Author: Kristin Hupp MA CCC SLP

13 Words/Expressions You Should Model for Babies

  According to EatPlaySay (Instagram November, 2022), the following list of 13 words and expressions are considered to be some of the best vocabulary to support and model early speech-language in infant level play. Research supports that modeling functional nouns, verbs, sound effects, animal noises, and location concepts such as the ones listed helps to provide the best foundation for 2/3 word combinations expected of children later on. 1. Open 2. Up 3. On Top 4. Bang Bang 5. Quack Quack 6. Push 7. Turn 8. Out 9. Shake Shake 10 Close 11 Off 12 Banana (or another familiar food/drink) 13 Go

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Identifying Signs of Childhood Anxiety

  Internalized Anxiety is believed to be one of the largest hurdles to learning for all people. As stress is experienced in the body, adrenaline levels increase, forcing us into a flight or fight response. According to an article taken from the Washington Post (June 2011), studies show that anxiety for children in a home or classroom environment can be predictive of learning and social-emotional challenges. According to Primary Times Cornwall (Instagram April 2019),  childhood anxiety can take on many forms and can manifest as ‘something else’, suggesting children externalize anxiety in varied ways. Recognizing these indicators provides parents with helpful insights into supporting  children who demonstrate signs of anxiety at an early age. 1. Anger~Research shows that anger is often a major

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Parent Use of the OWL (Wait Time Strategy)

  Speech Pathologists and other service providers are often complimented by parents as being “patient” in their work with the pediatric population. It is said that having patience (by maintaining a reduced pace or giving adequate wait time to children) is not only a virtue but also a necessary skill for interacting with young children. Many parents might find it challenging to provide this wait time when interacting with their children as it can feel forced and time consuming in our busy day to day lives. However, implementing use of pausing, silence, and delayed response tactics are important traits of strong communication partnering that all children need. This wait time strategy, often referred to as The OWL strategy (Observe, Wait,

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Avoiding the Wait and See Approach with “Late Talkers”

  As children develop language with variability and have individual strengths and weaknesses, parents might feel conflicted about when to seek out support for their children and when to “wait and see” if they observe lags in progress or delays in acquiring new skills. Maintaining a once common “wait and see approach” is based on the idea that some children may require more time to develop a given skill compared to their peers and may with time, catch up and develop the given skill at their own pace. According to the Hanen Centre’s summary of two recent research studies, the current literature suggests that the “wait and see approach” is outdated and that even minimal or prematurely provided intervention can

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Improving Frustration Tolerance in Children

  As we progress through thee school year, many parents may wonder how we can specifically help children improve frustration tolerance, navigate challenging feelings, and problem solve successfully at home and in the classroom as they encounter new experiences or difficulties. The following strategies have been found to strongly assist in the challenging feat of growing a child’s frustration tolerance: Provide Exposure to Frustration: Ironically, one of the best ways to improve frustration tolerance in children is to expose them to varied experiences where they might encounter it! Parents are advised to observe, analyze, and learn about their child’s progression from mild frustration all the way to extreme frustration. Experts suggest parents refrain from helping their children through experiences yielding

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“Very Pre-Term” Delivery and the Impact on Speech Sound Production

“Very Pre-Term” Delivery and the Impact on Speech Sound Production According to an article published in the ASHA Wire, very preterm children (those delivered earlier than 32 weeks gestation) are reported to be at greater risk of speech and language delays through school age. In a study of 63 preterm children, speech sound development was found to be abnormal in 49% of study participants at 2 years of age and in 19% of participants by 4 years of age. Early speech production or the development of acquired consonants by 2 years of age, was highly predictive of intelligibility in single words and sentences by age four. Results suggest that compared to full term infants, an alarmingly high proportion of “Very

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The Prediction of Language Performance from Narrative Language Sampling

According to an article published in the ASHA Wire, narrative language sampling continues to be a recommended and evidence based practice in assessment of pediatric language disorders. In a study designed for 284 children aged kindergarten-third grade, narrative language sampling measures were obtained and assessed on a number of different parameters including a child’s number of different words spoken, their mean length of utterance, and percentage of grammatical utterances in the observed sample. Results from this study supported that strong narrative language skills were consistently correlated with stronger vocabulary and buying Orlistat https://www.overnightglasses.com/ grammatical skills in participants. In addition, this study found that narrative language skills assessed in kindergarten to be longitudinally predictive of a child’s general language ability by

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Impact of COVID-19 on Illinois’ Early Intervention Services 

According to an article published in the ASHA Wire, the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the large shift to Telehealth services contributed to significant changes in Early Intervention resources specifically for Illinois families. 85% of Illinois Early Intervention Providers participating in this study reported a disruption to their services due to COVID-19 specifically in regard to the number of sessions they were able to deliver and the number of children they were able to support per caseload. In addition, it was reported by research participants that provider order Cenmox https://www.senpaisquad.net confidence in service delivery decreased significantly during the pandemic as only 28% of EI providers reported feeling competent with Telehealth service delivery. In this study, it was suggested

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Indicators of Autism in Infancy

According to an article published in the ASHA Wire, some babies as young as nine months are said to demonstrate early indicators of Autism. Researchers through a UC Davis Health Study reported that a baby’s atypical visual habits can be indications of being on the Autism Spectrum. Some of these atypical visual habits include looking out the corners of eyes, holding objects close to one’s face, or staring at objects greater than 10 seconds in duration. This study (published in December 2021) was one of the first to acknowledge https://whitespools.com Baclofen online indicators of Autism appearing as early as nine months of age. The study’s authors suggest that acknowledging and seeking recommendations given any observed unusual visual behaviors in infancy

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The Importance of Consistent Sleep Schedules in Young Children 

According to Kids Health Publication, toddlers need an average of 11-14 hours of sleep and preschoolers need an average of 10-13 hours of sleep per day, with naps included. Sleep is an every day necessity for all people, but especially for growing children due to their rapid development on a physical, cognitive, and emotional level. Children who are sleep deprived or who have sleep challenges may appear to be more moody or hyperactive and may visually present as being fatigued which challenges their interaction and learning potential. In early childhood, challenges with sleep may include a child’s general resistance to going to bed, frequent wakefulness at night, patterns of nightmares/sleep walking, or documented sleep regression. Parents are encouraged to follow

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