Category: blog

Does your child appear fatigued regularly? Recent evidence from the University of Pennsylvania reveals the benefits of midday naps for elementary aged children. The study examined the effects of 30-60-minute naps 3 times per week for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Results indicated a number of benefits to midday naps, including greater happiness, self-control, higher verbal IQ, greater academic achievement, and fewer behavioral problems. Try reducing screen time and encouraging naps to increase overall academic performance! To learn more about this study visit: bit.ly/nap-school

What is mindfulness?  Mindfulness is a state of being comprised of moment-to-moment awareness of our experiences without judgement. Another way to describe being mindful is to be present in the moment you are living in, without being overwhelmed by your thoughts.  How can we increase our mindfulness? The journey toward being mindful often involves feeling sensations in your body and also quieting your thoughts without judgement. Many activities can increase mindfulness, such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, or a simple (mindful) walk around a park. There will be more on strategies to increase mindfulness in future blog posts!  Why should we want to increase mindfulness? Research on mindfulness has indicated many benefits and although the majority of research studies have

It’s back to school season! Start talking with your child about what to expect with the summer ending and the school year approaching. Social Stories are a great way to discuss the first day of school with your child. Use “I” statements (e.g. “I will meet my new teacher”, “I will have a new cubby”, “I will find my new desk”, etc.) with visuals to help with the transition. Reviewing this individualized social story with your child in advance can help your child feel prepared for their first day back to school! Ask your child’s treating therapist for support if you are interested in creating a social story.

When young children are learning adults often focus solely on teaching numbers, the alphabet, shapes, and colors. There are a number of other basic concepts that are integral for early learning. These basic concepts include spatial directions, quantities, sequential order, size, adjective forms, and time concepts. Basic concepts are said to be the foundation for education. They impact the level to which children can successfully complete tasks, follow instructions, and engage in conversation. Academic achievement is based upon mastery of several prerequisite skills many of which are rooted in basic concept knowledge. Basic concepts are said to occur in groups or pairs. A survey from preschool and kindergarten teachers reveals there to be a number of early-learned basic concept pairs

H It’s a very noisy world, and children are at risk for developing hearing damage due to loud and repeated sound exposure. Dr. Frank Wartinger, Audiologist at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, outlines several tips in his article (link below) for parents to help protect their children’s hearing: Teach children to respect their hearing: Talk to your kids about how important hearing is to everyday life. They will be more likely to protect their hearing if they understand and appreciate it. Dr. Wartinger suggested having your child identify his or her favorite sound and share how they would feel if they could no longer hear it. Know when a sound is dangerously loud: When your child is listening to music or

By now, you may have seen the viral video of comedian D.J. Pryor and his 18-month old son sitting on their couch having a little chat.  If not, check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY35eXTKVLY While the father-son duo is adorable and the video is good for a laugh, it is also an example of parent-child interaction that is beneficial to a child’s brain development.  Really!  A recent study from York University showed that infants who are exposed to adult conversation have greater cognitive abilities.  The study found a link between children who heard higher quantities of adult speech and their nonverbal reasoning and linguistic development.  The researchers also found that children who interacted with adults who used a diverse vocabulary knew

Children with communication impairments may significantly benefit from the use of “wait time” to allow for time to process. Try waiting 3-5 seconds after asking your child a question, giving a direction, or wanting them to elaborate on an idea. Recent research shows that wait time decreased “I don’t know” responses from children with longer responses recorded following this wait time. Think time may also be extremely effective for children with word finding difficulties to allow time to formulate their idea and retrieve their words. Using a visual picture to represent think time can be a good reminder to both you and your child to slow down! https://blog.asha.org/2019/05/22/3-steps-for-using-wait-time-to-improve-treatment- outcomes/

Reading with your child is an excellent time to point out spelling patterns by talking about your observations! For example, try pointing out patterns such as ‘ss’ at the end of the word as in “press” and have your child look for other words containing that spelling pattern. Also, take the time to look at base/root words while reading. For example, “I hear the word ‘cycle’ in the word ‘bicycle’”. Additionally, children may frequently ask how to spell an unfamiliar word. Encourage your child to sound out the word and address it in smaller chunks (e.g. syllables, prefixes, root words, rhyming words, etc.). Check out the article below for more helpful tips and examples! https://www.spell-links.com/download/10ThingsSpellingEnglish.pdf

The ASHA Leader highlighted recent evidence that suggests an advantage of traditional books over electronic books. A study conducted at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital (Munzer TG, et al. Pediatrics. March 25, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2012) found that parents and toddlers verbalized and interacted more while reading traditional print books as opposed to e-books. The interactions noted included commenting on the illustrations, asking and answering questions, and discussing life experiences that related to the story. While families also interacted when reading enhanced e-books (with sound effects and animation), it was significantly less collaborative than with traditional print books. In fact, the conversation while reading e-books often revolved around the device itself and the associated effects as opposed to the