Reginah The Speech Therapist

22/10/2025

Let’s Talk About Sleep Apnea 💤
I’ve come across several clients who show characteristics of suspected sleep apnea, and I thought it’s important to share some awareness in simple terms.

🌙 What’s Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea means that a person stops breathing for short periods while asleep.
When this happens, the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, and the person may wake up many times during the night without realizing it.

😴 What Causes Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea happens when something blocks the airway during sleep, or when the brain doesn’t send the right signals to keep breathing going.

There are two main types:

1️⃣ Obstructive Sleep Apnea (the most common type)
This occurs when the airway (throat) becomes narrow or blocked during sleep.
It can be caused by:

Relaxed throat muscles while sleeping

Enlarged tonsils or adenoids (especially in children)

Being overweight

A small jaw, large tongue, or nasal blockage

2️⃣ Central Sleep Apnea
This happens when the brain forgets to signal the body to breathe for short moments.
It’s less common and usually linked to other medical conditions.

💬 In Simple Terms:
Sleep apnea is caused by blocked airways or the brain not sending proper breathing signals during sleep.

🌼 Why Share This?
Because awareness saves lives — and early detection can make a huge difference in both health and communication outcomes.

21/03/2022

Inclusion, awareness and support

02/03/2022

12/09/2021

It has been a while I know but here I am to share some information on pediatric voice disorder.
Voice disorder may be characterized by hoarseness , vocal fatigue, periodic loss of voice or inappropriate pitch among others.
Most of voice disorders are as a result of straining the voice examples of straining may include frequent yelling, shouting, speaking often in background noise, chronic throat clearing, environmental factors, nodules, bacterial infections, etc
Voice disorders in children is serious because it may lead to NODULES on the vocal cords.
NODULES are among the most common causes of voice disorders in children.
It's not always easy to diagnose Nodules but once diagnosed there are ways to manage / treat the nodules. It can be through voice therapy, medication, voice rest, among others
Here are a few tips to keep your child voice healthy.
1. Turn down the volume i.e TV, radio, mobile devices
2.Encourage healthy voice habits i.e sipping water to keep the vocal cords hydrated and less prone to injury
3. Avoid irritants i.e smoke, aerosol sprays, air fresheners , hairsprays etc
4. Discourage constant throat clearing it contributes to throat irritation and hoarseness instead let them sip water when need arises among others.
Thank you and let's all have a fruitful week.
Ray SLT

12/10/2020

SOUND AWARENESS
we use different parts of our mouth to make sounds. That is the lips, tongue, teeth,and the back of our mouth.
Did you know sounds p, b and m are made using your lips?
Sounds t, d and l are made using your tongue?
Sounds k, g and ng are made at the back of your mouth?
We have some sounds that are noisy while others are quiet.
Sound p is quiet because your voice is turned off while sound M is noisy because your using your voice. How will you know, place your fingers on your throat while producing the sound and you will tell the difference. For Sound m you will feel the vibration while p you won't.
Some sounds are long while others are short.
Sound f is a long because with a deep breath you can make this sound last while sound t is a short sound. It's produce using a short burst of air.
This helps children develop sound awareness skills.