“Repunzel,” The Teaching of Talking

March 12, 2014

We are here in Brighton, England.  It is a wonderful city that now feels like a cross between Greenwich Village, San Francisco and New York City.  But let’s get on with the story…

Last night as I was completing an article for publication, I heard a voice calling out at full volume:  “Repunzel, Repunzel, Let down your hair!”  I thought it weird that I should be hearing a plea such as that from the other side of the court-yard.  But then, I thought, “This is England, and I believe the story originated here.”

Repunzel

(A True Story…Only the names

have been changed to protect the innocent…)

After a brief Google search on Wikipedia,  and recalling the story from childhood days,  it was learned that Repunzel was a German fairy tale, and was written in about 1812.  It involved the story of a young child who was given to a wicked enchantress when born to keep the father out of jail.  He found a special plant in the enchantress’s yard that helped his wife conceive a child.  The enchantress promises not to report him to the police in exchange for the child.

The child who was named Repunzel grows up to be a beautiful young lady who is then imprisoned by the enchantress in a castle until a prince finds and rescues her.  He calls out to  her “Repunzel, Repunzel, Let down your hair!”  She does.  He rescues her and they escape.  And…”they live happily ever after.”  (Please refer to the story or to Wikipedia or Google if you want more of the details to the story .)

I have not figured out yet whether this true life experience had any deep or personal significance other than knowing there are many people with speaking difficulties who are locked away inside their bodies, unable to speak in their homes without skilled speech therapy care.  In many circumstances aide is not available or affordable.  Therefore the only one left to rescue the person from a world of silence or misunderstanding is a loved one or parent who can learn to intervene by learning methods of speech and language stimulation and providing this at home if appropriate for the child who has not learned to speak or for the adult who has lost the ability to talk.

“Caregiver, Mother, Father, Loved one:  Learn to Stimulate Talking!”



Mark A. Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP
Speech Language Pathologist, 
Author: The Teaching of Talking (our website and place you can order an autographed copy of Teaching of Talking).
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e mail:  markittleman@teachingoftalking.com