What have I been up to you ask? Have I drowned in pumpkiny goodness? Almost but not quite, I've been working, yeah!! And when I'm not working, I've been working on resources for my families. My job, in brief, is working with families whose child (birth to three years old) has at least a 25% delay in at least one developmental area. My kiddos right now all have delays in speech or socio-emotional development (self control/behavior). The parents I'm working with are across all demographics. I absolutely love this job, and helping families. My classroom days that filled 7 years are already a distant memory.
In these first three weeks, I've noticed some commonalities. Here are some handouts I've complied, you may find interesting. Even if you don't have young kids right now, you probably are around some or know of some. Check back, I'll update and add to this page as I learn more.
Let me know if a link does not work, or you have something to add...I'm always up for learning more and adding more resources for families. You know what they say about a village raising a child. :)
Starting Sign Language with Your Child - "My kid's ears and hearing are fine, so why Sign?" Well let me tell you, significant research has been done to prove kids that start with Sign or use Sign along with verbal language pick up language faster. Signing is easier for kids that talking, so when they start with Sign they are more confident communicators.
It surprised me to learn ALMOST ALL of my kids had multiple ear infections as babies. I did not know this could lead to speech delays. It can also cause hearing damage but all of my kids hearing came out fine, so why the delay? Some of these links suggest it can take up to 3 months to fully recover from an ear infection. With just one ear infection they could effectively be missing 3 months of language! Many children have multiple ear infections, and sometimes back to back. Unless you're getting their hearing checked every week and who does that?, you don't really know when they are able to hear fully. Because of their muffled hearing while suffering from the ear infection they later have to catch up on hearing and producing sounds.
And further more, did you know ear infections could be caused by allergies? Fascinating, I know!
Another common theme with my families is needing to establish, more like stick to, a sleep routine. Here are some tips and resources that may be helpful.
Links List:
Tips for Using Sign Language
Common Sign Language Signs - link coming soon!
Ear Infections and Speech Delays
Ear Infections and Allergies
By the way, let me be the first to say, I am not the perfect parent, just like I am not perfect at my job, so please share any ideas you have!
In these first three weeks, I've noticed some commonalities. Here are some handouts I've complied, you may find interesting. Even if you don't have young kids right now, you probably are around some or know of some. Check back, I'll update and add to this page as I learn more.
Let me know if a link does not work, or you have something to add...I'm always up for learning more and adding more resources for families. You know what they say about a village raising a child. :)
Starting Sign Language with Your Child - "My kid's ears and hearing are fine, so why Sign?" Well let me tell you, significant research has been done to prove kids that start with Sign or use Sign along with verbal language pick up language faster. Signing is easier for kids that talking, so when they start with Sign they are more confident communicators.
It surprised me to learn ALMOST ALL of my kids had multiple ear infections as babies. I did not know this could lead to speech delays. It can also cause hearing damage but all of my kids hearing came out fine, so why the delay? Some of these links suggest it can take up to 3 months to fully recover from an ear infection. With just one ear infection they could effectively be missing 3 months of language! Many children have multiple ear infections, and sometimes back to back. Unless you're getting their hearing checked every week and who does that?, you don't really know when they are able to hear fully. Because of their muffled hearing while suffering from the ear infection they later have to catch up on hearing and producing sounds.
And further more, did you know ear infections could be caused by allergies? Fascinating, I know!
Another common theme with my families is needing to establish, more like stick to, a sleep routine. Here are some tips and resources that may be helpful.
Links List:
Tips for Using Sign Language
Common Sign Language Signs - link coming soon!
Ear Infections and Speech Delays
Ear Infections and Allergies
By the way, let me be the first to say, I am not the perfect parent, just like I am not perfect at my job, so please share any ideas you have!
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