My friend told me about a great, cheap eyeshadow pallet, but he couldn't remember the brand.It wasn't the basic NYX,MAC or Coastal Scents pallets, so if you know of any other brands that make good pallets, please list the brand so we can jump start his memory and so I can buy it :)
A palatal expander is a great tool for correcting a narrow palate and allowing her teeth to erupt in a more desirable way. I have been an assistant for 15 yrs and often see people who should have gone thru this process, or many who didn't have the option due to the fact it wasn't around when they were younger, and now have dental issues that are difficult to solve. It will be placed in a position that will initially affect speech, but so many kids overcome it very quickly. I truly believe it will help her speech in the long-run even considering the palsy issue. The expander helps to spread the palate (slowly over time) and give her tongue more space to form her words. My son also has the classic R/W problems as the previous answerer, he's 10 and still struggles. I wish there was a tool that could help him like the expander. Wish you the best.
I had an expander at 30 yrs old !! Yes the expander will make speech difficult It is something that her mouth will have to grow accustomed to. Her mouth will water alot the first week or so as the body recognizes the expander as food and tries to help digest it by adding extra saliva,But the good news is it does calm down -tell her to read outloud to herself or sing and it wil come around . The therapist will have to work with her a little more.
Chances are pretty good that her speech will become worse with the expander in place, but once it's off she will probably be able to make some progress with her speech therapy. She is old enough to understand this if you explain it to her. You are trying to HELP her so she can speak more clearly and this is just something she will have to put up with as part of the deal. You can make it more palatable (pun intended) to her by saying that WITHOUT the palatal expansion, her speech just will not get any better.
Don't make it an issue. Sure, make sure that she goes to speech classes, and make sure that she knows how to speak as well as she is able, but don't make it a driving issue in her life. My daughter has Bell's Palsy, a drooping of one side of the cheek, and it causes the classic R-W speech impediment. (be vewwy vewwy quiet, im hunting wabbits) I know that it's not as severe as your daughters, but her mom and I have shown her that she can still be a confident person. I point out Barbara Walters on TV, who also has Bells Palsy. If Barbara Walters can do anything with her life, and become a nationally recognised figure for her poise and grace in speaking, so can my daughter, and yours can too.
My daughter was 7 in 1st grade when she got hers,it was removable though. She had severe cross bite and couldn't eat hard foods, or close her mouth, she always had a crooked look on her face. It was great!, it opened up very fast and she then had to were the retainer for 1 year to keep it that way as she started loosing more teeth. She also took speech in school everyone thought she was from New York, we are not. It helped and she took it up until 5th grade, it was the SH which she worked out fast, but the R was more difficult, and to this day if she is tired the New York R comes back, she is 13. Hopefully she will build confidence with the speech therapy, we also did alot of practicing at home, as she moved up in grades they had to do oral reports, the teachers knew how uncomfortable she was so they made exceptions for her, and one day she volunteered to read out loud it was a turning point for her and she did it on her own, the teacher called me that afternoon and told me how proud she was of her. That was 4th grade. I said nothing when she got home and asked how her day was, and she told me how she read aloud in front of the class. That made my day. Good Luck
