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Owen's Story:

When our son Owen was a newborn, he had trouble choking while nursing and drinking milk from a bottle. We went to a lactation consultant, tried nursing shields, various nursing positions, the slowest-flow nipples we could find, but nothing stopped the choking. Owen’s GI ordered a modified barium swallow (MBS) at4 months, and he was diagnosed with laryngeal penetration. We started feeding him honey thick liquids and were told he would eventually outgrow the condition.We were optimistic his 3 subsequent MBS’s would show progress, but sadly we were still at honey thick consistency and extremely discouraged. One of the speech language pathologists at Phoenix Children’s Hospital suggested we look into VitalStim therapy. We immediately discussed VitalStim with Owen’s pediatrician. He had never heard of the therapy, and therefore didn’t feel like he could recommend it to us. We respect our pediatrician very much, and were hesitant to try a new therapy without his recommendation. Still, we wanted to know more. Jennifer Buck at Jabbermouths was very responsive to our initial inquiry, and answered our numerous questions regarding the therapy, costs, and expected results. Her thorough explanations and case studies really helped clear up some of our confusion and hesitation to try the therapy.

Happily, Owen responded immediately to VitalStim, and especially to Jenn’s warm, loving approach. Within the first few sessions, Jenn began moving him to thinner consistencies. She also coached us about thickening at home as we progressed through therapy. He had very little choking during therapy and never once became ill. By our last two sessions, he successfully drank un-thickened milk and apple juice! After all this effort, we are optimistic that our tedious days of thickening and expensive MBS procedures may be over forever. Buh-bye, thickeners… and thank you Jenn!

- Lindsay W.

Nathaniel's Story

Our son Nathaniel was born at 23 weeks gestation and is a true miracle! He spent the first 4.5 months of his life in the NICU, and developed subglottic stenosis in his airway from being intubated. Nathaniel had to be trached at 3 months of age in order to get him off the ventilator, and he was successfully decannulated in May of 2010. After his first reconstructive airway surgery in August of 2008, Nathaniel stopped eating and drinking due to a plastic stent that had to remain in his airway for 6 weeks post surgery. Three months later in October of 2008 after slow weight gain and reduced oral intake, he received a g-tube.

We started working with Jenn in November of 2008 and initially Jenn's

goals for Nathaniel focused on normalizing responses to input in his mouth, building his oral motor movements to an age appropriate level, and creating positive food experiences. He has since mastered these areas and now our goals focus on increasing oral volume at mealtimes and keeping Nathaniel interested in food/eating orally until we can start weaning him off the g-tube.

Nathaniel's speech was late to develop due to being a micro-preemie and also from having a trach the first 3 years of his life. Jenn has also been working with Nathaniel on his speech, and he is doing wonderful! He has gone from signing with a few vocalizations to using all age appropriate sounds in just 5months.

Jenn has been a Godsend to Nathaniel and our family, in fact we consider her part of the family! Her dedication, enthusiasm, patience, and love for children and for what she does is truly amazing and inspiring! Nathaniel instantly connected with Jenn and she has been instrumental in Nathaniel's amazing progress over the last 2.5 years.

We love her, and are truly thankful to have her in our lives.

- Nancy G.

Tanner's Story

Our son, Tanner, who is now 3 & 1/2 years old, first started having problems with feeding around 15 months old. It started with drooling & oral feeding difficulties. Soon after these began, he was diagnosed with dysphasia/swallowing difficulties & we were told that Vital stim therapy would be the best treatment for him.

We tried going thru our local children's hospital, but their wait was over a year long! I soon found Jenn Buck & am so thankful we did. She got us started very quickly & ALWAYS worked with our schedule (including an hour drive time to therapy). Within a few weeks, we went from having only a few foods in his repertoire to having a variety of foods he would actually eat! His dysphagia & drooling also improved dramatically with Vital stim therapy.

Jenn was always so patient & energetic. She is a pleasure to be around & truly cares for all her patients as if they were family. Anytime I have a question about other speech or feeding issues she is prompt to return my inquiries & always knows the answer. I am truly thankful

to have such an experienced speech & language pathologist in our lives! She has made my son's quality of life so much better with her knowledge, experience & sweet spirit!

-Gina B.

Ella's Story

I wanted my daughter to talk. I watched and learned from several speech therapists. I would do the homework with Ella, and frustration after frustration left me researching for something more. All I wanted was for Ella to talk! I found some information online about oral motor therapy- this sounded interesting to me since Ella was diagnosed with low muscle tone. Jenn described Oral Motor Therapy as "physical therapy for the mouth"- slam dunk! This was what we needed.

Enter Jenn Buck.......

What I have witnessed from Ella working with Jenn is PROGRESS.

When we first started with Jenn 2 years ago, Ella would make more progress in her 1 hour with Jenn, than she would with 5 or more sessions of traditional speech therapy! Two years later, Ella SPEAKS! AND to top it off- her traditional speech therapy sessions are more productive because of the oral motor therapy component. Jenn has written homework and exchanged emails with our traditional therapist to help her be more productive with Ella as well.

I am every so grateful to Jenn for what she has done for my sweet Ella. If you think something is missing with your speech therapist or that traditional speech therapy just isn't doing enough? Jenn is your missing link.

-Chad & Carly P.

Christian's Story

Our precious son Christian was born with Down syndrome in August of 2007. The first 6 months were filled with the greatest love for our son, as well as the overwhelming task of finding all of the right therapies, tools and programs to help him develop into a happy, healthy toddler. Our family is very fortunate to have found Jenn Buck and she is unquestionably a perfect addition to our son’s “team.”

Jenn’s knowledge of Down syndrome and her extensive background in different oral motor techniques have been extremely beneficial for Christian. One of the things Jenn taught us was how to start Christian on a straw. He started straw drinking at 7 months old and by the time he turned 1, he was able to use the same straws and straw cups as our 3 year old daughter. I have had several other parents and therapist comment on his lip closure, straw drinking and tone around

him mouth. I truly believe the techniques Jenn taught our family have provided Christian with an invaluable opportunity which will turn into better communication and clearer speech patterns as he becomes an older child/adult.

Jenn also provides support for our family as we learn about Down syndrome and decide on the best programs and therapies for our son. She is extremely patient and I feel she tailors our oral motor program based on Christian’s individual needs as well as our family’s comfort level with implementing it. Her professionalism, responsiveness and energetic attitude are exceptional and I always leave therapy feeling confident I have the best tools and techniques to help our son progress each week. -Karen S.

Claire's Story

Feeding therapy with Jenn has been nothing short of a miracle for our daughter, Claire. She went from not taking any food orally and having a feeding tube to eating 100% on her own in 5 months!

Jenn is knowledgeable, engaging, encouraging and we can tell she truly cares about our baby girl. We have thoroughly enjoyed having Jenn involved in Claire's life and cannot wait to see what new things she learns with Jenn's help and guidance. We highly recommend her

services to any family!

-Adrian and Nicky V.

Devon's Story

Vital Stimulation Therapy (swallowing therapy) is never something to look forward to but I would definitely recommend the experience offered by Jennifer Buck.

It took a perseverance to find Jenn and get the necessary approvals from insurance; the experience at her clinic was WELL worth the effort. At Jabbermouths, patients get a great sense of individual attention with the one on one therapy. Parking is easy! Scheduling was a breeze. Jennifer is very professional and really great with kids and equally great with parents. Jenn even set up Devon's follow up swallow tests to accommodate our busy schedule.

We saw marked improvement every two weeks as we crept down in thicknesses until we could celebrate with un-thickened juice boxes! Jenn made something that could be very traumatic for my child more like playful, fun lunch dates! Thanks Jenn!

-Michael & Maritza K.

Collin's Story

My son has a diagnosis of autism and apraxia of speech. He is essentially considered “non-verbal.” As a parent, it is my dream to one day be able to have a full verbal conversation with him. Jennifer Buck at Jabbermouths is helping us achieve that dream! When I realized that traditional speech therapy was not what he needed to help him get his words out, I went on a hunt to find what could really help him.

After finding out about his real deficits in regards to oral motor, I was thrilled to be able to have him accepted to Jenn’s caseload! We have seen him go from having literally no sounds, to now imitating sounds on command at a rapid pace. He can even form words, when prompted, that are made up of all of the sounds he has mastered. Needless to say, it is very exciting! The program is intensive, but fun to do. I personally like having a specific program with a hierarchy of goals.

It is very rewarding when he achieves a new goal and is able to move to the next level – whether it is a horn, straw, bit block, new letter sound, etc. Jenn gives us so much support and encouragement. She puts a lot of thought into the coaching of each exercise and is so dedicated and positive. It really keeps us going from week to week. Having someone who truly believes in your child’s capabilities, understands what tools he needs to succeed, and pushes him to achieve his goals is priceless. Sometimes it can seem like a long road, and it is, but we continue to see the steady progress and we know all the hard work is worth it. My family and I are very thankful for Jenn and Jabbermouths!

-Cheryl B.

Emily's Story

Emily was born in April 2003. Since her birth, she has had pneumonia at least once a month. After several tests at Phoenix Children's Hospital Emily was diagnosed with Dysphgia on Feb. 5, 2009. Dysphgia is a swallowing disorder which required Emily to have thickener in all of her drinks. This is definitely not pleasant for anyone, especial

ly a 2nd grader! The only solution to resolve this issue, in Emily's case, was Vital Stimulation Therapy. We were placed on a waiting list at Phoenix Children's Hospital for the therapy, but were advised that we should seek therapy outside of the hospital, due to the long wait list.

We found Jenn in April 2010 and quickly started therapy in May. The atmosphere at Jabbermouths is very relaxing. Scheduling is very flexible. Jenn managed to work with my busy schedule and Emily’s school schedule.

Jenn has the patience of a saint. Getting a 7 year old to cooperate at times can be very

challenging. After 7 months, Emily has successfully completed her therapy and just had a normal modified barium swallow test. She does not require thickener in her beverages any longer and has been discharged from therapy. We are so grateful to have found Jenn! She will always hold a special place in our family.

-Don & Andrea H.

Ryan's Story

Ryan was nearing 4 years old and had already been receiving speech services privately and through the public school system for 2 years when we found Jenn. He had been diagnosed with low tone and global developmental delays, but never had a real reason for Ryan's severe speech delay. Ryan's private speech therapist felt it was time to seek out another therapist who might have more experience with what she suspected to be his problem-Oral Muscle Weakness. This was not an easy task, but after much prayer, I came across Jenn's website and saw the list of areas she

specialized in.

When I spoke with her, she confirmed that it did seem like he suffered from what our original therapist suggested. And then what she also told me was that we could keep our current therapist, because she could train her in the talk tools method! I was so relieved and excited to know that we could have both therapists working with Ryan as a team!

It would mean traveling 45 minutes one way to see Jenn, every 3-5 weeks, but she is worth it!

When we started with Jenn, Ryan was only saying the endings of words, and not in sentences at all. He was not intelligible to anyone unless I translated. Not even a year later, he has grown into only having an articulation issue! The strength he has gained in his mouth is incredible. Jenn has such a great, patient way of dealing with kids. We are so grateful to have found Jenn, and are blessed to have her as part of Ryan's story.

-Stephanie W.

Hugh's Story

From the time our son, Hugh, was five weeks old we knew he was going to struggle with eating. We would spend three to four hours for each six ounce feeding. After months of many different

reflux drugs and continued struggles, Hugh was diagnosed with dysphagia including laryngeal penetration and possible aspiration at just five months of age. We were thankful for the diagnosis, but Hugh's struggles were only just beginning. He continued to have difficulty with taking all of his required fluids and would not take ANY pureed or solid foods. As we continued to teeter on Hugh needed a feeding tube, we knew we needed to try something else.

Hugh met Jenn when he was seven months old and we are so thankful we found her. She has provided lots of support for our family. She has worked with Hugh and given us so many helpful resources and activities to continue his progress at home. He has gone from three hour feedings to less than one hour feedings and now eats just about anything in a few months!!! He also learned to drink from a straw with Jenn's help, which I believed would be an impossible feat! We are thankful that we found Jenn- she is absolutely wonderful with Hugh, is very patient, and has even helped mom and dad to relax!!! We would recommend Jenn to any family!

-Jennifer S.

Keagan's Story

Our family has been very fortunate to have been given the name of Jenn Buck. Let me start from the beginning. I am the mother of four wonderful children, two of which have autism. My daughter Keagan is eight years old and still non-verbal. She suffers from very low muscle tone and is driven by her need for constant oral motor input. She is the most verbal when she eats because her mouth is moving! When you add apraxia into the mix, things can get pretty frustrating for her. She know what she wants but can’t get her body to do it.

The difference in her since we began seeing Jenn in exceptional!!! Keagan sees Jenn once a month and is learning to build the muscles in her mouth and coordinate their movements to use her voice on command. We have many goals and dreams for Keagan and we continue to rally together as a family each day to help her achieve them. Jenn is an essential part of my daughter’s life. I love how she addresses the whole child. I have never seen my daughter so motivated by an individual or an activity until we met Jenn. I thank my lucky stars each day that she has accepted us into her caseload and if I could say one thing it would be, this program makes sense!

Oral motor really works and you can help your child overcome the setbacks they are struggling with. It is a structured program that is measure by goals which are achievable and very easy to do with your kiddo at home. This is coming from a very busy, very impressed mom! THANK YOU JENN! -Joanna S.

Johnny's Story

When a parent realizes that something may be wrong with their child’s speech development, they embark on a journey to not just find help for their child, but to find the best help available. After many evaluations, hours of speech therapy, and more questions than answers, I began searching for something different for my son’s treatment. I needed to try an innovative approach to my son’s therapy to see if we could get more results with his speech development. This is when we met Jenn Buck. She uses many techniques that are different from the traditional one-size fits all approach to speech therapy. I often describe this to my friends as “physical therapy” for the mouth. She consistently gets great results from my son. Jenn has a unique gift to get kids excited about therapy.

When we first began seeing her for speech therapy, my son would say “eh eh” and point as his main method of communication. Within a few months, he was saying words, putting them together to say short sentences, and now very clearly says, “I love you, Mom.” If you are looking for a new approach to your child’s speech therapy, I recommend Jenn without any hesitation.

-Pam B.

Bryce's Story

My son Bryce is 8 years old and has a diagnosis of Autism. He is also extremely orally defensive. I have spent the last several years trying to find feeding therapists in Arizona who worked well with his issues, but to no avail. I finally resorted to flying to Denver, Colorado every other week for feeding therapy with Toomey and Associates. We did this for two years, including practically moving to Denver over the summer of 2008. Bryce came a long way with the Toomey group. He went from not being able to tolerate food in front of him or touching it, to being able to put small pieces of food directly on his back teeth and then chewing and swallowing the food.

I am happy to say that now I do not have to travel to Denver, Colorado anymore, as I have finally found my feeding therapy “team” right here in Arizona! Jenn Buck has been absolutely phenomenal with Bryce and his therapy. She has specifically focused on oral motor skills and jaw strengthening. Thanks to her help, Bryce is now actually biting off foods, chewing them and swallowing them! This was accomplished within about a month of seeing her! He has gained confidence and the desire to eat as much as he can tolerate. He can now eat half of an order of small McDonald’s french fries! Not the healthiest we know, but hey we will take what we can get!

We still have a long way to go, but I am just so happy with the progress he is making, and I do not believe we would have advanced to this level so quickly without Jenn’s help. We are truly glad we found Jenn and Jabbermouths.

-Dawn and Nick L.

Jonathan's Story

When you find out that your child has a problem, you promise your child you will find them the best care to make things right. This goes especially for their health and well-being. We were surprised when our otherwise healthy fifteen-month old son, Jonathan, started having problems with transitioning to solid food. He had no issues with his bottle or puree, and was otherwise seemingly healthy and strong. Up until that point, every milestone was met on time. He was a beautiful, happy baby. The pediatrician suggested feeding therapy. I remember being shocked that there was even such a thing. Feeding therapy??? Yes, I was told. I need to get him eating right. If he is not eating right, he will have trouble with speech because the same muscles are used. That began my search for answers.

My free-time became consumed by internet searches. This led to my realizing that not only did my little boy have feeding issues, but he was becoming autistic as well. A visit to a developmental pediatrician confirmed my worst nightmare. Almost overnight, our lives went from relatively carefree to darkness. When something tragic happens it is normal to weep and angrily ask ‘why me?” But it is so important to quickly pick up the pieces and use that energy to be proactive to search for solutions. In my search to help my son, I went from speech therapist to speech therapist. It was apparent that the traditional speech therapy methods were not enough. He needed more. He had low tone in his mouth as well as motor planning issues that verbal modeling was not addressing.

Along the way I came across information about apraxia/dyspraxia. In reading, I found that there are specific therapy interventions for children with apraxia and low tone. However, most speech and language therapists are not trained in these techniques. It was up to me to find someone for my son who was. This search is what brought me to Jenn Buck. What impressed me about Jenn is that she is PROMPT trained, uses Kaufman techniques and well as Talk Tools for oral motor therapy. Furthermore, she has knowledge of applied verbal behavior. I was so excited to have finally found a specialized therapist who is trained to work with the sub-set of children who have low-tone and/or motor planning issues!

My child has made great progress using the approaches employed by Jenn. He is now biting and chewing foods appropriately. His articulation is improving daily as well. It is a long road, but we are on our way. Jenn is the perfect therapist for those kids who need just a little bit more.

- Michelle N.