Make reading fun over the holidays!
Check out these fun and easy holiday reading activities that you can do with your kids... maybe you'll find the perfect addition to your family's holidays for years to come!
Saturday, 31 December 2016
Wednesday, 28 December 2016
Helping your child's language development over the holidays
For some kids, being home for the holidays is a much needed break - but for others, it can be difficult or worrisome for them to spend time away from an environment in which their speech and language receives extra monitoring and support. Even without elaborate craft times or day trips around town, there are easy ways for you as parents to help your child's language development every day at home.
Saturday, 10 December 2016
More Than ABCs: Building the Critical Thinking Skills Your Child Needs for Literacy Success
Reading is about more than just ABCs. When sharing a story with your child, remember that their story understanding is just as important for later abilities to read and write their own stories. Critical thinking skills allow children to use what is beyond the pages to understand the stories they enjoy. Learn more about how to help your child get the most out of reading.
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
Tips to limit screentime
With the arrival of new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, come new tips from Canadian doctors to limit kids' screen time.
"The overall goal is still to reduce screen time as much as possible, but more focus is shifting to what kids watch and how — especially younger viewers who should watch with a caregiver who can explain what they're seeing." (Szklarski, 2016).
CBC gives us the scoop on the guidelines and tips HERE.
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
How to be a SUPER communication partner
Learning to talk is hard. Imagine doing it without a voice! Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is on the rise, as technology provides us with more and more amazing tools every day. AAC users - even those without a voice - are able to speak their minds and build relationships through communication thanks to these tools and devices.
So how can you help? Assistiveware will tell you all about the top traits of a good communication partner. These traits along with great skills in modelling, prompting, and responding will have you on your way to being a super communication partner in no time!
Saturday, 26 November 2016
Look at me! Look at me!
As parents, therapists, teachers, and friends, we often expect eye contact from those we interact with as an indication of their attention to - and understanding of - our words.
But could placing the demand for eye contact in fact take away from comprehension when it comes to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Bill Nason shares his thoughts on requesting eye contact from a child (or adult) with autism, and reasons why it could interfere with their ability to listen. Check out the Autism Discussion Page on Facebook attached below to read Bill's tips and rationale.
Saturday, 15 October 2016
How infants learn from facial expressions
Research shows that faces are important - special, even - to infants right from birth. They learn to distinguish their mother's face from those of others after only a matter of hours, and begin to distinguish between emotional facial expressions after only a few days. This awareness and expertise quickly becomes an important tool for learning. Infants learn to read faces around them for cues about their world - is it safe? is it fun? is it a good idea? And they learn to trust those faces most familiar to them the most.
Get the full scoop here!.
Tuesday, 11 October 2016
Closing the gap: Teaching phonics skills alongside reading raises literacy achievement among Indigenous children
In New Zealand, a literacy program is being used to close the gap between the literacy skills of indigenous, disadvantaged children and their elementary school peers.
By teaching phonics alongside repetitive reading, where the words become recognizable to the students, they are being taught HOW to sound out words. Their skills began to approach average levels, including reading accuracy, comprehension, and spelling (The Conversation, 2016).
To find out more about this approach and its benefits to these students, check out The Conversation.
Saturday, 24 September 2016
Maternal language shapes infants' cry melodies
Even a child's very first cry is marked by their maternal language. This seems especially apparent in tonal languages - those in which pitch and the fluctuation of pitch determine meaning. These findings also lend themselves to the idea that we begin with the foundation to build future language skills immediately from birth. And with further study and understanding, these findings could even lead to early identification of developmental disorders. Find out all the details HERE from ScienceDaily.
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Is repeating baby talk bad for speech development?
"Your toddler's baby talk is cute, but are you stunting her development by repeating it back?" (Moyer, 2016)
Listening to those little mistakes that are oh-so-cute, we can sometimes find ourselves saying the same mistakes when responding - or maybe even in our own language to encourage the errors simply for their sweetness. But when is it a disservice to model these errors in our language?
Dianne Paul, director of clinical issues in speech-language pathology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, says it is not bad for parents to mimic the mistake's of toddlers as long as they don't do it all the time.
Saturday, 17 September 2016
Fact or Fiction? The Top 10 Assumptions about Early Speech and Language Development
It's so easy to get so wrapped up in studies and articles, research and stories, that it gets hard to sort out fact from fiction. The Hanen Centre is always a great resource of information, and they are great at keeping things SIMPLE. Check out this Fact or Fiction? The 10 Assumptions about Early Speech and Language Development and see for yourself.
Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Workshop: Making Sense of Discipline with Dr. Gordon Neufeld
Check out this great opportunity right here in Guelph. This workshop is geared to teachers and parents to help with the what to do when...
Find all the details and register HERE.
NOV 26 @ 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
$65
MAKING SENSE OF DISCIPLINE:
Most every parent and teacher wants to know what to do when ….. This tends to be the most pressing and universal issue in dealing with children. Finding the right answers to these questions becomes more challenging when parents and teachers are concerned about issues like attachment and healthy development and do not want their discipline methods to undermine or sabotage these processes. At the same time however there is the responsibility to teach the lessons that need to learned and to impose order when required.
This day seminar speaks to the question of what to do when …, but does so in the larger context of what is required to raise children to their full potential as human beings. Some of the prevailing discipline practices – like time-outs and consequences – are discussed from this perspective. This seminar provides participants with the opportunity to develop a comprehensive approach to discipline with strategies that are attachment-safe and developmentally friendly.
Single Workshop Pass ($65) includes lunch
Group Workshop Pass ($500/10 tickets)
NOV 25 @ 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
$20
RAISING CHILDREN IN A DIGITAL WORLD:
The digital revolution has happened so quickly that it has caught most of us off guard. Yet the digital world is here to stay, changing our society in ways that have far-reaching consequences for our children. What are the implications for parenting? How do we harness the spectacular connecting potential and yet avoid the pitfalls of attachment technology gone awry? How do we prepare them to live in this new world and yet preserve what is required for healthy development to take place? We have followed our children into the digital world and yet for their sakes as well as ours, need to restore our lead in order to avoid the insidious dangers that live in the shadows of this potent technology.
Dr. Neufeld looks at the digital revolution as a developmentalist committed to helping parents help their children become all they were meant to be. He not only explains the drive underlying today’s digital technology but also points to a way through
Single Evening Pass ($20)
Double Evening Pass ($40)
Group Evening Pass ($150/10 tickets)
To more information to purchase tickets to the Saturday November 26th workshop MAKING SENSE OF DISCIPLINE click here.
Saturday, 10 September 2016
Best start!
Week one: check! You made it!
Now that the kids have got their feet wet and everyone is warming up to the idea, if you want to find out even more about expectations for school readiness in Ontario, check out beststart.org. They break down the array of skills considered for school readiness, and give great suggestions and information that are helpful and easy to put into practise. Check it all out HERE.
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
It's here!
We hope everyone had a wonderful first day back to school!
Even though summer vacation is over, there is still so much fun to be had. Remember to check in on the KidsTalk Wellington blog for lots of tips, tricks, and info when it comes to your child's speech and language!
Worried about school readiness? Take a step back and think of the skills your child is already acquiring and how you are supporting their development every day - with something as simple as play.
When a child is engaged in play with caregivers and other adults in a warm and responsive relationship, she will develop qualities that will help her succeed in school:
- Strong oral communications skills
- Confidence
- The ability to make friends
- Persistent, creative problem-solving
- Task completion
- Curiosity
- Eagerness to learn.
(Best Start, 2006)
Saturday, 3 September 2016
School Readiness: Language and Cognitive Development
Of course they need stylish backpacks, new shoes, and packed lunches. But what else do your kids need to be ready for school?
Here you'll find simple descriptions of the importance of language and cognitive development and how to support the development of these skills.
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Got the back-to-school blues? This will help!
Feeling the back-to-school blues? Bummed that summer is over after one final holiday weekend? This video of a 3-month old boy hearing for the first time is sure to brighten your day and put a smile on your face. After not responding to hearing tests following his birth, little Jordan underwent more tests and was ultimately diagnosed with a severe-to-profound hearing loss. Find out a little more about Jordan and his parents' reaction to his first responses to sound.
Wednesday, 24 August 2016
Reading is the answer!
It's coming! Back-to-school signs, deals and reminders of all kinds are everywhere you turn. Wondering what you can do to help your kids get ready to go back? Read, of course! Check out these great books about other kids going back to school - you can even find some reading suggestions to help ease separation anxiety too!
Saturday, 20 August 2016
Helping kids with a speech disorder enjoy the camp experience
Eight children, all of whom have apraxia - a disorder affecting the production of speech, are enjoying the first camp of its kind in Calgary this summer. The idea for the camp was initiated by the mother of one of the campers who felt her son did not benefit from regular camp attendance last summer. The camp is not therapy-based, but provides these campers a space to learn and play among others like them, and where their speech disorder is considered and supported.
See the story from CTV News HERE.
Tuesday, 16 August 2016
Combining words - it's a big deal!
First words are exciting! But what receives less than its share of attention is a child's ability to combine words together. A recent study found that children who were late to combine words were more likely to have future problems with language, than those who were late to use first words (Lowry, 2016). The Hanen Centre answers commonly asked questions such as "Are 'thank you' and 'goodnight' two word combinations?" and "How can I learn to help my child combine words together?".
Find all the answers HERE.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
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.
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