Communication Considerations for Children With Hearing Loss

Making a life-long decision for a child is never easy, especially after dealing with a possibly unexpected diagnosis of a hearing loss.  Alongside dealing with a roller coaster of emotions, parents need to understand the importance of early intervention on future outcomes.  Many options for communication should be presented to parents, keeping in mind that early exposure to language, in any form, lays the foundation for future communication skills.  Finding a plan that can be supported by parents, siblings, and all other individuals in the child's life is key.  Dive a little deeper into this article to find out more. 

The ASHA Leader Blog: Communication Considerations for Children With Hearing Loss

Technology gives unique voices to those who can't speak

With technology advancing and devices getting smaller, customizing devices for voice output features is becoming more accessible for many individuals with impaired or deteriorating speech and language.  Many programs and devices come with pre-programmed voices that individuals can choose from.  But thanks to advancements in the field, some companies are creating voices for clients using some of their own vocalizations.  Their own sounds can be combined with a 'donor voice', which can even be a relative to provide similarities to their own voice for the output audio.  Check out the whole story HERE. 

NEWS 1130: Technology gives unique voices to those who can't speak

Motivated by their struggles

Just when these three professionals felt most defeated by their own communication challenges, they rallied to conquer them—and to share what they’d learned with others facing the same sorts of challenges.

To get an up-close look at this unique population of communication sciences and disorders (CSD) professionals who understand their field with a particular intimacy, The ASHA Leader spoke with an audiologist with hearing loss and two speech-language pathologists, one who has a stutter and one who has a voice disorder.

All three of them were discouraged from pursuing CSD careers. All three persevered. And all three have never looked back.
(ASHA Leader, 2012)

Learn their stories HERE.  

ASHA Leader:  Motivated by their struggles

Go Play!

Summer is here!  So get outside and play!  Play is a great way to develop speech and language skills - no pencil and paper required - and what better place to do it than the playground?  The playground is the perfect place to target a wide variety of speech and language skills.  From learning new words and concepts to playing games and socializing, the opportunities are endless.  Learn about some of the easy ways you can include speech and language skills on the playground here! 

Go Play! Tips to Teach Speech-Language Skills on the Playground

Talking to children, made easy

Kids are great.  Maybe they're your own kids.  Maybe they're nieces and nephews, the little ones of friends, or maybe you work with these fascinating tiny humans.  Whoever they are, sometimes it's not easy to know just what to say.  From building vocabulary and pretending as children to understanding and describing more complex emotions and sharing opinions as teens, talking is an amazing way to teach and connect with kids of any age.  Take a look at 

The Star: Talking to children, made easy

Breakthrough study pinpoints genetic conditions behind intellectual disabilities

Researchers out of British Columbia have identified the genetic underpinning of certain intellectual disabilities in children (CTV News, 2016).  Being able to identify the underlying genetic conditions means target treatment can be offered in as many cases as possible.  In specific cases, the right intervention has decreased self-injurious behaviour, improved overall mood, and has even increased communication skills. 

CTV News: Breakthrough study pinpoints genetic conditions behind intellectual disabilities

Missed preschool opportunity

Preschool is a wonderful time for diverse learning opportunities.  But is the focus on academics overpowering some important life skills?   Executive function skills, including paying attention, setting goals, planning, and organizing, are a critical foundation for academic skills and can influence a child's classroom behaviour in the future.  Could the narrowed focus on learning things like letters and numbers mean missing this key opportunity to teach other important life skills?  

USA Today: We're missing a big preschool opportunity

Experts unveil new sleep guidelines for children

First-ever official recommendations for sleep requirements for children are here. 

With lack of sleep a growing trend, it's important to remember that sleep - though taken lightly by many - is just as important as what you eat or how much exercise you're getting. 

Having consistent sleep routines and eliminating screens from bedrooms can help to increase sleep time which improves attention, memory, and overall mental and phyiscal health.

CBC: Experts unveil new sleep guidelines for children