Reading the same books to your child, especially to your newborn children with the same intonation (rise and fall of your voice) will help soothe your child while building a foundation for his speech/language. The toddler (a child between the ages of 1 and 3) years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development.
In a study by Dr. Riscorla, Professor of Psychology, Director of the Child Study Institute and Director of Early Childhood Programs at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, very clearly showed that the children that were slow to talk were significantly less advanced in their language skills than comparison children who came from the same social class background and had the same level of non-verbal ability when they were toddlers.
The majority of children who are late to start talking will outgrow this slow start and they’ll learn to read, and they’ll be able to function adequately throughout their school years. And this should be a message that we can give to parents to really reassure them that most late takers will do okay. As children get older more aggressive intervention may be required.
Dr. Rescorla developed the Language Development Survey, a screening tool for language delay in toddlers which indicates, children who are late talkers may have a weaker language endowment, and in this case it can help for parents to provide some enrichment in the child’s language environment early on. They can use techniques like shared book reading, or be taught focused stimulation or other communication techniques, and all these can provide a rich language environment that may have some facilitative effects. Dr. Rescorla encourages parents to have the child’s language development monitored by a speech language pathologist and to initiate direct intervention if significant growth isn’t seen by age three.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited SCO Family of Services to jointly launch New York City’s “Talk To Your Baby, Their Brain Depends On It” public awareness campaign, urging parents to talk, read and sing to their babies from birth. These efforts will focus on closing the “word gap.” Studies have found that by age four, children in middle and upper income families hear 30 million more words than their lower-income peers. This disparity in hearing words from parents and caregivers translates directly into a disparity in learning words. And that puts our children born with the fewest advantages even further behind. “Everybody needs to be creative and smart about how we better prepare our kids for the future,” said Secretary Clinton.
Listen to Hillary Clinton on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon talking about the importance of reading to your baby:
The following books are for reading to Toddlers
Author: Audrey Wood
Author: Diana Redfield Massie
Author: Nancy Shaw
Author: Bill Martin Jr.
Author: Melanie Gerth
Click here for more books that are categorized by age group for reading.
Early intervention help provided by Achieve Hearing & Rehabilitation, includes the family as part of the team to work together to make sure the child’s needs are being met. To schedule an appointment call us today 972-608-0416 or send email questions to receptionist@achievehearing.com
Achieve a Balanced Life
Reference:
SCO Family of Services
Bryn Mawr Child Study Institute
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