The E's and P's to Build Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills like problem solving, predicting, and projecting can grow with language, and can impact literacy too!  As a child's thinking is encouraged to expand, their language framework expands along with it to support these new ideas and interpretations of the world.  These same skills are called to action to understand the meaning of a book - reading between the lines, drawing on experiences, and making inferences enable them to understand things not explicitly written in the text.  Learn the E's and P's to easily encourage the development of your child's critical thinking skills.

The Hanen Centre - Build Children's Critical Thinking Skills with the E's and P's

How can you tell if your child has a speech or language impairment?

How can you tell if your child has a speech or language impairment? There is a lot of research available to help you answer that question. Keep reading to find out more..

https://theconversation.com/how-to-tell-if-your-child-has-a-speech-or-language-impairment-31768

Does your child have a speech disorder?

Does your child have a speech disorder? It's important to be aware of the early signs says Pascal Van Lieshout, U of T professor and chair of the Speech Language Pathology department.

http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2015/11/23/how-to-determine-if-your-child-has-a-speech-disorder.html

May is Speech & Hearing Month

Closing the Word Gap

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Researchers at the University of Toronto investigate links between family income, children's vocabulary and academic achievement and cultural factors. How closing the 'word gap' could give poorer kids an equal chance at success

Too much screen time may harm children's language and literacy skills

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Many parents put limits on their children's screen time. Read more about the research that backs this practice: http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/too-much-screen-time-may-harm-childrens-oral-skills-research-suggests-20141130-11mvo1.html

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

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 

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

What Is Behaviour Regulation? And What Does It Have To Do With Language Development?

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What Is Behaviour Regulation? And What Does It Have To Do With Language Development?

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/

Can Children with Language Impairments Learn Two Languages?

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There is very little research dedicated to the study of second language learning in children with specific language impairment (SLI).  The Hanen Centre provides a review of the literature to date:
http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Can-children-with-language-impairments-learn-two-l.aspx

Language Problems, Not Distractions, Lead to Poor School Grade in Children with ADHD

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In Children With ADHD, Language Problems, Not Distractions, Lead To Poor School Grades

Delayed or Disordered? A Look At Early Nonverbal Communication Skills in Autism

http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Professional-Articles/Delayed-or-Disordered--A-Look-At-Early-Nonverbal-C.aspx#.U4FcVTnBZ3I.twitter

You are still reading aloud to your independent reader? Good!!

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Reading aloud to your child should continue even after he or she is able to read independently!  By talking about the stories we read as we read them aloud, we foster thinking, language and social reasoning in our children.  If you have stopped engaging in books with your child, Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook , now in its 7th edition, can help get you back in the habit of reading to your child.

Talking to Your Young Child Will Help Develop Early Language Skills

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                                            Talking to Young Children Makes a Big Difference

Is your child a late talker?

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                                             How to Tell if Your Child is a Late Talker.

Debunking the the Top Ten Myths about Early Language Development

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Fact or Fiction: The Top Ten Assumptions about Early Language Development

Late Talkers vs Language delays

Vocabulary App: World's Worst Pet

The World's Worst Pet is an ipad app that targets vocabulary growth. This app is appropriate for students in grade 4-8 but may be used with younger children if supported by an adult.  The vocabulary instruction is similar to educational methods promoted by Isobel Beck et al. in her book Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction.  Best of all, kids love it!