Tips to promote speech and language therapy for your child

The communication skills of a newbon are astonishing. In fact, speech and language development visibly occurs immediately after birth. Moments after the birth of my daughter, I looked into her eyes and said "Welcome, Rebekah. We have all been waiting for you." Then, through body language, she communicated back to me. Searching with her little mouth she instantly and non-verbally expressed that she was hungry. As she began to nurse, I knew that we had begun to communicate.

Research in Speech and Hearing Sciences recognizes the communication skills of newborns and even the developing fetus during the last trimester of pregnancy. Nonetheless, parents tend to concentrate on the physical growth of their young child as he or she develops. While physical development is very important, communication skills are equally important. In fact, these two areas of development are interdependent for a healthy child.

The following are ten ways you can nurture the five different areas of speech and language development in typically developing infants and toddlers.

Social Language

1) Eye contact. When communicating with your child, look at his or her face and eyes as often as possible. This helps your child learn that it is appropriate to look at people during communication. Children learn a lot about you through facial expressions and acquire articulation skills by watching the movement of your mouth.

2) Taking turns. Talk to your child and then pause to give them a moment to verbalize. This teaches them the art of turn taking. This skill can also be accomplished during play, using objects and toys.

Expressive Language

3) Give your child space. When your child is trying to communicate with you and you know what they want, give them a few seconds before you instantly meet their needs. This will give them the opportunity to vocalize (coo and babble), point, or attempt a word.

4) Give your child choices and then let them express their choice by pointing, vocalizing, or attempting words. The feelings of confidence a child gains by expressing their own choice are building blocks for further exploration of expressive language.

Receptive Language

5) Get your child to follow instructions. Start with simple requests that only involve one element, such as "smile" or "kiss." Then increase to two elements when one element becomes easy for your child (i.e. "Hand up," or "Touch your nose," and so on).

6) Read simple books to your child with one or two pictures on each page. Ask them questions that can be answered verbally or by pointing to the correct picture. Try not to put too much pressure on them. If your child does not respond after about 10 or 15 seconds, model the answer for them with a positive tone of voice.

Vocabulary Development

7) Reinforce and demonstrate. If your child produces a verbal attempt that resembles a word, praise them with a pleasant tone of voice and then model the word that you think they attempted. For example, if the child says "ba" for ball, say "You said ball. Yes, it is a ball!"

 Explore. There are wonderful opportunities to model vocabulary out in the community. A simple trip to the market can be a great chance to name items for your child.

Articulation

9) Observe how often other people understand your child's speech. This will give you an idea of how clear his or her articulation really is (parents usually understand their children more than an outside listener). Don't worry if your toddler is not producing all the sounds in the English language. Many sounds may not develop until four years of age or later. However, you should consider consulting a speech pathologist if it is extremely hard to understand your child's speech at 3 years of age.

10) Articulate your words clearly when you communicate withh your child. Speak slowly and remember to look directly at your child's face.

While speech and language development varies with each child, there is no question that positive daily involvement from a parent and/or a loving caregiver makes the process much smoother. You, the parent, are the "super model" for your child's speech and language development. Taking time to put these tips into action can give you a thoughtful approach as you interact with your amazing little communicator.

Karin Howard is a practicing speech/language pathologist in Los Angeles. She has taught "Mommy and Me" classes that emphasize speech and language to aid parents of typically developing infants and toddlers. She is also the creator of "Exploring Language through Song and Play," a CD set with an accompanying lyric and activity book. You can learn more about this CD set here. There is also a Buy Now button on the upper right side bar of this website if you wish to purchase this CD set.

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Seven steps to improving your child success in maths

If you were to single out the one subject that discourages children AND also sets the stage for their success for years to come, what curricular subject comes to your mind? So many of our children today are discouraged by that four-letter “m word” –MATH! According to PF Kanter (1994), The United Kingdom is the only advanced industrial nation where people are quick to admit that “I am not good at math.”

Life is all about attitude. Instilling a positive attitude in our children in all areas of their lives is critical to their developmental success. Having a good attitude means having more fun - so let’s make math more fun and accessible to our children. Albert Schweitzer tells us that we should teach by example. Educational research also shows us that children learn best by imitation, games and by example. With these ideas in mind, here are seven things you can do to improve your child’s success in math.

1.Music Lessons/Exposure to Music

Brain research is now telling us that early exposure and stimulation are the most critical factors in a child’s future learning potential. Studies have shown a positive effect between early musical training and a child’s brain development. It has been suggested that it can have a positive effect on a child’s academic achievement, especially in the area of mathematics.

Good mental stimulation in the first few years of life can increase a child’s IQ by up to 20 points (Beck, 1996). Research has found that the corpus callosum was significantly larger in musicians who trained from an early age than non-musicians (Shreeve, 1996).

The positive effects of early musical training are also showing themselves in the College Entrance Examination Board test. Students who had music appreciation classes and music performance classes scored on an average of 56 points higher on the verbal portion and 43 points higher on the math portion than students with no musical experience (Mahlmann, 1996).

Music also fosters creativity, imagination, cooperation, flexible ways of thinking, discipline, better concentration and self-confidence; all of which are invaluable to college entrants, no matter what their intended course of study. Music should be thought of as an investment in a child’s future and a required integral part of every child’s education – not an extra curricular activity for the chosen few.

2.Recognizing Math Vocabulary in Everyday Events

Take time to point out math situations and especially math vocabulary in print in your everyday lives. Start with the breakfast cereal box and read the ounces and servings on the box.  Open a bank account for your child and teach them how to make deposits, count money, balance a checkbook, sort and classify. While at the grocery store talk about what you see on package labels and point out the abbreviations for ounce, pint, quart, gallon and pound. There are endless teaching opportunities throughout the course of a day to reinforce math vocabulary and skills.

3. Form a Close Relationship With Your Child’s Teacher(s)

Let teachers know you support them. Volunteer to help out on a weekly basis, if possible. If this is not feasible,  then sign up to go on a fieldtrip with your child’s class or ask the teacher if there is anything you can help out with at home – like cutting out art materials. Also, ask the teacher for activity suggestions for you and your child to do at home to help improve and reinforce your child’s understanding of schoolwork. Parents and teachers should work together to benefit students.

4. See What’s In Your Local Teachers Store

Teachers stores are not just for teachers. They are a great resource for parents, as well. They carry many supplemental materials/games for home to help reinforce what is being taught in the classroom. Look in your phonebook under “School Supplies” or check the Internet for local listings. Take your child with you. Both of you will have a wonderful time exploring fun activities that you can do together.

5. Cooking

Cooking is all about math - and what a great way to spend some quality time with your child. Make chocolate chip cookies together. Have your child help you with dinner, all while throwing in a pinch of math. Here are some examples:

Have your child help read the recipe – In step 7 of this article you will read about the importance of math vocabulary exposure. This is a perfect opportunity.

• Divide your recipe in half or double it, and have your child help you figure out the correct measurements and proportions.
• Talk about how many cups in a pint, how many pints in a quart, etc.
• Have them set the table. Use multiplication to figure out how many utensils will be on the table. Example: If each of the four people at the table have a knife, fork and spoon, how many utensils are on the table? (4 x 3 = 12)
• If you put 7 dinner rolls on the table and each person has one, how many will be left over?

Math mastery is all about being able to apply it to everyday life. Cooking is one of the best opportunities to achieve that mastery.

6. Always Have a Positive Math Attitude

Never say things like, “Our family is just not good at math.” Children are like sponges and will also adopt that attitude. In her writing, Math: Facing an American Phobia, Marilyn Burns says, “Math is a phobia right up there with snakes, public speaking and heights.”

Massachusetts and Washington published a study about parents helping their children with their math homework. Here are some of the results:

Question: Do you personally find it easier, harder or about the same to help your children with math homework as with other subjects? (38% of parents inMassachusetts and 41% of Washington parents said they found it more difficult to help their children with math homework than with other subjects.)

Question: What kept you from helping in math? (The number one response was, “I was never very good in math.” 42% of Massachusetts parents and 32% ofWashington parents chose this answer.) (Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, More Math Please, April 2004)

7. Vocabulary Flashcards /Exposure to
Math Vocabulary in Print

Math tends to be a subject where we focus more on the numbers, as opposed to the written word. Computation and appropriate sequencing of steps is often emphasized, instead.

Second graders actually encounter such extremely difficult vocabulary words as oblique line segment, commutative property, Venn Diagram and multiplication. Most of us would be thrilled if our second graders knew what each of these concepts mean, much less be able to proficiently read such difficult vocabulary language at the young age of seven.

When a new math concept is introduced in the classroom, a superb teacher will write some of the new vocabulary on the board. Excellent – now the child has seen the word in print one time. Not nearly enough – children need to be exposed to words and skills multiple times – repetition, repetition, repetition! Five months later, on standardized testing day, your child is not going to remember that one time he/she saw commutative property on the chalkboard. Chances are extremely high, that they will miss many questions on the standardized test because they are not able to read such difficult vocabulary words. Oh yes, they have definitely mastered commutative property (4 + 3 = 7 or 3 + 4 = 7). What a shame they may not be able to fully demonstrate what they know on the exam because of lack of exposure to such difficult vocabulary words and phrases.

Having difficult math vocabulary words and phrases exposed to them in print is key to their math and standardized testing success, including word problem mastery. Vocabulary cards may be used for other reading skills such as alphabetizing, clapping syllables, usage in a sentence and drawing a picture of the vocabulary word – anything for added exposure to the written math vocabulary words.

Today, great emphasis is being placed on our children’s standardized test scores. The pressure is felt by the classroom teachers, students and parents. Application of math skills and exposure to difficult math vocabulary words and phrases is key to their math and standardized testing success.

Math affects all aspects of our daily lives. Try to make it more fun than just standing over your child’s shoulder while he/she completes their math homework. Then, everyone is a winner.

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Tips for helping your children with homework

Reading with your child is vital. Research shows that it's the single most important thing you can do to help your child's education. It's best to read little and often, so try to put aside some time for it every day.

Think of ways to make reading fun - you want your child to learn how pleasurable books can be. If you're both enjoying talking about the content of a particular page, linger over it for as long as you like.

Books aren't just about reading the words on the page, they can also present new ideas and topics for you and your child to discuss.

Tips for helping your child to enjoy books:

• Encourage your child to pretend to 'read' a book before he or she can read words.
• Visit the library as often as possible - take out CDs and DVDs as well as books.
• Schedule a regular time for reading - perhaps when you get home from school or just before bed.
• Buy dual-language books if English isn’t your family’s first language - you can talk about books and stories, and develop a love for them, in any language.
• Look for books on topics that you know your child is interested in - maybe dragons, insects, cookery or a certain sport.
• Make sure that children’s books are easily accessible in different rooms around your house.

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Free schools will not be run for profit, says Nick Clegg

Nick Clegg will today rule out the possibility of the Government's new free schools being run for profit as he seeks to reassure Liberal Democrat sceptics that the policy will improve social mobility.

As the first wave of the new-style schools prepare to open this week, the Deputy Prime Minister will insist that he would "never tolerate" them becoming "the preserve of the privileged few".

In a speech this morning, he will say that they will be incentivised to attract under-privileged pupils and set up in areas of high deprivation or with shortages of school places.

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Education policies 'risk stifling creativity'

Artistic expression among school pupils is being left to die by the government's education reforms, say leading artists
Creativity in UK schoolchildren risks being stifled by the government's education policies, a coalition of leading artists, entrepreneurs and educationalists has warned.
In a letter to the Observer, the group, which includes the actor Sir Patrick Stewart and film-maker Lord David Puttnam, says it is vital that the skills of the next generation are nurtured to ensure that the UK's strong creative industries continue to create jobs.
The group says that current policies appear to be heading in the wrong direction. "We are concerned that recent developments, including the phasing out of teaching grants for arts degrees, send out the wrong message.
"We urge ministers to adopt policies which will ensure that creativity is at the heart of what our education offers."
They add: "For many young people, their passion for learning is ignited when they're provided with the opportunity to express themselves."
Ivan Lewis, shadow culture, media and sport secretary, said the group was sending a clear message: "Supporting creativity should be an integral part of striving for the highest educational standards. It is also central to the future success of our economy and society.
"Education reform rooted in high standards must ensure young people are supported to develop their creative talent and prepared for the opportunities of the digital age. David Cameron should not allow ill-conceived ideology to trump the national interest."

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Head teachers to offer discounts on school dinners

Headteachers will be allowed to offer discounts on the price of school meals in an attempt to ensure more children benefit from a nutritious lunch in the middle of the day, under proposals to be debated by MPs this month.

Ministers hope to coax more children into school canteens by introducing flexible pricing. The aim is to improve the standard of food consumed from an early age. The move, part of the Government's Education Bill, will target groups including children in their first months at school; older pupils who have fallen into poor eating habits; and poorer families whose incomes put them just above the threshold that would make them eligible for free school meals.

The proposal comes amid growing concern over insufficient take-up of school meals, the standard of food consumed by thousands of British schoolchildren and the impact that has on their capacity to learn. The Independent on Sunday revealed earlier this year that rising costs were putting many hard-pressed families off school meals, with the average price rising by 10 per cent in a year.

The Bill will return to the House of Commons as new research reveals that lower prices would make families more likely to switch to healthy school meals. A survey by the School Food Trust (SFT) found that almost six out of 10 parents whose children didn't already have school meals said they would be prepared to try them this term if they were on offer at a reduced price

Men missing in primary schools

One in four primary schools still have no male teachers, despite rising numbers of men entering the profession, new figures show.

A quarter (25.6%) of teachers qualifying this year were men, up 2.4% since 2008, according to statistics published by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC)

But only one in eight teachers working in primary schools are male (12.4%), the figures show.

There were 26,208 men working as teachers in primary schools as of March 31 this year, compared to 185,023 women, the figures show.

In total, around 4,000 primaries in England, or one in four, have no registered male teachers, the GTC said, despite the numbers dropping by 130 schools this year.

There are only six state secondary schools in England without men in the classroom, the regulator added.

Today's figures also show that nurseries are still struggling to recruit male staff.

Just 48 men were working in state-run nurseries this year, and only three of them were under 25.

Overall, there were 578,755 teachers registered with the GTC at the end of March, up 1.9% on 2010.

But just over one in 10 (11%) were not working in the classroom.

These teachers are either working elsewhere in the education system, retired, not in education at all, or not working.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/men-missing-in-primary-schools-2348030.html