Whether a child speaks early or late, is learning to talk according to typical expectations, is experiencing difficulty meeting the many speech and language milestones along the way, or is learning one language versus multiple languages, the development of speech and language occurs gradually through a child’s interaction with people and his/her environment. The need to identify high quality, evidence-based resources regarding speech and language development is often a priority for families, service providers, and administrators who have or work with young children. This landing pad highlights research, policies, and position statements (Why Do It?), print materials (Read All About It), videos and DVDs (See for Yourself), and Web resources (Find It Online) to support families with children who have typical speech and language development as well as those who are experiencing communication difficulties. The resources are also valuable for service providers who work with these families. Featured resources are high-quality, readily available, and no-cost or low-cost. A special section (Virginia Guidance) features Web sites, organizations, and other state specific resources.
Communication disorders are among the most common disabilities in the United States. A child's overall future and success can be improved greatly through the early identification of communication disorders, establishment of their causes, and subsequent intervention. This website is presented by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and provides statistics regarding the incidence and prevalence of speech disorders (including fluency and voice), language disorders (including receptive/expressive language disorders and phonological disorders), hearing disorders (including genetic hearing impairment and otitis media), and related disorders in the United States. http://www.asha.org/Research/reports/children/
The ASHA Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (ASHA, 2007) states that the practice of speech-language pathology includes providing services to infants and toddlers with communication needs. This knowledge and skills document is an official statement of ASHA and was developed by ASHA's Ad Hoc Committee on the Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist in Early Intervention to clarify the roles and guiding practices of the speech-language pathologist who chooses to work with infants, toddlers, and families within the early intervention construct. http://www.asha.org/policy/KS2008-00292/
ASHA provides an overview of what we should expect from an infant, toddler, or preschool-aged child who is learning more than one language. This page answers the following questions:
How do I teach my child to be bilingual?
Will learning two languages cause speech or language problems?
What should I expect when my child learns more than one language?
What resources can I use to help my child be bilingual?
If my child has trouble communicating, should we use only one language in the home?
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/BilingualChildren.htm
For additional information regarding bilingual language learners, visit the dual language learner’s landing pad: http://www.eipd.vcu.edu/pdf/landingpads/duallang_landingpad.pdf
The NIDCD is an organization that focuses on providing research to improve the lives of people with communication disorders. On this particular page, the NIDCD focuses on speech and language development, providing the reader with information regarding speech/language milestones, definitions for speech and language disorders, and links to current research that is being conducted on developmental speech and language difficulties. This webpage also provides a family-friendly speech/language/hearing checklist that includes expected milestones for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers (birth through four years). http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/speechandlanguage.aspx
For more information regarding deafness and hard of hearing, please see http://www.eipd.vcu.edu/pdf/landingpads/dhh_landingpad.pdf
This short video presents the building blocks of early speech and language development as layers of a pyramid. Bhavna Acharya, a speech-language pathologist with the London Borough of Hounslow, discusses how the pyramid framework represents the different levels of speech and language development and examines the skills that form the foundation of communication. (5:21 minutes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z0rvMbLP2o
The Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project (2010)
Part One describes the process and basic expectations of typical speech and language development in young children (birth to five years). (7:40 minutes) http://vimeo.com/6398443
The Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project (2010)
Part Two describes characteristics of speech and language disorders, including those that involve articulation, voice, fluency, and receptive/expressive language. The basic steps involved in diagnosing and treating speech and language disorders (birth to five years) are discussed. (10:21 minutes) http://vimeo.com/7148545
Addressing children from birth to age five, this DVD is full of examples of normal speech, language, and hearing development and tips on when to seek treatment from speech-language pathologists and audiologists. The DVD is ideal for families and all practice settings and is a great way to educate and inform parents, teachers, health care providers, and other professionals. The purchase of the DVD also includes an instructional marketing booklet to help make the most of the product. ($18.00) http://www.asha.org/eweb/OLSDynamicPage.aspx?Webcode=olsdetails&title=Speech%2C+Language%2C+and+Hearing+Milestones%3A+Birth+to+Age+Five-Now+Captioned
This link is a brief preview of the above DVD (Speech, Language, and Hearing Milestones: Birth to Age Five). The short video presents information and examples of several developmental milestones expected of a one to two year old. Check it out for its information or to support your decision to purchase the DVD in its entirety! (1:43) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s69r5o7mfMk
Produced by Akron Children’s Hospital and narrated by a speech-language pathologist in the clinical setting, the common causes and indications of speech and language delays, the importance of early intervention, and tips to promote your child's speech and language development are clearly presented. (5:15) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFC4UK5rk4E
ASHA clearly defines the terms that are most frequently used when describing and discussing communication development. Providing examples for all of the terms, speech and language are clearly defined and the differences between receptive and expressive language are presented. Additionally, the components of speech, known as articulation, voice, and fluency are explained. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/language_speech.htm
What are the milestones of typical speech-language development? What level of communication skill does a typical 8-month-old baby have, or an 18-month-old, or a child who has just celebrated his or her fourth birthday? You’ll find these expertly described in How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?, a series of resource pages available online at ASHA. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm
Learn the difference between a language delay and a language problem. Factors such as the child's innate ability to learn language, other skills the child is learning, the amount and kind of language the child hears, and how people respond to the child’s communication attempts can slow down or accelerate the speed of speech and language development. This page provides information that helps parents determine whether to be concerned about the development of their infant and/or toddler. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/LateBlooming.htm
Children’s speech and language development follows a typical pattern. But what if that pattern is not followed or the expected milestones are not attained? ASHA provides families and providers with valuable information regarding signs and symptoms of early language disorders, including prevalence, possible causes, types of disorders, and details regarding the process of evaluation and the potential targets for intervention. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Preschool-Language-Disorders/
Learn more about the impact of social communication and interaction. The first page provides information regarding the major communication skills that are involved in pragmatics (social language). The second page presents a variety of general suggestions and strategies for families and service providers to assist children who are learning to use language appropriately in social situations.
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/Pragmatics.htm
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/PragmaticLanguageTips.htm
This website was initially created in 1998 by Caroline Bowen, a speech-language pathologist who has a particular interest in working with young children. The website’s mission is to provide useful, theoretically sound, and evidence-based information about human communication disorders. This website provides information and resources to families and others close to children with communication difficulties, as well as to people working in the field of communication sciences and disorders. The site was voted Best Teacher Blog in the 2012 Edublog Awards and is an excellent resource for information regarding speech and language development, disorders, intervention, and research. http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=101
Presented By: Corey H. Cassidy, Ph.D., CCC-SLP. This is a 1‐hour presentation explaining how children learn to listen, what should be expected from infants and toddlers regarding their receptive language and listening skills, and how we, as adults, can engage young children so that they can most effectively listen and learn. http://www.eipd.vcu.edu/talks_tuesdays.html
Presented by: Trish Winter, MMT, MT-BC. This 1-hour presentation provides information regarding the impact of music on the cognitive, speech and language, social, and emotional development of children ages birth through five years. Additionally, practical ways to incorporate music into a child's life and ways to enhance the music experiences that caregivers are already offering are presented. http://www.eipd.vcu.edu/talks_tuesdays.html
In collaboration with and copyrighted by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Beyond Baby Talk is intended to guide parents and caregivers through the easiest and most engaging ways to instill strong communication skills in the young child. The easy-to-read book includes essential steps and checkpoints to help gauge a child’s progress, as well as easy methods to:
• Evaluate and monitor a child’s spoken language development
• Enhance a child’s literacy skills for improved spelling, reading, and writing abilities
• Understand and navigate environmental influences on language development such as television, texting, and cultural slang
• Recognize the signs of language and literacy progress problems—and know when to seek professional help.
This book costs just $10.20. A review and order form is available at: http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Baby-Talk-Development-Caregivers/dp/0307952282/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357745896&sr=1-1&keywords=beyond+baby+talk.
This resource by speech-language pathologist Philip Eichten is an easy-to-follow, affordable booklet developed for parents of children with infants and toddlers who are demonstrating delayed/disordered language skills; the guide provides parents with 10 speech and language stimulation techniques, each with specific examples of what parents might say or how they might act or respond in everyday situations and natural settings. http://www.picommunication.com/descript.htm
This site provides a list of Virginia and national resources by disability category. http://www.disabilityresources.org/VIRGINIA.html
The JMU Speech-Language-Hearing Applied Laboratory, formerly referred to as the JMU Speech and Hearing Center, provides communication evaluation and treatment services to individuals with known or suspected speech and/or hearing impairments. This center assists residents of the Shenandoah Valley ranging in age from infants to senior citizens. Hearing testing and aid advising is available for those with concerns regarding hearing. Evaluation and treatment of communication impairments, including speech sound disorders, language impairments, voice disorders and stuttering problems, are additional services offered in the applied laboratory. Graduate students supervised by faculty who are licensed audiologists or speech-language pathologists serve as clinicians in this lab. http://www.csd.jmu.edu/services.html
The mission of the LCCLL is to be a caring community resource for children and families in South-Central Virginia, providing the highest level of service in professional speech-language, educational and early intervention programs and to fully prepare Longwood students for their future careers as speech-language pathologists or educators, by providing focused field experiences. Services at the LCCLL include screenings, evaluations, and speech-language-hearing therapy for both children and adults throughout the academic year. In the summer months, the LCCLL offers a variety of camp-based programs for children and their families. Longwood University also serves as the local lead agency for implementation of the Part C program for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families who live in the area: The Infant and Toddler Connection of the Heartland (ITC). Graduate students supervised by faculty who are licensed audiologists or speech-language pathologists serve as clinicians in this lab. http://www.longwood.edu/lccll/index.html
The RUSLHC offers comprehensive evaluation and treatment of speech, spoken and written language, cognitive-communication and hearing disorders in people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. Services are also available to individuals who are interested in accent modification. Graduate students supervised by faculty who are licensed audiologists or speech-language pathologists serve as clinicians in this lab.
The RUSLHC accepts referrals from clients, caregivers, educators, physicians and allied health care professionals in the New River and Roanoke Valleys. A wide variety of services are offered, including a preschool language lab, multidisciplinary assessment of autism spectrum disorders, augmentative-alternative communication evaluations, assessment and treatment of cognitive-communication disorders associated with traumatic brain injury and/or stroke, central auditory processing evaluations, hearing aid evaluations, community screenings, and Scottish Rite Summer Language Programs. http://www.radford.edu./content/wchs/home/cosd/ruslhc.html
The ODUSHC provides diagnostic and therapy services for adults and children with speech, language, and hearing disorders. The ODUSHC is part of the Communication Sciences & Disorders graduate degree program which is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). The clinic staff maintains high standards in the provision of comprehensive assessment and intervention services. Services are provided by students in the graduate program under direct supervision of speech-pathology and audiology faculty certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association (ASHA) and licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Referrals are accepted from physicians, educators, counselors, and other professionals. Self-referrals are also accepted. The most common types of speech/language disorders treated at ODUSHC include articulation, language, including pragmatics, aphasia, voice, fluency/stuttering, phonological disorders, language-based reading deficits, aural habilitation and rehabilitation, and accent reduction. http://education.odu.edu/shc/
This website includes information regarding licensure, registration, and continuing education requirements for both audiologists and speech-language pathologists to practice in the state of Virginia. Applications for licensure, guidance documents, and forms to file complaints are also available. http://www.dhp.virginia.gov/aud/
This VDOE site provides speech-language pathologists, related service providers, and parents who have children with speech-language impairments with information and resources including guidelines for best practice services in the schools, evidence-based practice, and requirements for SLP assistants. Additionally, the VDOE uses this site to share current topics with speech-language pathologists through free webinars. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/special_ed/disabilities/speech_language_impairment/index.shtml
Virginia Commonwealth University
Partnership for People with Disabilities
www.eipd.vcu.edu
Integrated Training Collaborative
Infant and Toddler Connection of Virginia
Partnership for People with Disabilities
This professional development activity is supported by the Integrated Training Collaborative (ITC), with funding support from the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). Copyright © 2013.