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.

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.

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.

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.