Day: February 26, 2022

Does Pacifier Use Affect Speech Development?

Parents often wonder if giving their child a pacifier will negatively impact their speech and language development.  Overuse of pacifiers has been associated with conditions that are considered risk factors for speech and language issues, such as a higher incidence of ear infections and dental problems. Prolonged sucking on a pacifier beyond 24 months may cause the palate, gums, and teeth to develop atypically. Alterations in tongue and teeth positioning may change the way a child is able to make certain sounds, thereby delaying their speech development. However, use of a pacifier with newborns can help with calming, pain management and sleep.  Some studies have suggested that use of a pacifier during sleep reduces the chances of sudden infant death

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Masks Do Not Slow Preschoolers Language Development

    New research from a team of psychologists at the University of Miami finds that preschoolers produce the same amount of language whether or not they are wearing masks.  Researchers used a device which tracks the number of language sounds coming from the person who wears it, in order to monitor the language of two classes of preschoolers.  When they compared the class from early 2020 (pre-Covid pandemic) with the class of teachers and children who wore masks, they found no change in the children’s ability to learn and produce language.  The study also included children with hearing loss, who often exhibit language delays. While they anticipated that mask wearing might affect these students most, they found no difference

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Neurodiversity in the Workplace

  It is thought that approximately 15-20% of the population are “neurodiverse,” meaning that they have received a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, or Tourette Syndrome. With the increased prevalence of these diagnoses, many companies are beginning to focus on  neurodiversity in their workforce. Large companies, such as SAP, Microsoft, EY, JPMorgan Chase, and Ford Motor Company, are part of the “Neurodiversity @ Work Roundtable,” where including the neurodiverse population in the workforce is emphasized. One study found that “neurodiverse employees were comparable to neurotypical staff in work quality, efficiency and productivity. The bonus was ‘the neurodiverse employees excelled at innovation’.” https://theconversation.com/neurodiversity-can-be-a-workplace-strength-if-we-make-room-for- it-164859

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Cartoons About Disability

  In August 2022, a new series of cartoon episodes focusing on explaining various disabilities will be premiering! The 10 episode series provides information for children, families, and educators covering the topics of assistive technology, transportation, communication, and service animals. The episodes are targeted for viewers in kindergarten through third grade to increase understanding and awareness regarding peers and their differences. The videos will aim to explain how children with varying ability levels complete various tasks. Over the course of the next couple of years, these videos will be piloted in schools. Please visit the link below for more information! https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/12/cartoons-about-disability-will-educate-children

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Playing with Dolls vs. Tablets

  A recent study conducted by The School of Psychology’s Centre for Human Developmental Science revealed that playing with dolls independently lead to frequent talk about others’ thoughts and feelings compared to when playing on a tablet. The ‘internal state language concept’ is linked to increasing a child’s opportunity to develop social skills and can be beneficial to a child’s emotional development. Lead researcher Dr. Sarah Gerson said, “When children create imaginary worlds and role play with dolls, they communicate at first out loud and then internalize the message about others’ thoughts, emotions and feelings. This can have positive long-lasting effects on children, such as driving higher rates of social and emotional processing and building social skills like empathy that

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