Communication For All

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Each May provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the role of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists. The theme for this year’s Better Hearing and Speech Month is Communication for All. According to ASHA (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association), 11% of children ages 3 to 6 years have a speech, language, voice or swallowing disorder and almost 15% of school age children experience some degree of hearing loss. The SLPs at Pediatric Therapeutics feel strongly that early detection and early intervention are some of our best tools in treating childhood communication concerns.

• By first grade, most children can understand close to 10,000 words. (asha.org)
• One in every ten Americans has some form of hearing loss. (asha.org)
• The stapes, the stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear, is the smallest bone in the human body. (wikipedia)
• Early literacy skills such as vocabulary knowledge, narrative skills, phonological awareness and letter recognition predict reading and writing success in young children. (asha.org)
• Feeding disorders typically develop for several reasons including specific medical conditions, anatomical or structural abnormalities, and reinforcement of particular behaviors. In most cases, several factors interact to produce the feeding issue or disorder. (kennedykrieger.org)
• Multiples (ie. twins, triplets, etc.) tend to experience a higher rate of speech and language development disorders. Many factors including personality differences, gender, and increased demands on family members contribute to a speech and/or language delay in multiples. Multiples often engage in twin talk, a spoken language or a language of gestures and body language. Multiples are often so effective at communicating with each other that their speech and language development can be delayed. (verywellfamily.com)

— Anne Toolajian, MA, CCC-SLP

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