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Stella uses language differently when she’s in a heightened state versus when she’s calm! • Today when she heard some noises outside and wanted to go investigate, I told her we were staying inside. • Stella responded by saying, “Look” 9 TIMES IN A ROW, then “Come outside.” She was clearly in a more frantic state, and her language use matched that. We all sound differently than normal when we’re in distress, Stella included! • I’m impressed that Stella is communicating with language during her more heightened states, not just when she’s calm and in a quiet space. This shows me that words are becoming more automatic for her to use. It’s similar to when a toddler starts using language to express himself during times of frustration instead of only crying. That happens when it’s easy for the toddler to say words, not when he’s still learning and it takes a lot of focus to talk 🧠🗣 • • • • • #hunger4words #stellathetalkingdog #slpsofinstagram #speechtherapy #AAC #ashaigers #slp #corewords #SLPeeps #slp2be #earlyintervention #languagedevelopment #dogsofinstagram #dogmom #doglife #dogs #guarddog #animalpsychology #doglover #dogvideos #sandiegodog #catahoula #blueheeler #smartdog #dogcommunication #mydogtalks #animalcommunication #interspeciescommunication #loveanimals

A post shared by Christina Hunger, MA, CCC-SLP (@hunger4words) on

Speech-language pathologist Christina Hunger has devised an innovative way to communicate with her pet dog Stella. In a video posted on Instagram, Hunger shows Stella exploring a set of buzzers labelled with words, and pressing the specific buzzer for the message she wants to convey.

“Stella uses language differently when she’s in a heightened state versus when she’s calm,” Hunger wrote in the description of the video. According to the post, Stella pressed the buzzer for the word “look” nine times, and followed it by “come outside” after it heard noises outside.

“I’m impressed that Stella is communicating with language during her more heightened states, not just when she’s calm and in a quiet space,” Hunger wrote. “This shows me that words are becoming more automatic for her to use.”