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.