If It's Not Going Through the Cortex, There's No Learning

Full transcript

Hi, it's Nicole from the NYU Motor Speech Lab, coming in today with a Monday tidbit based on Dr. Strand's quote: "If it's not going through the cortex, there's no learning happening."

Basically, what she's saying is what we know. If the child isn't really paying attention in your motor speech sessions, and not just paying attention to you, but paying attention to how the movement or the target gesture feels when they're producing it, there's no learning happening. So what can we do? I have some things that I do in my sessions.

The first thing I want to point out is just a note of caution: we don't want the kids ever going on autopilot. Say the target word is "bed." If they say "bed, bed, bed, bed, bed, bed" like that, it doesn't count. No learning is happening there. They're just being silly. They're not thinking about their articulators. It's not going through the cortex.

So what do I do? I like to start with deep breathing. Most of my kids are a little bit hyperactive, and we know that slow, focused breathing can really get you into a more relaxed, focused state. What I like to do is cupcake breathing. I make a cupcake, I say, "We're going to blow out the cupcake," and I do this for a minute. Sometimes I do it at the beginning, sometimes in the middle. It's super helpful.

The other thing I do is put on blinders. We know that visual focus can anchor cognitive focus. So I put my hands here and I say, "Look at me. We're going to do the word together." That really helps.

And lastly, I get them to close their eyes and really think about how the movement feels. "Do you feel the way your lips feel when you put them together for that 'mmm' sound?" That's really helpful also.

Again, if it's not going through the cortex, there's no learning happening.