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Every May, organizations all over the country join the American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA) to promote Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM). BHSM’s purpose is to help increase awareness of communication disorders and available treatment options. ● Nearly 1 in 12 (7.7 percent) U.S. children ages 3-17 has had a disorder related to voice, speech, language, or swallowing in the past 12 months. ● The prevalence of voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorders is highest among children ages 3-6 (11.0 percent), compared to children ages 7-10 (9.3 percent), and children ages 11-17 (4.9 percent).1 ● By the first grade, roughly 5% of children have noticeable speech disorders.2 ● More than 3 million Americans stutter.2 ● 6–8 million Americans have some form

Significant speech and language delays are directly related to developmental or medical issues. Sometimes people make assumptions about speech and language development or think that other factors are the reason for the delays: -Individual developmental variation: While there is variability in acquisition of speech and language milestones, don’t assume that delays in talking are the result of normal developmental differences between children. Research indicates that approximately 40-50% of children who are late to talk (who have typical skills in other areas) do not catch up on their own. While some children learn and use new words faster than others do, if your child is not saying their first words by 15 months, or can say fewer than 50 words by

A study by researchers at the Yale Child Study Center shows that puppets can attract and hold the visual attention of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at rates which are similar to their typically developing peers. The findings suggest that puppets could be a tool to develop more engaging therapies that strengthen social engagement and facilitate learning for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study, published in the Journal Autism Research in 2021, is the first to test anecdotal evidence that children with ASD, like most young children, pay attention to puppets. The researchers created the experiment in collaboration with Cheryl Henson, the daughter of puppeteer Jim Henson and president of the Jim Henson Foundation. Check out a

Check out this great info from ASHA for Better Hearing and Speech Month. Parents often ask about the use of screens with babies and toddlers. Here is some info to help with that decision. Be Tech Wise With Baby

The Mattel Company, famous for the Barbie Doll line, has added more diversity to its doll designs by creating a Barbie representative of the Down Syndrome population, with support from the National Down Syndrome Society. The doll was created to promote acceptance of this population and to celebrate people in the Down Syndrome community. The doll is designed to portray the facial characteristics associated with the genetic disorder in addition to their orthotic needs. The doll’s yellow and blue outfit was purposefully designed to represent the colors associated with Down Syndrome awareness groups and the Barbie’s necklace, with three chevron shapes attached l, is intended to symbolize the three copies of the 21st chromosome  which leads to a Down Syndrome diagnosis.

Ms. Rachel is a YouTube phenomenon.  Children love her for her super animated and fun videos. What I love about her is how she engages children in an exciting way but also uses/includes speech and language targets for toddlers.  They are a great substitute (instead of watching Cocomelon) during TV/tablet time for children that are speech and language delayed or new language learners! Below are a few links to some of my favorite Ms. Rachel clips.  Check her page out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1DYsiKC7b4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7siu3eOW1VQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R0xRT2y7Uo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOHrqPI9bVk

  According to the ASHA WIRE (April, 2023), the rate and prevalence of Autism in the last two years has increased from 1 in 44 kids (2021) to 1 in 36 (2023). These estimates were obtained from surveillance data distributed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) This change in distribution within the population is said to be due to better screening measures, improved awareness and understanding of Autism Spectrum disorders and greater access to supportive services. In addition to this higher overall prevalence of Autism, new information on Autism in girls was obtained, showing that for the first time in history, the rate of Autism in 8-year old girls has exceeded 1%. Research on Autism shows that

According to the ASHA Wire (March, 2023) In a society where being health conscious and mindful is prioritized, more evidence is available supporting having a strong “language diet” in childhood is equally as important for brain development as is our actual “diets.” According to the article, “Evidence shows us how early exposure to rich, abundant language, or “language nutrition,” nourishes a child neurologically, socially, and linguistically, and helps set them up for literacy and communication success. The following three suggestions were made in the article for parents to support the language “diets” in their children” Talk Directly to Kids~ Given that parents are the primary source of language exposure for their children, parents are encouraged to highly prioritize use of

  According to the ASHA Wire (November 2020) , research has been showing increasingly that children experiencing chronic, low-grade stress such as living in a home environment with instability or less parent involvement can be negatively impacted as much as from a single traumatic event. Signs of trauma in children can range from subtle to overt and can include: ~hyperactivity ~aggression ~unpredictable behaviors ~withdrawal To best support children with trauma experiences, it is recommended to: ~Avoid modeling strong emotions: It is reported that modeling strong emotions to kids who have experienced trauma can be triggering. Surprisingly, even showing extreme positive emotions like high levels of enthusiasm, excitement, and praise can also be triggering. ~Don’t force connections: For some kids with

  According to the ASHA Wire (May 2020), a study from Princeton University suggests that babies and parents experience similar brain activity during play.  According to the article which was published in Psychological Science, “the study found that during live, natural interactions of play, measurable connections occurred in the neural activity of adults and babies. Participants included 18 children (ages 9–15 months) and their parents. During the first part of the experiment, the child sat on their parent’s lap and interacted face-to-face with an adult researcher directly—playing with toys, singing nursery rhymes, or reading. In the second part, the adult researcher interacted with another adult, leaving the child to play with their parent off to the side.” They found that during one-on-one play,