Blog | Circle Creek Therapy

Jul 23, 2020
1 min

Creative Therapy Tools: Hedbanz

Hedbanz is an exciting game of asking questions to guess what is pictured on the card on your head! Our speech-language pathologists use this game the most because it has an abundance of speech and language targets within it. During any session, this is a great warm up game to get to know each other. During speech sessions this is a great game to work on formulating, asking questions, and answering questions. The game could be changed slightly so that participants give clues

31 views0 comments

Audri Gundersen

Jun 10, 2020
2 min

What is "Covert Stuttering?"

Covert Stuttering occurs when people who stutter pretend or act like they do not stutter even though they do. People who stutter, (and who are also covert), usually avoid saying certain words that they know they will stutter on. It is common for covert stutterers to order something at a restaurant that they actually do not want because they want to avoid stuttering. If they order what they actually want to eat, then they run the risk of openly stuttering. As a person who stut

80 views0 comments

Why is National Stuttering Awareness Week so Important?

Audri Gundersen

May 11, 2020
2 min

Why is National Stuttering Awareness Week so Important?

I grew up being quiet more often than speaking up because the best way to avoid stuttering is to not talk at all. Speaking has always been something that I have been super aware of. I grew up avoiding the words that I knew I would stutter on so that I wouldn't make others feel uncomfortable. I wanted to blend in like everyone else. In order to fit in, my normal way of life became suppressing what I wanted to say, and avoiding speaking situations at all costs. As a freshman in

12 views0 comments

Audri Gundersen

Mar 13, 2020
4 min

live anyway

My junior year of high school was a whirlwind. In a nutshell... I started dating my current boyfriend, my school volleyball team went to state for the first time in 17 years (while I was the lead setter), my uncle unexpectedly moved in with us, my club volleyball team was traveling to different states for tournaments, I was applying for colleges, and my grandma died suddenly the week before finals. Trying to balance all of these different aspects of my life proved to be chall

19 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Mar 2, 2020
3 min

Straight From the Heart: Mario Tamer

Mario Tamer is a 17 year old who attends speech therapy because he stutters. Since attending Circle Creek Therapy, he has made incredible improvements in his confidence, and he is learning how to accept his stutter. Read more about his experience at Circle Creek Therapy below! 1. Can you please tell us a little about yourself? "I am a full-time college student at Green River Community College. As of now I’m working towards obtaining my Associates Degree, and I’m thinking abou

8 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Feb 25, 2020
1 min

Creative Therapy Tools: Ice Cubes

At Circle Creek Therapy, we like to try an array of tools during our therapy sessions. Ice cubes are one of our unconventional tools that we like to implement into our occupational, speech, or physical therapy sessions. You are probably wondering, why or how would a therapist use ice during a session? Well, we like to bring in ice cubes if one of our patients is feeling overstimulated, or if they are having a meltdown. We will bring in a very cold wash cloth, or an ice cube a

24 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Feb 2, 2020
2 min

Straight From the Heart: Rachelle Radke

Rachelle and her husband have 3 wonderful children. Myka, Dylan, and Landon are their kids, and they all attend Circle Creek Therapy for speech and/or occupational therapy. Rachelle has been bringing her kids into Circle Creek Therapy for a few years, and we couldn't wait to interview her about her sweet family! Read more about her experience at Circle Creek Therapy below. 1. Can you tell us a little about each of your kids? "Landon is energetic. He is my nature kid, and he i

13 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Jan 29, 2020
2 min

Ways to Self-Advertise Your Stutter

I know that it isn't easy to tell others that you stutter because disclosing or "self-advertising" my stutter took me many years. But thanks to the amazing support and encouragement that the speech therapists at Circle Creek Therapy gave me, I now feel much more confident to "self-advertise" my stutter. Read more tips below on how I have learned over the years to effectively tells others that I stutter. 1. When you start to stutter, or while you are introducing yourself, tell

24 views0 comments

Differences & Similarities between School & Clinical Speech Therapy

Circle Creek Therapy

Jan 22, 2020
2 min

Differences & Similarities between School & Clinical Speech Therapy

Although this is not an extensive list, we have compiled some differences and similarities between school and clinical Speech Therapy. One of the biggest differences is that the school qualifies students based on academic need, and we (clinics) can qualify patients based on medical necessity. SLPs who work in clinics have a lot more freedom than SLPs who work in the schools. For example, if a clinical Speech Language Pathologist needs to continue an evaluation over the course

13 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Jan 14, 2020
1 min

Creative Therapy Tools: Puzzles

Our therapists at Circle Creek Therapy can incorporate puzzles into any kind of therapy session. In speech therapy, our SLPs incorporate puzzles into their sessions because puzzles give our clients the opportunity to practice memorizing shapes, colors, or animals. Completing puzzles is also a functional skill that is important to know even if it is not a specific goal in speech therapy. In occupational therapy, our OTs use puzzles more frequently than any of our other discipl

4 views0 comments

meeting other adults who t-t-t-talk like me for the 1st time

Audri Gundersen

Jan 13, 2020
3 min

meeting other adults who t-t-t-talk like me for the 1st time

Sitting on a kids size chair with my knees almost up to my chest wasn't exactly how I imagined meeting other adults who stutter like me. Nevertheless, it was an experience that I will never forget. I am 22 years old, and I JUST met other adults who stutter for the first time a couple of months ago. You are probably thinking, "how is that possible? You work in a clinic, and you attend UW Seattle. You should have met hundreds of adult stutterers by now!" Unfortunately, this is

8 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Jan 1, 2020
1 min

Straight From The Heart: Richard Nash

Richard and his wife have a sweet daughter named Camille. Camille has been attending Circle Creek Therapy for speech therapy, and she just graduated! She has made many improvements on her speech sounds. We decided to interview Richard about his experience at Circle Creek Therapy, and about his daughter. Read more about Richard and Camille below. 1. How would you describe Camille in 3 words? "Silly, energetic, and determined." 2. What has your experience been like at Circle Cr

5 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Dec 1, 2019
2 min

Straight From the Heart: Jessica Hefner

Jessica and her husband have 3 wonderful children. Marlee (11), Addie (6), and Max (4), are their kids, and they all attend Circle Creek Therapy for either speech, occupational, and or physical therapy. The Hefners have been coming to Circle Creek for a couple of years now, and we adore all of them! Jessica has been such a great mom through it all, and we couldn't wait to interview her! Read more about her experience at Circle Creek Therapy below. 1. Can you tell us a little

20 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Nov 8, 2019
1 min

Creative Therapy Tools: Guess Who

Have you ever played Guess Who? We have four different versions of Guess Who here at the clinic! Each game is designed for a certain age level or skill. Our speech-language pathologists, and sometimes our occupational therapists, will play this game with our patients of all ages! Guess Who is an excellent game to play with an adult who may be in the early stages of dementia or have had a traumatic brain injury or stroke to work on deductive reasoning. We also like to play thi

10 views0 comments

Straight From the Heart Interview Series: Lea Sager

Circle Creek Therapy

Nov 4, 2019
2 min

Straight From the Heart Interview Series: Lea Sager

The Sagers have been coming to Circle Creek Therapy for a couple of years now, and we have loved seeing them! Lea is the mother to Cole and Rachel. Rachel has graduated from speech therapy, but Cole is still attending speech therapy for help with his articulation. Articulation therapy is a part of speech therapy that helps people pronounce certain sounds correctly. For example, a speech therapist can help a child say the "l" sound in the word "lion," instead of saying "wion."

10 views0 comments

Audri Gundersen

Oct 22, 2019
2 min

A gentle reality check

I was sitting shotgun next to my favorite person, Kyle. Kyle has been my boyfriend for many years, but he has also become one of my best friends. One day during the fall, he picked me up from school, and we were headed back to his house. I had a presentation that day in one of my communication classes. I was gearing up for it all week, and I felt like I did a decent job. In that moment, I was feeling fairly proud of myself, even though I stuttered a little bit. As I was enjoy

35 views0 comments

Circle Creek Therapy

Oct 17, 2019
2 min

Creative Therapy Tools: Crafts

If you can name a craft, we have probably made it! We love making crafts during any kind of therapy session! In fact, each week we have a designated craft. One of our volunteers, and another one of our co-workers, will work together to create and come up with enough craft pieces for all of our patients to make. By the way, they have to make up enough pieces for up to 50+ patients a week! Although we all make the same craft for all of our kiddos, we can adjust it based on thei

7 views0 comments

What I Wish People Knew About My Job as an SLP

Circle Creek Therapy

Oct 8, 2019
2 min

What I Wish People Knew About My Job as an SLP

Grace Hiegel: I love being an SLP because it is a combination of so many things that I enjoy. In school, I got to learn about anatomy, psychology, and language. The reality is, being an SLP is a whole lot more than just speech. We work also work with literacy, fluency, social behavior, play skills, feeding… the list goes on! This is one of the many reasons I enjoy what I do, because there is so much variety in my day, and so much variety in what I can choose for my career. Mo

31 views0 comments

Straight From the Heart Interview Series: Carrie Moore

Circle Creek Therapy

Oct 2, 2019
2 min

Straight From the Heart Interview Series: Carrie Moore

Carrie Moore is an exceptional mother to her 2 daughters, Olivia and Kaylee. Carrie and her husband bring both of their girls to Circle Creek Therapy for occupational and speech therapy. Carrie has been bringing her girls to Circle Creek for a few years now, and we have really enjoyed working with the Moore family. We asked Carrie some questions about her experience at Circle Creek Therapy, and you can read more about it below! 1. How would you describe Olivia and Kaylee? Ho

7 views0 comments

"Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian that Almost Didn’t Happen”: Book Review By A Stutterer

Audri Gundersen

Sep 16, 2019
2 min

"Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian that Almost Didn’t Happen”: Book Review By A Stutterer

“Stutterer Interrupted: The Comedian that Almost Didn’t Happen” is a memoir about the life of Nina G. Nina goes into detail about what it is like to stutter, and to be dyslexic. She is an accomplished writer, special needs counselor, and comedian. As a woman who stutters like Nina, this book was a breath of fresh air. She tells it like it is with the fierceness that I sometimes wish I had. Not only is this book important for those who stutter, but it can be an eye-opening exp

32 views0 comments