Bernards Ridge Edition Sept/Oct/Nov 2019

Three generations of one family serving the Somerset Hills for over 100 years with caring and nurturing support at heartfelt loss. George R. Layton III Director/Manager 475 Main Street PO Box 133 Bedminster, NJ 07921 908.234.0766 Fax 908.234.0371 george@laytonfuneralhome.com www.laytonfuneralhome.com Directors George R. Layton 1907-1949 George R. Layton Jr. 1949-2003 LAYTON FUNERAL HOME Since 1907 NJ License #3691 DON‘T RISK LOSING PRICELESS MEMORIES! Bedminster, NJ | 908-367-2001 | www.archivalcompany.com VIDEO TO DVD & DIGITAL FORMATS: VHS, VHS-C, H I 8, HDV, D IGITAL 8, M INI DV, U-M ATIC 3/4”, B ETA SP, SX, S UPER 8/8 MM , 16 MM CREATE YOUR DIGITAL LEGACY! Convert your old media to a digital format and enjoy your family videos on your TV. No DVDs required! OFF WITH THIS AD & % $ ## & % $ !$% "! www.theconnectionsnj.com Recipe Book Deals & Steals Business Directory Online Ads Blog Although I haven’t practiced speech and language therapy for many years, my training has made me very aware of the importance of having use of these most important tools. Babies model both speech (phonetic combina- tions of articulated vowel and consonant sounds that form a word) and language (the use of words in a structured and conven- tional way). As the baby matures, she learns that if she utters some- thing resembling “cookie,” she will most probably be rewarded with a cookie. As she gets older, she may learn that if she wants a cookie and a glass of milk, she may need to express a more com- plex combination of utterances, such as “may I have cookies and milk, please?” As we mature, we use speech and language to manipulate our environment to attain more and meet our needs. Our world grows from this manipulation, and we read, we listen, we experiment and we imitate. Moving from one job to another, we may learn nomenclature that had been unknown before we entered the field. And then, the aging process slows us down, and we find our- selves frustrated and unwilling to use our language that has served us well in the past. Not wanting to make a mistake, we may use the first word that comes to mind, although it may not be the one which we wanted to use. “Senior moments” as we refer to them, become more and more familiar, and we choose to pull out of situations that may cause embarrassment. Enter the Speech and Language Therapist who is trained to assist with the cognition necessary to help seniors feel more comfort- able communicating. Speaking and listening are skills that can certainly be improved, and condi- tioning to do so is a goal worth achieving. This may be in the form of practicing sentence structure, something our seniors possibly remember from Grammar classes. Or it may be a reinforcement of their familiar names and places. Reviewing family and activities will provide pattern in the brain to help “grasp” the words that will help the senior more readily achieve what they want. There is so much the aging process takes from us, but our speech and language need not be one of them. Communication enriches our lives! It is the tool we most need when socializing with peers. To that point, Group Living helps to keep seniors interested in others, and that is a basic need we must help our parents achieve. The confidence our par- ents have that they can converse with and be of interest to others is an amazing and extremely ben- eficial gift for everyone! SPEECH AND LANGUAGE: SO IMPORTANT FOR SENIORS By: Ellyn Mantell PAGE 68 Spotlight on Seniors theconnectionsnj.com