34 | MARCH 30 • 2023 

P

erhaps Lori Klisman Ellis 
and Lisa Sherbel thought 
retirement would be easy, 
relaxing and even laid back. But 
these days, the two retired speech 
language pathologists (SLPs) 
travel around the area with a 
giant stuffed monkey to libraries, 
schools and events to bring their 
book, Speech Tips with Spunky 
Monkey, to as many people as 
possible. 
Although they retired from the 
field, Ellis said she and her co- 
author felt they had more to con-

tribute to the community. As they 
chatted on their daily walks to 
Drake Sports Park, they hatched 
a plan: They could help kids with 
speech issues and their caregivers 
by crafting a guided, fun experi-
ence that would leave them with 
practical tips, a sense of normal-
ization and some humor. 
Meet Spunky, a monkey at 
the zoo who wants to play a ball 
game with his friends. Even the 
game itself, Say and Catch, is a 
tool used in speech therapy. As 
Spunky encounters each friend, 

he normalizes their challenges 
while helping them work through 
speech strategies for stuttering, 
articulation issues, receptive and 
expressive language impairment, 
hearing loss and voice disorder. 
“You know what, sometimes I 
stutter, too, and it makes me feel 
blue,
” Spunky says to his friend 
Sophie the Snake. “Just have fun 
and play. Can you do that for me 
today? Take a breath and count 
to two. I won’t interrupt or rush 
you.
” 
Everything from the game 
to the advice Spunky gives his 
friends to the validating 

language the characters use is 
designed to help kids understand 
speech issues. The colorful illus-
trations are done by Lou Okell, an 
artist that Ellis had met through 
her previous publications. 
“It’s an introduction to speech 
and language challenges, but 
it also talks about friendships, 
respecting others and under-
standing people with different 
speech challenges,
” Ellis said. 
“Often, kids are pulled out of 
classes to meet with a SLP
, leav-
ing other kids wondering what 
happens during these sessions,
” 
she explained. “Spunky and his 
friends give all kids the language 
and insight into this world.
”
The book includes activities 
and resources for teachers and 
professionals to use with children. 
The authors have been partner-
ing with speech therapy offices 

and other donors to sponsor 
giveaways of the book at schools, 
doctors’ offices, hospitals, spe-
cial needs resource fairs, author 
events and vendor shows. They 
see this sponsorship model as a 
way to get the book out to fam-
ilies who would benefit from it, 
and they place a bookplate inside 
the front cover to promote the 
sponsor. 
Ellis said that she especially 
enjoys it when they get to read 
the book to children, and they 
play the Say and Catch game 
referenced in the book. “It’s fun 
and exciting to see the rewards,
” 
Ellis said. “We see the enjoyment 
in children, and we hear more 
expressive language.
”
They read the book aloud 
at the Friendship Circle in 
November and set up a display 
at the Autism Hero Walk at the 
Detroit Zoo in September, among 
many other events. Sherbel 
brought the book to read in 
several Detroit-area schools in 
February. Since the book’s August 
publishing date, they have already 
sold or given away more than 
200 copies, including to hospitals, 
speech clinics, elementary schools 
and other places that they felt 
could benefit from the book. 
“The whole goal is helping oth-
ers — speech and language ther-
apists and families with special 
needs children,
” Ellis said. 
Ellis worked as a speech lan-
guage pathologist for 36 years 
in Wayne County and Royal 
Oak. She began writing pro-
fessional books and has since 
published a family memoir and 
children’s books. More informa-
tion can be found on her website 
loriklismanellis.com. 
Lisa Sherbel worked for more 
than 30 years in Macomb County 
and Walled Lake as a speech 
language pathologist. Although 
retired, she continues to fill in 
when needed in local schools. 

OUR COMMUNITY

Help from a 
 ‘Spunky 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Monkey’

Local authors hope to demystify 
speech therapy with new book for 
children. 

LAURA PASEK CONTRIBUTING WRITER

LEFT: Lori Klisman Ellis brought a giant stuffed monkey to a reading of 
her new book, Speech Tips with Spunky Monkey at the Friendship Circle 
in November. BELOW: Speech Tips with Spunky Monkey was written as 
a way to help children with speech issues and their caregivers have fun 
learning. 

