sentences at 30 months, can't name at least three body parts at 30 months, can't be understood by anyone in her family by 32 months, has difficulty singing fragments of nursery rhymes at 36 months, doesn't ask questions at 36 months, can't be understood by strangers at least half the time by 36 months, is unable to articulate initial consonants (for example, says "all" instead of "ball" by 36 months, is unable to name most common household objects

Age:	Warning Signs:	Check Here
3 to 4 years	at 3, can't speak in short phrases by 3, is unable to understand short instructions at 3, has no interest in interacting with other children at 3, has extreme difficulty separating from a parent by 3 1/2, consistently fails to add final consonant to words (for example, saying "ca" instead of "cat") at 4, still stutters (has true difficulty producing a sound or word) frequently, often accompanied by facial grimacing at 4, isn't almost fully understandable

- credit to: www.babycenter.com