At the heart of learning for children you can often find play. Learning to communicate is no exception, and there are toys and techniques that can be used to help build language and speaking skills in children. The toy box can be transformed into a learning toolbox with a few simple additions that target the difference types of learning styles best suited for your child – auditory, tactile, and more. If you’re trying to build communication skills in your child or student, try any of these 8 toys and techniques to develop language, speech, and the foundations for healthy communication. Continue reading →
If you’ve ever heard of aphasia, chances are you that you have associated it with a condition that affects an older population. However, as many as one in every 1,000 children are affected by childhood hemiplegia, which commonly results in aphasia for these children. Children with hemiplegia (trauma or injury occurring to one side of the brain) may show signs soon after birth, or might not be diagnosed until later in childhood. A child with aphasia might only show mild signs or may find it very hard to communicate at all. Continue reading →
How Parents, SLPs, and Voice Coaches can Help by Teaching Vocal Hygiene
Image Courtesy of thesecondset.com
Maybe you’ve told your kids to wash behind their ears, but have you ever considered their vocal hygiene? Maybe it is time to start, especially if you’re concerned they might have a voice disorder, or dysphonia. While they are some of the rarer forms of vocal and speech problems, voice disorders affect an estimated 1 million children in the United States. Most of these children develop voice disorders due to unhealthy communication practices, such as yelling and straining the vocal cords. While vocal hygiene plays a part in many voice disorders, there are other causes that need to be evaluated by healthcare professionals.
Laryngitis (the most common type, caused by what some might consider vocal abuse)
Vocal cord paralysis
Contact ulcers and sores
Tumors on the vocal cords, voice box, and within the air passages
Most kids look forward to summer break with excitement and eagerness, but parents and teachers often worry about the effects of the summer brain drain – or summer slide – that can negatively affect your child’s basic academic skills. On average kids in the United States lose 2 months of math and reading skills over the summer break – which adds up to a full year during just the elementary years alone! Research also shows that kids from lower income homes are even more at risk for this summer slide as their educational resources become less available.
If your child has a speech delay or disorder, or any other type of challenge that makes learning more – challenging, this summer slide can be a real drain on the brain. Maybe your school doesn’t offer summer speech therapy, or your child is already a reluctant reader. There are ways to help. Try some of these fun and easy ways to build your child’s readings skills during the summer and avoid the summer slide (unless you’re headed to the park).
7 Ways to Build Your Child’s Reading Skills
1. Make a field trip out of your child’s summer reading interests. Maybe your son can’t wait to head to the local amusement park, so get him even more excited by encouraging him to read about the 10 highest roller coasters on Earth! If your daughter loves to go for bike rides, encourage her to read about local trails and pick a new one to try each week. Reading maps is a legitimate reading skill that has practical implications for the future. Continue reading →
It is not uncommon for infants and toddlers to experience fluid in the middle ear or ear infections at some point during their early years. However, long-term ear infections or fluid in the middle ear that may go untreated can cause speech delays that may require some form of speech therapy.
What is the Difference between Ear Infections and Fluid in the Ear? Continue reading →
