Celebrating the Voice

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This week we’ve been celebrating World Voice Day! The American Academy of Otolaryngology‒Head and Neck Surgery, a US sponsor, states that “On World Voice Day everyone – young and old – is encouraged to assess their vocal health and take action to improve or maintain good voice habits.” Here at Sound, we love working with voice patients! Our SLP Molly put together some information about the voice as well as our favorite resources for learning more.

Fun Facts About the Voice

  • Your voice is housed in your larynx, also known as your voice box. 

  • Your vocal folds include four layers of very delicate tissue and one layer of muscle. 

  • Try humming and placing your hand against your neck. You should feel the vibration!  Our voice is produced by the vocal folds, which sit above our windpipe, also known as the trachea. The air from your trachea assists the vocal folds in vibrating to produce your voice!

Voice Therapy

  • Otolaryngologists (also known as Ear, Nose, and Throat physicians (ENT) can conduct evaluations of an individual’s larynx to investigate why an individual may be having difficulty with their voice. An ENT physician may recommend voice therapy as part of the individual's treatment plan. 

  • Voice therapy is conducted by Speech-Language Pathologists to assist individuals in healing from vocal injury and/or optimizing how they use their voice.

  • Voice therapy is tailored to support a person’s individual needs and includes providing patient education and implementing strategies to improve vocal hygiene. 

Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy

  • Gender-affirming voice therapy supports individuals who are seeking to achieve congruence of their voice with their gender identity. 

  • Therapy in this setting will explore areas including communication patterns, resonance, voice quality, intonation as they relate to gender perception. 

  • The patient is an active partner with the Speech-Language Pathologist in working towards their voice and communication goals.

Resources

Cleveland Clinic

National Institutes of Health

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Voice Foundation

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Jody Vaynshtok

Jody is a California-licensed speech language pathologist with eight years of industry and clinical experience. She has worked with both adult and pediatric populations during her time at private practice, birth-to-three, and hospital facilities. She is experienced in the assessment and treatment of a variety of communication and cognitive disorders. In addition, Jody has a passion for working with adults looking to achieve clearer communication. Jody received her BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences and MS in Medical Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Washington. She was a part of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford’s cleft and craniofacial clinic participating in the multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of children born with craniofacial abnormalities. She holds a staff position at UCSF and is the lead speech language pathologist for the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Hearing Loss Clinic. When she's not busy having fun with her clients Jody enjoys spending time with her husband, Anton, friends and family. And if she's not headed out somewhere fun for dinner, you might find her at Bar Method working out!

Construction Announcement

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Next week, construction begins in the main lobby of our building at 251 Rhode Island Street. This is a friendly announcement to give you a heads-up (literally!) about the renovation work, which will run April through August 2024. There will be a path from the main entrance of our building to the clinic and bathrooms will be accessible. We'll keep you updated as needed!

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Jody Vaynshtok

Jody is a California-licensed speech language pathologist with eight years of industry and clinical experience. She has worked with both adult and pediatric populations during her time at private practice, birth-to-three, and hospital facilities. She is experienced in the assessment and treatment of a variety of communication and cognitive disorders. In addition, Jody has a passion for working with adults looking to achieve clearer communication. Jody received her BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences and MS in Medical Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Washington. She was a part of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford’s cleft and craniofacial clinic participating in the multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of children born with craniofacial abnormalities. She holds a staff position at UCSF and is the lead speech language pathologist for the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Hearing Loss Clinic. When she's not busy having fun with her clients Jody enjoys spending time with her husband, Anton, friends and family. And if she's not headed out somewhere fun for dinner, you might find her at Bar Method working out!

Writing Tips, Ideas & Examples for #KidDay

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This information is from the fabulous folks at Camp Fire. Learn more about #KidDay at campfire.org/kidday

Absolutely Incredible Kid Day® is right around the corner (third Thursday in March)! If you find yourself running a little low on creativity, here are some ideas to help get you started writing/telling a kid in your life why they are absolutely incredible:

+ Try using a different word than incredible: Is your kid amazing? Wonderful? Inspiring? Spectacular? Impressive? Great? Marvelous? Fantastic? What about a more specific characteristic? Is your kid creative? Passionate? Generous? Caring? Determined? Confident? Compassionate? Do they make you smile? Laugh? Proud? Excited? Challenged to think in a different way? Inspired? Energized? There are thousands of ways to express how incredible your kid is. Don’t feel that you have to settle for one word!

+ Use the platform they respond to the most! For a lot of kids, that is social media. Do they love Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, email, or text messages? If you’re on social media, post a photo of the kid you want to praise, and try a caption like this for your post!

  • I’m always so impressed by how hard you work! Your passion inspires me and you teach me how to enjoy life. I am so thankful for you. #KidDay #AIKD

  • You make me proud, not just today, but EVERYDAY! I am so fortunate that you are in my life. Keep being you, because who you are is #incredible! Happy #KidDay! #AIKD

+ An absolutely incredible kids doesn’t have to be your kid. Don’t have kids of your own? Today is still for you! Are you a teacher who knows an incredible student? Are you a volunteer that has been inspired by the generosity of a kiddo you work with? Are you a social worker? A coach? A neighbor? A sibling? Aunt or uncle? How you know your kiddo isn’t important – it’s how they have impacted your life! Let them know you are honored to know them!

+ Stick a note in their lunch box, on their pillow, in their car, or put your AIKD letter/postcard in the mail for them!

That’s not all!

Here are examples that our National Youth Advisory Cabinet put together a few ideas for how to send an encouraging note on #KidDay!

Dear Shiloh,

I think that you are an absolutely incredible kid. You were such a fantastic help as my counselor-in-training last summer. I really admire how hard you worked to make sure that all of our campers learned and had fun. I was especially impressed by how much you grew as a leader during camp. You were great in the beginning, but by the end of camp, you were absolutely fantastic. All of the campers really admired you, and I do too! Keep working hard, and you will continue to accomplish great things. I can’t wait to work with you again next summer!

All the best,

Hey Zach!

I just wanted to take the time to point out what an absolutely incredible kid you are! You are pawsitively a joy to be around with your bright personality and sense of humor. And with your hard work and compassion, you will continue to amaze those around you. Take time to sniff out your spark and learn what makes you the wonderful person you are. It would be catastrophic for you to not to be recognized on absolutely incredible kid day and all other days for your unique spark. Stay positive and enjoy what amazing things are coming your way!

Connor,

Thank you for being an absolutely incredible kid! Being able to teach you swim lessons this summer was a blast. Seeing you grow and become a better swimmer made it all worthwhile. I hope to see you this summer again. Keep your school work up and have an amazing year.

See you later!

Still need more ideas?

Maybe words aren’t your thing. That’s okay! Paint a picture. Take a photo. Kick a soccer ball around. Choreograph a dance. Program a computer game. Learn something together.

On March 21st, tell your kiddo they are incredible in a way that is truly YOU.

Learn more about #KidDay and join the celebration!

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Jody Vaynshtok

Jody is a California-licensed speech language pathologist with eight years of industry and clinical experience. She has worked with both adult and pediatric populations during her time at private practice, birth-to-three, and hospital facilities. She is experienced in the assessment and treatment of a variety of communication and cognitive disorders. In addition, Jody has a passion for working with adults looking to achieve clearer communication. Jody received her BS in Speech and Hearing Sciences and MS in Medical Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Washington. She was a part of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford’s cleft and craniofacial clinic participating in the multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of children born with craniofacial abnormalities. She holds a staff position at UCSF and is the lead speech language pathologist for the department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Hearing Loss Clinic. When she's not busy having fun with her clients Jody enjoys spending time with her husband, Anton, friends and family. And if she's not headed out somewhere fun for dinner, you might find her at Bar Method working out!