Author: Margaret Morris MS CCC SLP

    It’s normal for young children to pronounce words differently from adults. There’s no need to correct your child each time they make a mistake – it can interrupt the natural flow of their communication, might frustrate your child and may discourage them from speaking.  Instead, try using a speech modeling technique with your child. When your child makes a speech error, instead of making them correct themselves, you can repeat back what they say, with the correct pronunciation.  For example, if your child says, “I want the tar”, you could reply, “You want the Car?  Which Car?”- with a slight emphasis on the correct sound.  Try to give several models of the word if possible: “Let me find

    “Basic Concepts” are words that help us perceive and describe the world around us. Being able to understand and use basic concepts is fundamental to comprehending and communicating language.  Everyday routines and following directions at home and at school will involve these concepts.  They also support learning in various subject areas, including math and literacy. You can help reinforce your child’s skills by creating opportunities for learning naturally within everyday activities and play.   The four basic concept categories involve location, quantity, time, and quality.  As your child grows, the words used to describe concepts will advance in complexity, but the categories of concepts will remain the same.   Here are examples of basic concepts in each category

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have revised their developmental milestones checklists for young children for the first time since they were launched in 2004.  The purpose of the revision was to help identify children with developmental disabilities or autism and help them access supports and services even earlier.   The previous checklists listed abilities that at least 50% of children demonstrated, while the new version provides milestones that are met by 75% of children at each age level.  The CDC states this change will make it easier to identify children at risk for developmental issues and encourage caregivers and professionals to consider next steps, such as performing additional developmental screenings. The update includes additional checklists

    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

  Oral language skills are the foundation for a child to develop the reading and writing skills they need as they start and progress through school.  Researchers  who study early language development have identified six conditions in a child’s environment that can promote language learning (Dickinson, D. K., Griffith, J. A., Michnick Golinkoff, R., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. , 2012). An easy way to create these conditions at home is through reading with your child. The six conditions that promote language learning are: Children need to hear many words often.  Between the ages of one and five years of age, children learn approximately 3-4 new words per day.  Books expose children to many new words, because they often include new, unfamiliar

Family Game Night- Have Fun and Work on Language Skills Too! Playing games together promotes social interaction and opportunities for your child to practice skills like establishing eye contact, listening, taking turns, encouraging others and problem solving.  Plus, they’re motivating and just plain fun!  So, turn off the TVs and computers and go old school with a family game night! Try a classic game that can work on observation, description and deductive reasoning skills: Twenty Questions!  Pick a person, place or thing and give the other person 20 yes or no questions to guess what/who it is. (“Is it a person? Is it a thing? Is it a food?”, etc). Try making your own version of a “Hedbandz” style game

Children with learning differences might have difficulty following directions. Here are 10 tips to help you present information in a way that will help your child to listen to and understand directions: Don’t give directions until you have your child’s attention. You can move into your child’s line of sight, or ask for their visual attention directly. Be close to your child, rather than calling from across the room. Minimize distractions when you are giving instructions. Turn off the tv, or ask your child to put down their toy, book or tablet while you are speaking to them. Using a softer voice and a calm tone may help your child tune into what you are saying. Give age appropriate instructions.

If your child has speech, language or communication needs, starting school or changing to a new classroom/teacher can feel especially stressful. Here are a few strategies that can ease this transition:   Introduce school-related words. Words like cafeteria, auditorium, assembly, recess may be unfamiliar. Come up with a list of school-based words your child might encounter and talk to your child about what they mean. Pictures can help with understanding. Teach them to ask for help. Make sure your child has some useful phrases to ask for help: “I don’t understand”, “Can you repeat that?”, “I need some help”. Role-play some ways to talk to new friends. You can suggest some good phrases they might use to start conversations and

What is a “Late Talker”?  This is a toddler who is late to start using words, but has typical development in other areas. These late talking children understand much of what is said to them, have good play skills and interact well socially.  Despite these typical skills, their expressive vocabulary is limited compared to other children their age. How do we decide if your late talking child needs some help?  Here’s what we know: —Certain factors make it more likely that a child will experience ongoing issues. If your Late Talker doesn’t use many sounds or gestures, or has difficulty understanding language,  they are at greater risk of having language delays that persist. —Family history can play a role.  Late