It also comes from a place of frustration. It comes from a place of passion. That may come through in the words I choose. It might bother you. It might sting a little, and you might disagree. That's okay with me, and I hope it's okay with you. We don't have to agree, but I do think we should listen to each other.
I have recently seen a lot of parents on various Facebook groups asking about different types of oils they can give their child to help improve speech. I see suggestions from other parents about fish oil and various other essential oils and their effectiveness, or lack of effectiveness. I have commented once or twice, but I'm starting to see this question DAILY. No exaggeration, I see it in my newsfeed every day.
And I get it. I see parents desperate to do anything that could possibly help their child to verbalize. To make eye contact. To interact with them. To respond to their questions. To say their sounds right so they can order their own food at Applebees and the waiter can understand them. I can tell they feel trapped in a world separate from their child's because they don't communicate. I can see you. I see you on a long and difficult path, full of tears and judgement from others. I see your small celebrations of minimal progress. I understand the curiosity about oils. Could it work? Could there be a magic pill?
Most of the comments on these questions are in support of giving your child oils. A few will recognize that there isn't much scientific research, but that it helped so-and-so, and what could it hurt?
I want to reach through my computer and hug these people, and at the same time punch them in the face. I believe it CAN hurt and that it DOES hurt. Let me explain why.
When I started seeing this question pop up, I was interested. There are benefits to taking fish oil, and some essential oils can be effective for some ailments. So, I went to the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association's website and searched. And searched. Then I went to their scientific journal archives to see if anyone had done any research about oils and their effect on speech. I came back empty handed. I tried every key word I could think of, and I literally found nothing remotely related.
This tells me a few things. First, that we need more scientific research! I wish I could read something concrete about the effectiveness of oils. Second, it gives me a little hint. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money to research a speech treatment. Maybe, just maybe, there are methods out there that a more likely to cause speech to improve. Maybe those methods are more worthy of time and research than the search for a magic pill. It also tells me that parents aren't searching this out. They are asking friends and family, not doctors or therapists.
You know what I can find research on? Interventions. Speech and language interventions. I can find what the best methods are to help your child. I can find the right amount of time to see the best progress. I can find a lot of different ways to get your child to talk, and I can help you choose what would be the best fit for your specific child. And I know those methods work because there is data to prove it, from actual people who actually tried it. They took the time to measure and report their progress or lack thereof so that YOU and I could use your time and money on things that are proven and known to work.
This is where the frustration, passion, and a little tinge of anger come in. There are lots of people out there trying to get your money. They know you are worn down. They know you want a fun, fast, easy answer. They know your willing to spend the money to try. They flood you with testimonials, with people saying "It works!" to tug at your heart strings and make you feel like this could be the answer. What they won't give you is solid research and data that supports their treatment. Sometimes it because it hasn't be done, but lots of times its because it doesn't work. If a new treatment program comes out, they should have done the research behind that treatment BEFORE charging people money for it.
Your heart strings have already been pulled, though. So you spend the money. You invest the time. You don't stop speech therapy, but you just do this thing in addition. You start seeing changes. You hear new words. Your kid says "I love you" for the first time. They say their own name correctly. They play a game with you. It works! Maybe. Because you aren't sure if it's the therapy or your oil/exercises/videos or whatever else your doing. So you keep spending time and money on both things, not really knowing what is causing the change.
I think that's bogus. I think its a rip off. I think it's dishonest. I think your being taken advantage of and that makes me so mad. That's where the oils hurt. They hurt because a parent is spending time and money forcing their toddler to eat a nasty fish pill instead of spending that time and money on the things that we KNOW can and do work. They give false hope.
My advice? Take the time and money you would have spent on that new program. On watching those Geminii videos. On oral motor exercises. On oils. On whatever it is your thinking about, and put it towards what we know works. If you plan on having your kid watch a Geminii video for 30 minutes every day, try doing what your therapists suggests for 30 minutes every day instead. Try using the research based methods that Speech Therapists should be using in your sessions. If you don't know what those are, ask your therapist. Go to ASHA.org and look them up. Look on Google Scholar. Read this blog! Try those things first.
Track the progress. Really, honestly track it. Count the number of new words you child imitates each week. Track the number of times they make a request independently. Track the number of wh questions they get correct. Calculate their average words per phrase in a 30 minute conversation. Do it every week, and watch your numbers increase. If they don't, by all means, buy the oil. Buy the video. Buy the chew toy. But if (in my opinion, when) it does work, know that it worked because of you and your therapist. Because you studied and invested well. Because you stuck to science and the methods that are proven instead of letting people prey on your emotions.
If you are thinking "Well, it did work for me! My child did make improvements with XYZ, she doesn't know what she is talking about!", then I have a way for you to test your method. This is how you scientifically figure out of what you are doing is working, or if it's the speech therapy. You choose the behavior your are increasing. Say it's number of new words. For at least 2 weeks, record the number of new words your child is saying each week. The third week, stop giving them your alternative treatment. Count the number of new words. Do it again the second week. Do it again the third week. Then add your alternative treatment back in. Count their new words for 2-3 more weeks.
If you alternative treatment is working you will see numbers that will look like this:
First two weeks: Steady increase
Next 3 weeks (stopping alternative treatment): Flat progress or decrease
last 2-3 weeks (starting alternative treatment again): Increase
If it's not working and it's actually the speech therapy, they will look like this:
First two weeks: Increase
Next 3 weeks: Increase
Last 2-3 weeks: Increase
My bottom line: Researched based interventions give you the most bang for your buck. I don't care what your chiropractor says. I don't care what your eight ball says. I don't care if it worked for your neighbor. Talk to your therapist. If you don't trust them, find someone you do trust. Find someone who takes data, gives homework, and makes you feel supported at home. If you really want to give your kid oils, please talk to your doctor about appropriate dosages and follow their recommendations.
