What’s inside Tasha’s Toolbox!

I’ve been so busy lately with all the new children on my caseload on and of course the launch of our Parent Hub Membership Club; that it got me thinking back to many years ago to when I was a student at Smalltalk. I remember Libby telling me on the very first day that as a Speech Therapist there will never be enough hours in the day and that I always had to be prepared for anything the job may decide to throw at me. And of course, she was right! On that day she assigned me one simple task! – to create an ‘Initial Assessment Kit’ that, when working with any child on the caseload, I would be able to use to carry out a complete assessment screen of their communication development. After a small moment of panic (that of course I didn’t admit to at the time) it occurred to me that, no matter what child comes through the door, regardless of the difficulty or diagnosis there are still underlying factors we need to target.

And so, my Mini Assessment Toolbox was created and nearly 8 years later I am still using the same kit, if not with a little wear and tear and a few new additions. Though one thing hasn’t changed; there are still not enough hours in the day and I still need to be prepared for anything. If like me, you are continually dashing between appointments, have little time to remember all the resources you need beforehand or get thrown into a new assessment at the last minute, it may be a good idea to have your own handy Toolbox that you can keep with you containing all the essentials!

Today I thought I’d write a helpful post showing you what’s inside my Assessment Toolbox.

 1.      ‘Now and Next’ Visual Timetable whiteboard
2.      Session Activity pictures
3.      Short story book (with accompanying Blank Level Question)
4.      Bubbles
5.      Balloons
6.      Balloon Airplane and (a fun and engaging turn-taking toy)
                                                              i.      Wind-up - Toy “Dancing Robot”
7.      Information Carrying Word (ICW) pictures
8.      Matching Rhyming Cards
9.      Everyday objects: (for Auditory Memory and Vocab)

                                                              i.      Cup

                                                             ii.      Ball

                                                           iii.      Spoon

                                                           iv.      Car

                                                             v.      Bear

                                                           vi.      Pencil

                                                         vii.      Glasses

10.  ….and of course, Stickers

So next time you are rushing between appointments, just remember to keep you Toolbox close by, and you’ll be surprised by how many areas of speech and language you can work on with just a few everyday objects!

The power of snack time.

During some of our Smart Talker pre-school groups we like to include a snack time. During which, children are encouraged to sit around a table together to enjoy a drink and healthy snack. This isn’t just so we can have a rest and parents can have a good chat with their friends. It is actually a fantastic and powerful opportunity to encourage communication.

This situation provides children with the following opportunities:

·        having a good reason to communicate i.e. the motivation of food or drink

·        making a choice of snack and drink which is really important

·         Increasing their confidence

So what should we be doing?

·        Working on language and communication skills is most effective when done in real, everyday situations. We need to make sure we are giving a child a reason to communicate, an opportunity and a means. (The means can be pointing first, then answering a forced alternative e.g. ‘do you want water or juice?’, ‘... banana or raisins’ etc. Put the one you think he/she wants last to begin with so he can copy easily at first.  

·        When you are offering them a choice of snack or drink, get down on their level; make sure you have their attention by saying their name first, or tapping them on the arm.

·        Try and only give them a little bit at a time so they have to ask for more. The word ‘more’ is a good word to build from 1 to 2 words; e.g. ‘more juice’, ‘more banana’ etc. Be careful to look out for non-verbal cues as some children may not feel confident to ask for more, or have the language skills or vocabulary to do it. For example, a child may look in your direction holding out their cup, I would respond positively to this communicative attempt and model the language to the child i.e.       ‘ you would like more juice, X would like more juice’; repeating key words i.e. juice will really help your child  learn new vocabulary.

·        A further point, although it is lovely for us to hear children expressing their P’s and Q’s, this can be very confusing and hard for some children. If a child is saying single words it means that they are at an early stage of language acquisition. If, therefore, you ask them to say 'Please' or 'Ta' before you hand over the required toy, piece of food, drink or whatever, they will be very confused. If you want to encourage a child to put 2 words together, ‘more + biscuit' is more functional, they won't be able to say 'more+biscuit+please' until much later because this is actually 3 words together. (please read Libby Hill’s blog for more information on please and thank you, http://www.smarttalkersblog.com/2011/12/please-dont-teach-your-child-to-say.html)

·        Snack time provides an opportunity for children to request something in the best way they can, and push them to do a little more in a safe and motivating way. Therefore, working on their expressive language skills.

·        Children will also benefit from the social aspects of eating together, such as turn taking. If you take time to watch and listen, you will often see children sharing their snacks, or talking together.

One of the biggest causes of language delay today is that we don't expect enough of our children and we give them what they want without making them work for it. We take away the opportunities and reasons to communicate so their means of communicating doesn't need to progress.

 Take a step back and see every day activities as opportunities for communication...

So don't just provide food and drink, use snack or mealtime to help your child's language skills!

We can show you how if you come to one of our sessions www.smarttalkers.org.uk

Georgina White

More than a third of five-year-olds are struggling to communicate

More than a third of five-year-olds are struggling to communicate – or understand the basics of reading and writing – because of key failures in early years care, it was revealed in OSTED's annual report earlier this week. Record numbers of young children – some 96 per cent – were currently in some form of pre-school education but it warned that “significant weaknesses” remain in terms of how well providers use the Government’s early years curriculum to “prepare children for school”.

In a damning conclusion, it was claimed that children from the poorest fifth of homes were on average 19 months behind wealthier classmates in their use of vocabulary by the age of five.

The gulf between rich and poor was wider than in most other major English-speaking nations, it was revealed.

From this it appears that the situation hasn't moved on despite the best efforts put in place since the Bercow report.

Our Smart Talkers pre-School Communication Groups  run in Children's Centres and also nurseries to help develop  language and communication skills to reduce the gap between these children. We have excellent results. We will be reporting on a project in the Lichfield area that we are currently doing, soon.

www.smarttalkers.org.uk

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9706275/Ofsted-third-of-five-year-olds-not-ready-for-school.html

Parents! What would you like to see included?

We are developing a  new website with our friends at Devmac especially for parents. We are told so often that parents want to help their children but don't know where to look. The internet is a fantastic place to source information, in fact, we reported recently that this is exactly where parents are looking BUT how do they know what they find is any good?

We will have lots of free downloads for information and simple games as well as resource packs, books and games that we have either written/devised or have reviewed and recommend.

There will be videos showing parents exactly how to use them. We have lots planned!

What would you like to see included? Please let us know, as we would welcome your ideas

info@smalltalk-ltd.co.uk

Too much pressure on our children? Yes, sometimes!

Any one who knows me, knows that I go on about children not having sufficient stimulation these days and I have even been heard to say that there is no such thing as 'too much'. I now wish to amend that somewhat following a meal out on Saturday night.

The next table had two parents and an obvious 'only child'. The poor girl aged about 4 years was constantly taught and tested throughout the meal. The parents said absolutely nothing to each other through out their prawn puree starters and chicken kormas, they just bombarded poor Victoria with question after question after question.

There was no encouragement and occasional undeserved criticism. 'Lets play Ispy Verity, you go first,' said Daddy. 'I spy something beginning with pink,' said the poor child. 'Clever', I thought for a pre-schooler but Daddy didn't think so. It was met with scorn and derision.

'What letters can you see on that sign,Victoria?'  asked Mummy. 'I can't see a sign', said the poor child hoping to avoid the lesson'.

'What does 'stunning' mean asked Daddy?'. 'It means really good', said the child. 'No!', scoffed Daddy ' it doesn't. If I called Mummy stunning would you agree?' At this point the poor child just wanted to escape and so did I!!!

When a man collapsed on the floor, they ignored her questions about it and re-directed her to her food. This could have been a really good discussion topic as the para-medics arrived and began to minister to him but they were too busy 'teaching'.

There were lots of lessons the child could have learned about social language and conversation at a meal table. The parents could have been good role models and demonstrated the etiquette of eating out and how she should behave. They could have enjoyed her company and each others but they obviously thought the tirade of questioning, is what they should be doing. They even kept giving us smug looks as if they were showing  us how it should be done (We were without our 6). How I kept my mouth shut, I don't know!!

My book, 'How to prepare your child for school' isn't ready yet but when it it is I'll keep a copy in my bag... to give to parents like them? NO, to smack them round the head with..... hard!!

Does your child tick some boxes for traditional diagnoses but not others ?

Perhaps some of the following will ring bells?

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is defined as a deficit “in information processing of audible signals not attributed to impaired hearing sensitivity or intellectual impairment” (Roeser and Downs, 1995, p.101). Prevalence data for APD is sparse, especially for children, but in Chermak, Hall and Musiek (1999) they cited Chermak and Musiek (1997) as saying it is estimated that APD occurs in 2-3 percent of children, with a 2:1 ratio of boys and girls. Dr Tont Sinimarra from GOSH thinks it could be as high as 8%!

Common Symptoms: 

• Easily distracted by background noise.
• Doesn't follow oral directions well, especially if they are complex and have to be carried out some time later.
• Has problems recalling names, dates, times, and other information.
• Has poor memory for numbers, letters, words, and other information that is heard.
• Has difficulty with directions, especially if they are complex, lengthy, presented in a noisy background or to be carried out some time later.
• Asks for statements to be repeated.
• Is slow to respond to questions or directions.
• Gives inappropriate answers to simple questions.
• Has difficulty interpreting abstract information.
• Has poor musical abilities.
• Is slow to respond to questions or directions.
• Has difficulty with verbal math problems.
• Shows unusual reaction to sudden or loud sounds.
• Has difficulty identifying the source or location of a sound.
• Is easily distracted by noises.
• Performs better in one-to-one settings (Kelly, D.A., 1995).

If you can identify with any of these, your child may have APD. We'll look at strategies in later posts.

We can screen fro APD using Scan 3 and LiSN-S so please get in touch if you would like us to help.

www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

Speech, language and communication: are they special needs?

The Communication Trust, a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations specialising in speech, language and communication, has welcomed today’s SEN Progress and Next Steps report from the Department of Education.
The Trust welcomes the drive towards joined up approaches and efforts to ease the journey for children with SEN and their families but has concerns about the effect of these changes on the 1 million children and young people in the UK with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Wendy Lee, Professional Director for The Communication Trust, says: “Over the last five years, there has been a 58% increase in the number of children and young people with SLCN as a special educational need. Identification and support is crucial but traditionally the UK has had low recognition and awareness of SLCN.
“Changes in labelling, particularly around the diagnosis of behavioural, social and emotional problems, will need to be managed carefully. Parents and the children’s workforce often notice and recognise poor literacy or poor behaviour but may not notice the SLCN difficulty underneath such as poor understanding, vocabulary or conversational skills. We need to work hard to ensure that the ‘hidden’ difficulties of children with SLCN are identified early across all phases of education.

“When SLCN is not addressed, problems can manifest over the years affecting the individual, their family and wider society. Figures show that more than half of children excluded from school have an unidentified SLCN and in our youth justice system, 60% have SLCN, which has previously been undetected.”

The Communication Trust is working closely with the Government on how to support and identify SLCN and is pleased with the strong emphasis on this in the early years and with the focus on workforce development. Specifically, the Trust has:

•  Managed and delivered in partnership with Jean Gross, formerly Communication Champion for children, the National Year of Communication (Hello campaign) to raise awareness of children and young people’s communication development and how to recognise and support SLCN
• Worked to support children’s communication charity I CAN to deliver the Early Language Development Programme (ELDP)
• Developed with support from City & Guilds, a new Level 3 Award in Supporting Children and Young People's Speech Language and Communication for practitioners working with children and young people aged 0‐19 across education, health, youth justice and social care. With support from the Department for Education, the Trust has developed free resources to support the early identification of SLCN
• Developed for the first time a mandatory unit on speech, language and communication that is included in initial training for early years practitioners as part of the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s workforce www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/qualifications
• Released in partnership with Jean Gross, formerly Communication Champion and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), Better Communication – outlining a range of approaches to commissioning around SLCN
•  Produced a booklet Let’s Talk about It aimed at increasing awareness of SLCN to teachers going through initial teacher training
• Recently launched a film aimed at raising awareness of recognising SLCN with youth justice and educators www.sentencetrouble.info/film

Wendy Lee continues: “As schools are given greater flexibility to determine their own policies and practices on SEN and the range of statutory information requirements are reduced, it is vital that schools are scrutinised by Ofsted and by Local Authorities on the services they provide, to ensure that the large numbers of children with mild and moderate SLCN are not overlooked. “The Trust is concerned that children with SEN risk getting left behind as the new NHS and schools architecture gets embedded. As personalised budgets come to the fore, parents will need extra support to ensure a joined up approach that meets their child’s needs across health, education and care.”

“As a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, we understand intrinsically the unique role that the voluntary sector plays. We are pleased this has been championed in the report and look forward to continuing to work with the Government to improve the lives of children, young people and their families.”

"Despite progress, still too many gaps in support for 10% of children with communication difficulties"

I CAN, the children’s communication charity, this week expressed concern that there are still many gaps in the support available for more than a million children across the UK with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), despite recent advances.

Responding to the report of the outgoing Communication Champion for Children, Jean Gross CBE, the charity welcomed evidence of improved awareness amongst parents, policy makers and professionals about children’s communication. Her report, Two Years On: Final Report of the Communication Champion for Children also highlights good practice for children with SLCN. However, it makes it clear that this is the exception rather than the rule: joint commissioning of integrated approaches across health and education, is still not happening in 70% of local areas.

I CAN backs the report’s 30 major recommendations. In particular, it supports Jean Gross’s proposal for the Health and Social Care Bill to be amended to make joint commissioning of children’s community health services compulsory to improve services for children with SLCN. The charity also called for better support for school-aged children with communication difficulties. Without continued focus and investment, there remains a long way to go before every child with SLCN receives integrated support, particularly once they get to primary and secondary school. Virginia Beardshaw, I CAN CEO said: "This report, coming at the end of the 2011 National Year of Communication, tells us what works best for children with communication needs and how far we’ve come, both on the ground and at government level in recognising the importance of this issue.

Despite this progress, children and young people are still not getting the help they need when they need it. I’m deeply saddened that joint commissioning, which is the cornerstone of good services, is still a ‘minority sport’ across the NHS and local government. And we know from the families who contact I CAN every day, parents face real barriers to finding information and practical help which meets their children’s needs. 

Speech, language and communication skills are essential for children to start school ready to read, learn, form friendships and grow into thriving adults. Without early intervention SLCN impacts on all aspects of a child’s development - unsupported, around one-third of young people with SLCN will go on to develop mental health problems.

Jean’s report shows the benefits for children’s communication when communities, parents, health, education and social care professionals combine efforts to identify and support those who are struggling. Integrated, area-wide approaches and focus on workforce development is illustrated by I CAN’s work with early years staff, settings and local authorities. But we need to expand this approach from the 30% of local areas identified in Jean’s report and plug the gaps in support for school –aged children. 

Much has been achieved since the 2008 review by John Bercow of children’s speech language and communication. We need a continued focus on this issue to ensure that our gains are not lost and that the 1 million plus children and young people with speech, language and communication needs can go on to fulfil their potential."

I would agree that we are making progress in both the identification and acknowledgment but we are not moving forwards with what happens next. Small Talk Independent SLT has been inundated with referrals in 2012 already. Unfortunately most of these parents are at the end of their tether having being massively let down  by the system in place. These are not referrals of minor difficulties such as lisps or the like but serious language problems which are having a major impact on the child's life, relationships and progress. We need to keep up the momentum!!


www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

Will mainstreaming my child improve their social skills?

Studies at the University of Washington compare  the peer relations of preschool children with communication disorders to those of normally developing preschoolers and throw light on this complicated aspect. Surely if there are better role models to follow, this will help our language impaired children?

Children with communication disorders do not generally participate in group play as much as their peers and their social bids do not receive positive responses. They are the “less preferred” playmates and have fewer reciprocal friendships. These children also tend to interact more with adults than peers.

The study divided children into 12 play groups, each with 6 members. 6 of the groups were specialized groups, where 3 of them had only children with diagnosed communication disorders and 3 had only normally developing children. The other 6 groups were mainstreamed environments where 4 normally developing children were grouped with 2 children with communication disorders. The groups met for 2.5 hours per day, 5 days a week, for 2 weeks. They were involved in preschool-like programs which included circle time, music, art, snack, story and 30 minutes of free play. During free play the children were monitored based on the type of play they engaged in- solitary, parallel or group. They were also analyzed based on the different measures of cognitive play- 

• functional
• constructive
• dramatic play
• games with rules. 

Children not engaging in play were identified as being:

• unoccupied
• an onlooker
• reading or listening
• exploring
• participating in active conversation
• transitioning
• interacting with adults. 

The study looked at the different types of social behaviors that these children engaged in:

• gaining attention of their peers
•  using peers as resources
• expressing affection 
• directing peers. 

Lastly, the children had to rate their peers based on who they would most rather play with.

There were some commonalities between the findings in the groups, but it was noted that children with communication disorders are involved less in active conversations, spend more time transitioning, have fewer positive social behaviors and are less successful in gaining the attention and support of their peers. However, it was also noted that most of the children could be defined as “socially competent” which implies that those with communication disorders could adapt to different interactions, at least in the short term. It was hypothesized that the children with communication disorders placed in mainstream groups would have different reactions than those in the specialized groups. However, that was not the case. Both groups had similar rates of social interactions and this was explained by the variability among those with communication disorders. In the specialized groups, the children with the strongest social skills took the role of facilitating group involvement. The setting did not matter.

This study is important to our understanding of Communication Disorders because it disproves the idea that mainstreaming these students will help to increase the quality of their social interactions. Rather, it was important to note that the children with the weakest social skills will more often than not were at the periphery of group activity, regardless of their environment. Therefore, educators must understand that there needs to be a better solution than merely mainstreaming the students.

Guralnick, Michael J., Robert T. O’Connor, Mary A. Hammond, John M. Gottman, and Kelly Kinnish. (1996). The Peer Relations of Preschool Children with Communication Disorders.  

Talking Twins You Tube video

We all saw this but what did you think? Just cute or did it provoke discussion about whether twins have their own language?  

Some say the video captures the twin boys on the verge of language development, but that it’s more mimicry and  babble than real 'conversation'. Others believe that it an example of the unique language that twins are thought to develop. 

The video, posted on YouTube in February, comes from the blog TwinMamaRama.com, written by the boys’ mother, who doesn’t give her name, but does say that she is a twin herself. In the video, the boys, wearing only nappies and socks, strike up an animated and intense conversation. The video has attracted more than six million viewers and been featured on television morning shows.  I love the fact that it went viral!

It's a good example of developing language as they're using sounds, vowels, consonants and syllables to mimic words. The intonation pattern is interesting too so it sounds as if they are asking questions of each other as well as making statements.

Most toddlers go through the same phase of language development. What is different about twins is that they have someone to practise this stage with so it appears like a language of their own. Without a twin, the same stage is one sided, as the baby has only older siblings or parents and carers to practise with.

My younger sisters are twins and that's what initially sparked my interest in speech therapy, as it appeared that they had their own language. They had their own words for things e.g the knitted elephants they took to bed every night, were called 'Deece' (they still have them albeit very tatty, and call them that even at 42!). The slightly older one (by half an hour but it counts if you are that one!) interpreted for the younger one who didn't really need to talk to anyone else until much later.

However, it is just a myth. There is no such thing as twin language, you just have a partner to copy and to practise with.

www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk    www.smarttalkers.org.uk

Tweet

Related articles:

• Babbling twins video goes viral (sfgate.com)
• Video of babies 'talking' becomes YouTube sensation (dailymail.co.uk)
• Babies 'talking' becomes YouTube sensation (dailymail.co.uk)

Listen Up - it's not just about talking

It isn't easy to see and recognise what happens beneath the surface of children's communication. Being able to listen, pay attention, play and understand are the fundamental building blocks of communication. 

Adults play a crucial role in supporting these skills. If a child can't listen and understand, they'll struggle to talk. That's why in April our theme is 'it's not just about talking'.

We've developed 2 brand new FREE resources to encourage listening, understanding, interaction and play.

For pre-school children, Listen Up (0-5), includes a card game with fun activities and advice on how parents and early year's workers can use the resource.

Remember fortune tellers from the school playground? The folded up square pieces of paper that you control with your fingers and thumbs? Well you will when you see it!  For school aged children Listen Up (5-11)includes a fun fortune teller with the card game.  These short and simple activities can be done easily and quickly and with everyday things.

To order your free copy email hello@thecommunicationtrust.org.uk. Write 'Listen Up' in the subject header and include your name, full postal address and the age of your child or children you work with. We'll send you the resource sometime in April.

Small Talk Speech & Language Therapy and Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication Groups are supporting the Hello campaign www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk and www.smarttalkers.org.uk

Sad to say goodbye..... for now!

I've had to say goodbye to 2 groups of children this week. I've been working with them since January and had come to really look forwards to both groups.
The first one was at Stretton Springs Pre-School where we've been delivering Languageland for nursery. We've had a small core of children plus a rotation of others so they could all 'have a turn' on the magic carpet. The sessions were for the staff, mainly to help share a speech and language therapist's knowledge to add what to what they already know.

The other group was a set of 12 children from Pirehill First School and their parents. These were a bright, wriggly group who needed extra help with confidence, attention, listening and other simple skills so that they can achieve their potential. I used a languageland style approach here too with homework. Feedback was very good with all the parents feeling that they had learned something.
Languageland is a programme that has been developed over a 7 year period by Newcastle under Lyme PCT. It is demonstration training so that the SLT can show staff simple techniques to help in their own groups/classroom. It is available from Blacksheep Press with a  special offer at the moment www.blacksheeppress.co.uk
The good news is that I can still keep in touch with both places, as they have valued what we've done. I'll be doing further training for parents and staff at Stretton Springs and plan to run some pre-school groups for the up-coming intake at Pirehill, so that they are ready to listen and learn when they start school in September.

Planned chaos with Teeny twos!

There are several reasons why a child of 2 might not be talking as expected including a general developmental delay, problems understanding, a family history of late talking, they might not see the need, they may be on the autistic continuum or belong to a family who don’t realise that they need to interact with their toddler in order for him or her to learn to talk. 

Whatever the reason, I created the Teeny Talker groups (part of the Smart Talkers Pre-School Groups range) to help.  The sessions are great fun and have specific aims involving songs, games, puppets and a snack-time. I have to say that sometimes these aims may not be clear to the observer as working with 2 year olds can be extremely unpredictable.... but never, never boring! They're not just for children with delayed language and are designed to encourage confidence and communication in all 2 year olds. I love running these groups and we get some fantastic results so I thought I'd share a couple of case studies with you. 

Case Study 1

J. B. was 2 yrs 5 months and had no spoken words. He got by with a combination of pointing and grunts. His mother, a single parent was concerned that this would affect his relationships with other children. His behaviour was deteriorating due to frustration at not being able to get his message across. His Health Visitor referred him to speech & language therapy but also advised his mother to take him to the Small talk group at Boney Hay. He is an only child.

J.B’s attention was fleeting and he preferred to run around for the first two sessions. He could not wait for his turn and had small temper tantrums as a result. No spoken language was observed at this time. However, six sessions on he could sit and attend to the group tasks, join in for his turn and more often than not volunteered to be the helper at snack time which meant he was last to be served! He could produce 25 or more single words and could even produce 2 words together e.g. more pop,  bubbles gone.

J.B. was already a confident little boy but he and his mother needed encouragement to communicate verbally and to observe how the Therapist’s techniques can be used at home in everyday situations. He received his NHS appointment but has been discharged because he is making such encouraging progress.

Case Study 2

N. J. was 2 yrs 6 months when she came to the group. Her parents were concerned because she did not speak at all, she was effectively mute. The Health Visitor had recommended they come along.

For the first 4 sessions she was very quiet but co-operated fully for the tasks. She appeared to enjoy the songs and her understanding was very good. Gradually, she began to join in with the songs and then she named items. Now 7 sessions on, she is talking when it is her turn and will spontaneously ask for drink or biscuit at the snack time. She can use 2-3 word sentences. Her confidence to communicate was the biggest stumbling block and the group acted as a forum in which to develop this. The signing and augmentative communication techniques just alleviated the pressure for her. She is using her new found skills in most situations now.

We've got Teeny Talkers at the Willows, Boney Hay, Featherstone, Springhill, Glenthorne and Landywood Children's Centres this term. If you would like us to come to your area or group, let us know!

For more information ring 0844 704 5888 or 07970 202561  www.smarttalkers.org.uk

Language learning starts in the womb!

I found this on examiner.com  and I thought it was worth sharing: Find them on Facebook!

A new study published on the November 5th online edition ofCurrent Biology reveals that newborns' cries already carry the mark of their parents language. The study has found that babies start to develop language elements in the womb, long before they first start to coo and babble.

The findings not only disclose that newborn human babies can produce different sounding cry sounds. They also reveal that neonates prefer to make the sound patterns that were typical to them when in the womb during their third trimester of gestation, explained Kathleen Wermke of the University of Würzburg in Germany. Unlike previously believed, the data in this study supports how important a baby'a crying is for seeding the development of language, added Wermke.

In the last trimester of pregnancy human fetuses can memorize external sounds, particularlymelody contours in music and language. Newborns prefer their mother's voice above other voices and can perceive emotion through intonation contours in maternal speech, also known as 'motherese' or baby talk. Babies' ability to differentiate between languages and changes in pitch is based on melody patterns.

The study's research team, led by Wermke, recorded and analyzed 60 healthy three to five day old newborn's cries, half of which were born to French-speaking families and the other half to German-speaking families. Clear differences were noted in the tone of the babies' cries, based on their maternal tongue.

French newborns had a cry with a rising melody contour, while the German babies had a falling melody contour cry. These melody patterns are consistent with the two languages, stated Wermke.

The data from this study show a very early native language impact, said the researchers. Infants can't match vowel sounds made to them by adult speakers until 12 weeks after being born, that skill depends on vocal control. However, they can imitate the tone of their mother's spoken language.

The fact that they can imitate melody contour, is probably due to their motivation to mimic their mother's voice to establish a bond. Since melody contour is probably the only characteristic of their mother's speech they can imitate, it could explain why it is found so early in a newborn's life.

Related articles

• Newborns need their mother's voice to really fire their brains up [Mad Science] (io9.com)
• Infants give mother tongue new meaning (theglobeandmail.com)
• Mum's the word: Montreal team finds newborns respond uniquely to mother's voice (canada.com)