Using the Warm-up
(Dr. Elena Gažiová, EMITplus, s.r.o.)
An integral part of speech therapy is the development of the motorics of the articulation organs. Warm-up serves to assist with developing this motorics.
Warm-up comprises 37 different exercises for the articulation organs, of which the speech therapist can build an exercise program suitable for given diagnosis. Once the patient masters the exercises he can continue with them alone as long as needed given the age, intelect and diagnosis. The whole application is built such as to motivate the patient and not to traumatize him. At the same time it aims to reach the desired effect. i.e. exercise the articulation organs and improvement of their function.
It is recommended that the therapist diagnoses the patient using all the exercises first, and determins his ability to focus, repeat, and specifically the articulation difficulties of individual organs (Lapoint – Wertz test).
We target the therapy to the selection of exercises suitable to particular needs, and benefits from the possibility to pause the exercise and continue stepwise. This approach makes the exercise easier to understand and repeat. After such detail explanation the patien can carry on repeating the exercise.
Warm-up is one of the “silent” applications, hence it can be used to work with two patient simultaneously, even two patiens using this application at the same time (e.g. using two mirrors, positioned left and right of the monitor rather than a webcam) or optionally, as a group exercise in the class of speech therapy.
There are several ways to exercise the articulation organs, but the Warm-up application allows for the highest efficiency without the loss of time for the preparatory work. The therapist, not in need of presenting the exercises, can focus on precision and exactness of the patient, interrupt when need be and correct the execution. Various entertaining exercises (with candle, baloon, bubble blower, jam, etc. …) we recommend as supplementary to the exercise with parents.