Different sounds can be produced in lots of ways. For example, take the 's' sound. But if a child can't do that, we can try to use the sides of the tongue, to get the sound approximately. A lot of times it's trial and error. When respiratory support is insufficient for voicing, Mason looks at improving it.
Vocalization comes after that many times.
For Mason and her early-childhood team, even if a child can't learn to speak, communication and language development are still vital, and alternatives to speaking have to be found. Another alternative system is sign language, if the child's hand muscles are working well enough for this. It's absolutely important for the child to learn early that 'when I do something, something happens. Those are the earliest lessons that we try to get parents to understand. Even if finger and hand function is later lost in a progressive disorder, the early boost to language makes learning some signs worthwhile, Mason believes.