In one word? Plenty! According to the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management at Utah State University, “Left undetected, hearing impairments in infants can negatively impact speech and language acquisition, academic achievement, and social and emotional development.” When a newborn is tested and diagnosed with hearing loss early, there are effective intervention strategies to help your child achieve normal, or nearly normal speech, language and hearing milestones as she grows up.
10 Warning Signs of Speech Disorder in Your Child. What You Need to Know.
Would you be able to identify a speech disorder in your child? If you are like most parents, the answer is No. As we delve into Better Hearing and Speech Month, we would like to point out 10 warning signs of speech speech disorder in your child. Of course, symptoms can vary depending on the specific speech condition of your child, but there are some essential signs that every parent should watch for as their children grow and develop. Continue reading →
Common Core Standards are a hot topic around here! But, what exactly are these standards and why do we need to become familiar with them? Common Core Standards are a clear set of benchmarks for what children will be learning in English language, arts/literacy and math from kindergarten through high school. Adopted by 44 states and District of Columbia, the Common Core State Standards outline what exactly a student should know and should be able to do at the end of each grade. The standards emphasize skills that ensure students graduating from high school are prepared to take college-level classes or enter the workforce. Unlike previous state standards, which varied greatly from state to state, the Common Core Standards seek to establish collaboration among the participating states on a range of tools, textbooks, digital media and teaching focus and materials. Continue reading →
Guest post! We loved the new Pathways.org video about early language development and invited them to highlight some of the key elements of building baby’s communication skills.
Babies begin watching and listening to the world around them from the moment they are born. By their first birthday, they will be able to understand simple directions and might even be saying their first word or two! But long before this point, babies are developing the communication skills that will help them build relationships and succeed in school. A new video by Pathways.org – “Crying, Cooing, Communication: Baby’s First Year” – gives an overview of communication development in the first year, and offers advice for parents and caregivers on how to help your baby reach early speech and language milestones. Continue reading →
Easter is an excellent time of year to work on speech therapy at home with your kids. The colors of the trees, smell of fresh blooming flowers, chirping of the birds are all excellent ways to engage your child’s senses. But how about using an Easter Egg as an inexpensive speech therapy tool? Yes, both a real egg and a colorful, plastic Easter egg! These eggs can provide an opportunity for you to work on socialization, articulation and language skills with your child in a variety of ways, and have fun together as a family.
As we celebrate National Autism Awareness month, we’d like to share with you ideas for activities that help support children with autism. Autism is an increasingly more common neurological condition that affects brain development. As such, children diagnosed with autism have more difficulty socializing with others, effectively communicating and responding appropriately to the environment around them. Are there activities that you can do with your child to help encourage effective communication and engagement? Yes, read on!
If your child has autism, you know that it affects each child differently. Children with autism possess a wide variety of skills, strengths, and needs. In addition to individualized therapy, there are simple, everyday activities that parents, teachers and caregivers can do to help support children with autism. We’ve put together a list of materials and fun activities that encourage social skills, and enhance communication for children with autism.
What kinds of activities and games are best? An article in Science Daily, discussed the importance of play in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). “Children with ASD chose to engage in play that provided strong sensory feedback, cause-and-effect results, and repetitive motions,” said Kathy Ralabate Doody, Ph.D., assistant professor of exceptional education at SUNY Buffalo State. Any opportunity to explore colors, shapes, textures and sensory experiences can help stimulate attention and create a sense of fun!
Does your child have a speech impediment? Or have you noticed that your child just doesn’t talk as much as other kids his age? Are you wondering if your child’s speech and communication skills are developing normally? These are questions many parents ask.
We’ve been discussing Apraxia of Speech in Children this month. If your child is exhibiting any of the characteristics associated with Apraxia of Speech, also known as developmental (DAS) or childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), you will need to make an appointment with a speech language pathologist. Because apraxia of speech is a communication disorder, the most qualified professional to help diagnose and treat your child is an SLP. While your pediatrician may help with other medical issues related to apraxia of speech, speech language pathologists have undergone extensive study and certification to accurately evaluate and treat speech disorders.
A is for Apraxia. On Monday, we took at look at Apraxia of Speech in children. Specifically, we outlined the types of apraxia of speech and related symptoms. The most common type of apraxia of speech in children is developmental, which means it is a neurologically based speech disorder. While some children with Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS) had specific prenatal or birth injuries, for the most part, there is no specific cause of DAS. This month, we will plan to take a look into the subject of Apraxia of Speech in children in more depth.
5 Ways to Use Technology for Speech Therapy at Home
This week, Microsoft made a big announcement that it will soon be offering Office for the iPad! This is great news for those looking to create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations on the iPad or mobile device. This latest announcement further demonstrates the prevalence of technology in our lives presently and in the future. Can technology help dedicate time to working on speech therapy at home? Absolutely! If you have access to mobile device such as an iPad, there are many free apps and online resources that can help your child improve his or her communication skills with speech therapy at home.
