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KidsTalk Wellington provides speech and language services to children in Wellington County. This blog contains resources for parents and professionals seeking resources, current research and best practices in the areas of speech, language and literacy development. www.kidstalkwell.com
Wednesday 10 December 2014
An infant's brain maps language from birth
Boogie Board: a high tech/low tech homework helper
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Too much screen time may harm children's language and literacy skills
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Monday 1 December 2014
Raising a Deaf Child Makes the World Sound Different
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Christmas shopping? See which toys could damage your child's hearing.
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Sunday 16 November 2014
Stick writing: Drawing that supports oral and written language
Pictographs are simple stick drawings used to represent the chronology of events in a story or procedure. Children can use stick drawings as a means to support memory and organization for oral story telling or as a pre-writing task.
http://www.ecstresources.com/uploads/6/1/9/1/6191025/pictographydetails.pdf
Is childhood art key to developing language literacy?
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image - The Vancouver Sun |
Bob Steele, retired professor of art education at UBC, has spent his career raising awareness about the importance of fostering drawing in young children. He describes spontaneous drawing as a medium for language and a developmental stepping stone towards written expression. Raise-a-Reader: Is childhood art key to developing language literacy?
Tuesday 11 November 2014
A Parent's Guide for Hearing Loss
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http://www.phonak.com/content/dam/phonak/b2b/Pediatrics/Brochure_BtC_Junior_Hearing_Loss_140x210_GB_V2.00_028-0289-02.pdf
Thursday 6 November 2014
Unilateral hearing loss - possible impacts on speech, language, behaviour and learning
UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS
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Possible
Impact on the Understanding of Language and Speech
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Possible
Social Impact
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Potential
Educational Accommodations and Services
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· Child can "hear"
but can have difficulty understanding in certain situations, such as hearing
faint or distant speech, especially if poor ear is aimed toward the person
speaking.
· Will typically have
difficulty localizing sounds and voices using hearing alone.
· The unilateral listener
will have greater difficulty understanding speech when environment is noisy
and/or reverberant, especially when normal ear is towards the overhead
projector or other competing sound source and poor hearing ear is towards the
teacher.
· Exhibits difficulty
detecting or understanding soft speech from the side of the poor hearing ear,
especially in a group discussion.
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· Child may be accused of
selective hearing due to discrepancies in speech understanding in quiet
versus noise.
· Social problems may arise
as child experiences difficulty understanding in noisy cooperative learning,
or recess situations.
· May misconstrue peer
conversations and feel rejected or ridiculed.
· Child may be more fatigued
in classroom due to greater effort needed to listen, if class is noisy or has
poor acoustics.
· May appear inattentive,
distractible or frustrated, with behavior or social problems sometimes
evident.
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· Allow child to change seat
locations to direct the normal hearing ear toward the primary speaker.
· Student is at 10 times the
risk for educational difficulties as children with 2 normal hearing ears
and 1/3 to 1/2 of students with
unilateral hearing loss experience significant learning problems.
· Children often have
difficulty learning sound/letter associations in typically noisy kindergarten
and grade 1 settings.
· Educational and audiological
monitoring is warranted.
· Teacher inservice is
beneficial.
· Typically will benefit
from a personal FM system with low gain/power or a sound-field FM system in
the classroom, especially in the lower grades.
· Depending on the hearing
loss, may benefit from a hearing aid in the impaired ear.
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School readiness begins with responsive relationships and stimulatng experiences
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Virus Present at Birth Causes More Than 10 Percent of Hearing-Loss Cases in Kids
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Virus Present at Birth Causes More Than 10 Percent of Hearing-Loss Cases in Kids
Sunday 5 October 2014
Building Language in Babies Well Before First Words are Spoken
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In the first few months, babies begin to distinguish the sounds that make up language from all the other sounds they hear. Between 4 - 7 months, "babies can be trained to more effectively recognize which sounds "might" be language, accelerating the development of the brain maps which are critical to language acquisition and processing....Read the full article describing recent research at Rutgers University:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140930171434.htm
Thursday 2 October 2014
Communication Milestones Birth to 5 years
Birth to 3 months:
Does the
child:
• make cooing sounds
• have different cries for different needs
• smile at you
• startle to loud sounds
• soothe/calm to a familiar voice
4 to 6 months:
Does
the child:
• babble and make different sounds
• make sounds back when you talk
• enjoy games like peek-a-boo
• turn his/her eyes toward a sound source
• respond to music or toys that make noise
7 to 12 months:
Does
the child:
• wave hi/bye
• respond to his/her name
• let you know what he/she wants using sounds, and/or actions
like pointing
• begin to follow simple directions (e.g., Where is your nose?)
• localize correctly to sound by turning his/her head toward the
sound
• pay attention when spoken to
By 12 to 18 months:
Does
the child:
• use common words and start to put words together
• enjoy listening to storybooks
• point to body parts or pictures in a book when asked
• look at your face when talking to you
By 18 to 24 months:
Does
the child:
• understand
more words than he/she can say
• say
two words together (e.g., More juice)
• ask
simple questions (e.g., What’s that?)
• take
turns in a conversation
2 to 3 years:
Does
the child:
• use
sentences of three or more words most of the time
• understand
different concepts (e.g., in-on; up-down)
• follow
two-part directions (e.g., take the book and put it on the table)
• answer
simple questions (e.g., Where is the car?)
• participate
in short conversations
3 to 4 years:
Does
the child:
• tell
a short story or talk about daily activities
• talk
in sentences with adult-like grammar
• generally
speak clearly so people understand
• hear
you when you call from another room
• listen
to TV at the same volume as others
• answer
a variety of questions
4 to 5 years:
Does
the child:
• pronounce
most speech sounds correctly
• participate
in and understand conversations even in the presence of background noise
• recognize
familiar signs (e.g., stop sign)
• make
up rhymes
• hear
and understand most of what is said at home and school
• listen
to and retell a story and ask and answer questions about a story
Sunday 28 September 2014
The Power of Imitation for Children with Autism
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Read on about the power of imitation during play:
http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Follow-the-Leader--The-Power-of-Imitating-Children.aspx
Scientists identify the gene for emergent language
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"A telltale stretch of DNA at a gene called ROBO2 is linked to the number of words that a child masters in the early stage of talking... ROBO2 controls a protein that directs chemicals in brain cells that may be used for developing language and producing sounds.The gene lies on a region of Chromosome 3 which has previously been implicated in dyslexia and speech-related disorders, according to the study." Read more:
Scientists identify ROBO2, the 'baby talk' gene | Lifestyle from CTV News
How to Use Exercise to Help Kids with ADHD and Kids with Autism
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What are the Symptoms of ADHD and How Can You Help?
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Learn about the signs and symptoms of ADHD: http://www.educationandbehavior.com/signs-of-adhd/
Wednesday 17 September 2014
"My child's speech is hard to understand"
Early autism intervention speeds infant development
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In this pilot project, parents of infants between 6 months and 15 months who were demonstrating symptoms of autism, were given strategies to facilitate engagement during play, diaper changing and bath time. Read on to learn about the promising findings:
Early autism intervention speeds infant development - health - 10 September 2014 - New Scientist
Sunday 14 September 2014
Red Flags for Autism
- No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
- No back and forth sharing of sounds, smiles or facial expressions by 9 months
- No babbling by 12 months
- No back and forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months
- No meaningful two-word phrases (including imitating or repeating) by 24 months
- Any loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age
To read more about the signs and symptoms of autism click on the Link for Autism Speaks Canada:
http://www.autismspeaks.ca/about-autism/signs-and-symptoms-of-autism/
What is Autism?
This video from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discusses the signs and symptoms associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Sunday 7 September 2014
Can Children with Language Impairments Learn Two Languages?
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http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Can-children-with-language-impairments-learn-two-l.aspx
Viatmin B1 and stuttering
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There is a Buzz about vitamin B1 and its benefits for some individuals who stutter. Read the link below to find out more about Martin Schwartz's research.
http://www.stuttering.com/research.html
For additional information, click on the link below to find answers to frequently asked questions about B1 and stuttering.
http://stuttersense.blogspot.ca/2013/08/faq-about-thiamine-vitamin-b1-and.html
Tips for Talking with Kids Who Stutter
Is it Stuttering?
The Stuttering Foundation generated this risk factor chart to help parents decide if they should seek the assistance of a Speech Language Pathologist. If there are one or more checks for a child, an assessment is warranted. For more information, click on the link: http://www.stutteringhelp.org/risk-factors
Speech sound Development
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Saturday 6 September 2014
How Not to Talk to Your Kids
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Carol Dweck provides research that backs up what many parents and educators already know but may not be practicing: praise children's efforts not their intelligence. What her research and anecdotes tells us about the effect of the "wrong kind of praise" may surprise you.
Click the link to read about "How not to talk to your kids" :http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/
What is Collaborative Teacher Inquiry?
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The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat produces the Capacity Building Series to support leadership and instructional effectiveness in Ontario schools.
Click on the link below to learn how educators are using collaborative inquiry to foster student learning:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_Collaborative_Teacher_Inquiry.pdf
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