The Fountain of Speech
By April Russell / Photos by Erin Treadway
What comes to mind when you imagine a trip to the pool? If you’re like most people, you picture hot summer days, brightly colored floats, and diving boards.
Chances are you don’t think about combining pool time with a bit of speech therapy. But at Fountain Therapeutic Center in Texarkana, that’s exactly what they’re doing every day.
In the back of the Fountain Theraputic Center facilities sits a small indoor swimming pool equipped with jets, fountains, and occasionally a spirited little girl in a Little Mermaid swimsuit and a curly ponytail.
Every Friday, six-year-old Miriam Bougie slips into her swimsuit, straps on her red goggles and splashes into the pool at Fountain Therapeutic Center as part of her ongoing speech and occupational therapy sessions. Miriam has been attending sessions at the center since January 2012, after a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at Miriam’s school confirmed her mother’s concerns about her language development. Candace Taylor, Miriam’s mother, remembers noticing that her daughter didn’t say much but thought it may have just been a result of the new environment at school. Miriam lives in a bilingual home with an English-speaking mother and a father who speaks French; and while her mother says Miriam was able to speak just as many French as English words, by age three her overall vocabulary was just not where it should have been for her age.” “She could understand but was not able to verbally communicate a response, or it was not intelligible,” Candace said.
Miriam started attending speech therapy sessions with Lori Duncan, a speech pathologist at the Fountain Therapuetic Center, and her language skills quickly improved. Candace says Miriam’s ability to make eye contact, process information and respond appropriately has improved by leaps and bounds throughout her time at the center.
Watching Miriam in the pool, you would never guess she’s doing anything but having a good time.
Miriam started occupational therapy about a year ago, which is more hands-on and in line with how Miriam’s brain operates, according to her mom, who describes Miriam as “very kinesthetic.” Around six months later, Miriam’s therapists decided she was ready for aquatic therapy as well.
Aquatic therapy – or pool-based therapy – is less traditional than mainstream occupational therapy techniques, which generally focus on land-based everyday activities such as tying shoelaces, slicing vegetables or playing games. For Miriam, adding pool time to her weekly sessions made therapy seem like just another one of her everyday activities.
Watching Miriam in the pool, you would never guess she’s doing anything but having a good time. Miriam’s mother calls her pool therapy the “purposeful activity of play.” Miriam is like a river otter splashing around the pool, diving down to retrieve toys from the bottom, and laughing merrily as she comes up for air on the other side. Alicia Ramage, an occupational therapy assistant at the Fountain Therapuetic Center, leads Miriam through a series of activities to encourage her to focus, follow directions and process the competing stimuli of water, sound, and voice. Some days Alicia throws a ball back and forth with Miriam to encourage her to be still, or directs her to match foam letters to animals placed around the edge of the pool. Her goal is to promote Miriam’s ability to pay attention to Alicia’s instructions while all of her senses are engaged. A waterfall sprays over the pool while jets churn the water with a roaring sound, something Alicia says Miriam had to learn to integrate over time.
Now that Miriam is old enough to have awareness about her therapy sessions and the areas she needs to work on, Candace says the pool is a great motivation for her, bridging the gap between therapy and everyday life. Miriam is a great swimmer, her mother says, and swimming is just another activity she enjoys, like dancing, singing and practicing the violin. Candace also attributes a boost in confidence she has seen in Miriam to her time in aquatic therapy. “I see more confidence in the way she handles herself. She is very sure of herself on the ground because of the pool.”
In the pool, Miriam seems like just another kid having a good time instead of a young girl working to develop a skill that most people take for granted. Her contagious laughter layers onto the sounds of splashing, and if you close your eyes you would never guess you were hearing the sounds of growth and hard work.
