Posts by mgerardo
Speaking with Your Speech Therapist
Speaking with Your Speech Therapist Working closely with professionals can create a focused approach toward helping your child with hearing loss develop language skills. A combination of experts supporting each other’s efforts on behalf of your child creates an informed team. You, the parent, are an essential member of the team. You can be the…
Read MoreRoutines: A remarkable way to learn language
Routines: A remarkable way to learn language Daily routines may seem like tiresome tasks to adults. For preschool children typical routines can be full of discoveries! A family’s daily routines provide regular opportunities for children with hearing loss to use language, listening and speech. Think about what happens on an ordinary day. During certain times…
Read MorePurposeful Pausing
Purposeful Pausing Pausing is one of the techniques used in spoken language learning for a child with hearing loss. It can be used initially to encourage response to sounds, later for language development and then for problem solving. Pausing involves waiting to see if your child responds before you prompt him or model the expected…
Read MoreLeaps in Language
Leaps in Language Single words to phrases and sentences First words are an exciting start to language. Children at a one-word stage know much more than they say. Understanding language comes before using it. Expressive skills happen after much receptive language experience. Families can use many strategies to guide and grow children’s communication. Involve Senses:…
Read MoreKeep on Talking, The Pre- and Post- Implant Process
Keep on Talking, The Pre- and Post- Implant Process You have made the decision to provide your child with a cochlear implant. You might be wondering about what you can do before the surgery, while you wait for activation and after the first mapping. Here are simple suggestions your family can consider. Your child’s speech…
Read MoreFollow Your Child’s Lead
Follow Your Child’s Lead What: Following a child’s lead is an easy and effective way for parents of children with hearing loss to encourage language. Parents can join in whatever the child is doing and let him decide what to do next. Then the child is likely to explore more, make discoveries and have experiences…
Read MoreExplore Common Sounds through Listening
Explore Common Sounds through Listening Children using listening devices (hearing aids, implants) can discover more about their world by noticing common sounds and knowing what they represent. The wind blowing, a baby babbling, a cat meowing or police officer’s whistle are examples of every day sounds to be aware of and understand what they might…
Read MoreConstant Conversation
Constant Conversation Conversations with children can be cute, curious, challenging, confusing, or complex, but the best conversations are constant! Conversations are an exchange of ideas or feelings. Words, gestures, eye contact, turn taking and actions are part of conversations. Whether the child is three months or three years, a conversation with him can encourage communication…
Read MoreBuilding your Child’s Bilingual Skills
Building your Child’s Bilingual Skills Parents look forward to sharing their love, values, culture and language with their young children. If a family uses two languages, they may hope their children will communicate comfortably in both languages. They might want their children to learn one language for school and another for home, or one language…
Read MoreAssessing Expressive Language
Assessing Expressive Language A Language Sample A language sample is a record of the words your child says spontaneously. For this assessment, it does not matter if those words are clearly spoken. What your child says (expressive language) is more important than how clearly he is saying the words (speech). You can use a language…
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