Author: weespe5

Individual Education Plan meetings can sometimes be intimidating for parents. While there are many professional experts in the room, it’s important to remember that you too are an expert on your child. Take the opportunity to ask questions, advocate for specific services or an increase in minutes, and clarify terminology. This article provides a quick review of the parent’s rights and key questions to ask during IEP meetings. http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2014/03/17/what-should-parents-ask-for-in-an-iep-meeting-2/

Hearing individuals are constantly taking in sound through both ears at lightning speed and transforming these sounds into messages that convey language. But sometimes there is a breakdown while processing and organizing these sound parts. This disruption results in a Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and leads to a breakdown of language processing.  A person with this disorder may have difficulty following complex directions, rhyming, identifying all the sounds in a word, or identifying a compound word like “cowboy” if each word chunk was presented to different ears. Because the symptoms stem from a breakdown at the acoustic level, an audiologist makes the CAPD diagnosis. Children as young as 6-7 can be diagnosed. The initial symptoms can appear as a

Technology is marketed towards kids in the form of apps, games, and books. One of the growing areas is children’s books which are available online or through Kindle. This new book form, called e-books, offers a novel way of interacting with books. These options include special effects, videos, pieces within a page that can be manipulated, and even a read-aloud feature. However, research tells us that kids learn best through human interaction and without monitoring, e-books can easily become a one-way device. Reading Rockets, an education based website, has developed a great list of practical ideas to remain focused on reading and the story. http://www.readingrockets.org/article/how-read-e-book-your-child

In the last few years’ executive dysfunction has become a hot topic in the world of education. It has become an important area of research for good reason! There is mounting evidence to indicate that the collection of skills that comprise executive functions are a stronger way to gauge academic and social success than IQ. So what does this new buzz word mean? It is an umbrella term for the collection of the following skills: regulation of emotions and impulses, organization, sequencing, adapting, recalling information, persisting through a task even when it’s difficult, working memory, and task initiation. Reduced development in these areas can affect all areas of academics and social interactions.  We are all born with the capacity to

Car time can be a natural and fun way to reinforce speech and language skills. Check out the list below for specific ideas for toddlers, pre-k -kindergarten students, and 1st-2nd graders. One favorite strategy is talking about schedules and using specific words like “before, after, first, then” to talk about the day. You could even talk about activities from the previous or next day to reinforce past and future verb tenses. http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-language/reading-activities/reading-activities-in-the-car/

Are you using your iPhone or Android to its fullest potential? You might not be taking advantage of the free opportunities to personalize your smart phone or iPad.  Not only can these devices connect to hearing aids, but you can change the text size and visual quality, increase contrast, use only grayscale, or use “voice over”, so that an incoming text is read to the recipient. These accessibility applications can be helpful for both children and adults who have learning disabilities, are deaf or hard of hearing, have reduced visual attention, or are visually impaired.  For more information, check out the following websites or talk to your therapist about ways to customize your device. Androids: https://www.androidpit.com/android-accessibility-settings iPhone/iPad: http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/#learning

Beware of electronic toys that market themselves as developing language for infants and toddlers. New evidence continues to prove that early learning for babies and toddlers is extremely social and cannot be replicated with the one way talking electronic toy. It’s the give and take between humans that fosters language development.   http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/11/462264537/the-trouble-with-talking-toys

Are you struggling to get back into a homework routine after a winter break? Check out these suggestions from  “Kids Health”. Our favorite tip helps your child create a plan to tackle larger assignments. http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/learning/homework.html

Baking can be a fun and exciting way to build your child’s language. Vocabulary, inquiry, labeling, inference, stating and answering questions can all be easily introduced. For specific ideas, check out this blog post: https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/cookie-themed-activities/

Did you know that children in low income communities hear 30 million words less than their high income peers by their 4th birthday? Children who hear more words have larger vocabularies, are better readers, and are more prepared for school. This gap is only attributed to parent’s knowledge. Dr. Suskind, Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago and Director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant program, sought to develop a method to help parents harness the power of language to build their child’s brain to impact their future. The 30 Million Words Project was developed in response to this achievement gap. It focuses on a curriculum that includes direct parent training in the home, use of social media, helping parents