Category: blog

“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 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 may

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The Impact of Negative Language

Parents tend to say “no” much more often throughout the day than “yes”. And it can be exhausting. Telling your children “no” and “stop” all the time is not only hard on you, but it is discouraging for your children to constantly hear what they are doing is wrong. Furthermore, saying “stop” or “no” doesn’t give them enough information. It leaves them to wonder what they should stop doing. Some would argue that you can simply expand your wording to include what your children should not be doing, for instance, “Stop standing on the couch”. However, using negative language is much harder for a child to understand. When we say, “Stop standing on the couch,” the child first has to

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Traveling with Kids with Autism and Other Special Needs

    As the school year is ending and summer begins, many families are planning their annual vacations.  For families with children with special needs, the changes in routine and unpredictability of travel can make these types of trips quite challenging.   The key to successful travel with your child  with special needs is to plan, and if possible, practice ahead of time.  For example, if you are flying on an airplane with your child for the first time, you can watch videos, read books or make a social story with pictures to explain what will happen at the airport and on the plane.  You can even make a visit to the airport ahead of time. The  Arc’s Wings for

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Shared Bookreading with Children on the Autism Spectrum

  Attache is a great article shared by the Hanen Centre titled “How to Use Book Reading to Build Interaction in Children on the Autism Spectrum” This article provides information about how to incorporate wordless picture books in a shared reading experience, incorporate your child’s interests, and facilitate commenting while engaging together. Keep the interaction going by trying https://numerologist.com/ Desyrel to expand beyond what you see in the book! Make it fun by adding movement, sound effects, and pretend play related to the book. http://www.hanen.org/SiteAssets/Good-­‐‑Dog-­‐‑Carl_Autism-­‐‑Month-­‐‑ Handout.aspx?_cldee=GXWAexeDl403LqAiXHrcUlwpOLoMjQxt9q9p9tdJ_vmZCuu_rKLI_9g6 D4BNeK4V&recipientid=contact-­‐‑0c5f98b26c62ec118f8e0022486d976c-­‐‑ 78e2d5e11da94eaaaa938ee671c348ba&esid=4ef81745-­‐‑1bbf-­‐‑ec11-­‐‑983e-­‐‑0022486dc62a

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Should I Correct My Child’s Speech?

    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

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Healthy Listening

    Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, or NIHL, is hearing loss due to sustained or sudden loud sounds. Noise levels are measured in decibels (dBA.) When we listen to noise at 85 dBA or higher for sustained periods (8 hours,) we run the risk of developing hearing loss over time. For every 3 dBA increase in noise, the amount of safe listening time is cut in half (88 dBA for 4 hours and 91 dBA for 2 hours.) The World Health Organization https://theplanetvoice.com recommends 75 dBA as a safe listening measure for children. Due to the increase in screen time for children over the last several years, adjusting the settings for your child’s headphones may be helpful. A quick internet search

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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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