Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication Groups: a glimpse into what we do

I was sorting through some of the photos that Sara from Sara Moseley Photography had taken last year of a group at Horn End Nursery Rugeley. I used some for an exhibition in Birmingham but they are far too good to hide away so I've put a few into a slideshow which introduces what we do at Smart Talkers Pre-school groups






The groups are franchised and we have franchisees, so far, in Cambridge, Singapore and India. Smart Talkers Surrey is just starting her training and we are in talks with someone in New York, Japan and Sussex.


No previous experience is necessary as all training and support is given. As you can see from the slideshow, it's a fantastic privilege to be able to work with pre-schoolers in this way!


For more information www.smarttalkers.org.ukwww.smarttalkers.org.uk

Is my child with ASD too young for therapy?

This is a contentious issue with many Speech Therapy Departments not seeing youngsters until 3 years of age. I came across the report of an American study which  shows that children with autistic spectrum disorder appear to benefit from early, intensive therapy to improve their social and communication skills.

"It's important for children with autism to begin treatment as soon as possible," Micah Mazurek, assistant professor in the School of Health Professions and the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the University of Missouri. said, "The more intense or comprehensive the therapy, the better it is in terms of helping children improve social and communication skills."

People with an autism spectrum disorder have problems understanding, interacting and relating to others. For the study, researchers measured 15 social-communication skills of more than 1,000 autistic children and teenagers, including facial expressions, gestures, language comprehension, sharing enjoyment and appropriate social responses.

Although 95 percent of the kids showed improvement in these skills over time, the study found that those who received behavioral, speech and occupational therapy had better results.

Moreover, the children who received more intensive treatment at a younger age showed the most improvement in their social-communication abilities, the researchers said. Those with higher nonverbal IQs had the best response to therapy, they found.

"With regard to social-communicative symptom severity, our study reveals that it is not IQ alone that contributes to improvements over time," said Mazurek. "Instead, having a higher IQ may allow children to make greater gains in various types of treatments." The results also indicate a need to develop alternative treatment approaches for children with intellectual impairments, Mazurek added. The study concluded that targeted, intensive treatments may be most successful in improving specific skills among autistic children.

The study will be published in the next issue of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders .

Related articles

• Children with autism benefit from early, intensive therapy (esciencenews.com)
• Children with autism benefit from early, intensive therapy (eurekalert.org)
• Early, Intensive Therapy Helps Children With Autism (medicalnewstoday.com)

Did your school take part in no pens day today?

George being excited!

It was officially a day when schools should not use pens, rather the children talk and listen to mark the September theme for the Hello campaign. Unfortunately, as with everything the take up for this was not brilliant. In fact of the 10 schools to whom I mentioned it, only one took up the idea. St Peters C E School in Hixon bravely decided to go pen-less! My son was really excited at the prospect and was actually looking forwards to going to school (he's not the most keen under normal circumstances, which is nothing to do with the excellent school he attends, I might add!)

On the way home we had a great chat about what it must be like to be unable to speak or to have difficulty understanding what is said to you. Although he is well aware that as a speech and language therapist, I work with children with problems he had not really thought about the implications for the individuals concerned. If today has made just a few more children think about how dreadful it must be then it has been a success in my book. After all 1 in every 7 has a specific difficulty while 'many, many more' (Gross 2010) will be experiencing a delay which will hinder written language learning.

Join in with the activities of the Hello campaign at www.hello.org.uk

Should I leave my baby to cry? Is controlled crying good?

For those of us who long ago decided to ignore the advice of Gina Ford or mother-in-laws who stated that babies should be left to cry, there is  scientific evidence which not only supports our gut instinct but also shows that leaving a baby to cry can have long term, damaging emotional effects. I was reminded about the study by 'The Mother' magazine www.themothermagazine.blogspot.com.  


The study carried out at used brain scans to show that long term harm can be caused. 'If you ignore a crying child, tell them to shut up or put them in a room on their own, you can cause serious damage to their brains on a level that can result in severe neurosis and emotional disorders later in life,' said Professor Margot Sunderland, a leading expert in the development of children's brains and a British Medical Association award-winning author.

We need to be  confident enough to listen to our instincts and reject the  theories of so-called baby experts such as Gina Ford and Channel 4's Supernanny, Jo Frost, who preach strict discipline, routine and controlled crying.


Crying to me, as  a speech and language therapist, is communication. It's too easy to see the crying as a behaviour on its own. It's a symptom of an underlying issue. The baby is trying to tell us something. If we can sort out the problem, we can stop the crying. Leaving a baby to cry is teaching him that his attempts to communicate are not important and so he will learn that this is not a worthwhile activity. It doesn't however take away the reason why he was crying. He will still be hungry, thirsty, anxious, etc

My first baby cried almost all the time but I never left him to cry. I picked him up and cuddled him and he stopped. I much later found out he had serious glue ear and so it hurt him to lie down. When I picked him up it made him feel better.  How awful would I have felt if I had listened to the advice everyone freely gave me to let him cry? Incidently, why is it when you have a new born everyone thinks you cant make decisions for yourself and gives advice about anything and everything when they wouldnt normally dream of doing so?

I  hear about so called 'good babies' but what is it that makes them good? Is it because they aren't communicating? A baby who just lies there may be easy to have around but I much prefer one who wants to interact. Most will want to, given the opportunity. Jayne, excellent nursery teacher I know told me about a visit to a friend and her baby. The baby lay in his carrycot in the same room while the adults chatted. Jayne went over to the baby and interacted with him. When she stopped, he cried. The parent was probably not very pleased but the baby had really enjoyed Jayne's attention and interaction and wanted more. He was unhappy when she moved away and protested in the only way he could. Babies are pre-wired to enjoy and benefit from interaction. We need to remember that communication is about listening too. We must be better listeners.

For adults to have good mental health, they need to feel appreciated, loved and secure. This study shows that babies do too. How appreciated, loved and secure do they feel if they are left to cry?

You can read more by Margot Sunderland in her excellent book, available from Amazon 

  

Is Sponge Bob Square Pants bad for my child?

The Daily Mail reported on an interesting story last week about a link between cartoons and impaired short term memory. In case you missed it:

Watching fast-paced cartoons harms toddlers’ ability to concentrate and solve logic-based puzzles, as well as undermining their short-term memory, according to research. 

Four-year-olds shown clips of animations with rapid scene changes, such as the popular SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon, performed significantly worse in problem-solving and attention tests than those shown slower sequences.

Psychologists who led the research believe that watching animations with constant changes of setting can over-tax young children’s brains, especially the part that controls ‘executive function’ – including goal-directed behaviour, working memory and delay of gratification.

Dr Angeline Lillard, of the University of Virginia in the U.S., said that while her experiments only showed children performed worse immediately after viewing the cartoons, the findings backed up other studies that found longer-term effects.

‘Our results are consistent with other research showing long-term negative associations between entertainment television and attention,’ explained Dr Lillard, whose study is published last week in the journal Pediatrics.

Previous studies suggest many children of pre-school age watch more than 90 minutes of television per day. A growing body of psychological research has linked healthy executive function to sociability and academic success.

‘Connecting fast-paced television viewing to deficits in executive function, regardless of whether they are transient, has profound implications for children’s cognitive and social development,’ said Dr Dimitri Christakis, of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, US. 

‘Put simply, television is both good and bad. The quantity of media, such as television, has been an unduly emphasised part of the story. It is not that quantity is unimportant, but the effects of media are more down to what is watched than how much is watched.’

Read more:  


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2036270/Does-Spongebob-SquarePants-wreck-childrens-ability-concentrate.html

Related articles

• Go ahead, SpongeBob, rot my kids' brains (salon.com)
• Is 'SpongeBob' Too Much for Young Minds? (nlm.nih.gov)
• Is SpongeBob SquarePants Bad for Children? (well.blogs.nytimes.com)

Have you heard of No Pens Wednesday?

This September the Hello theme is 'Back to school'. They're calling on every school to take part in a landmark event, No Pens Day Wednesday on Wednesday 28th September.

Schools will spend one day putting down their pens and focusing on speaking and listening. No Pens Day Wednesday is backed by Jean Gross, the Government's Communication Champion for Children, and other curriculum experts including Sir Jim Rose, Andrew Pollard, Mick Waters and Robin Alexander.

If the 28th September doesn't work for you, pick another day that suits. Sign up now to take part and you could win up to £1,500 of resources for your school.

How to run your No Pens Day Wednesday
Please click here to download the activity pack, which gives you guidance on how to run the day and other important information.

The activity pack refers to a number of additional downloads, which are available here:
- Primary schools assembly template
- Secondary schools assembly template
- Sample staff meeting content
- Ways of recording
- Letter to parents
- Press release
- Photo call notice
- Information on English as an additional language
- Bring the Noise

Primary lesson plans and activity templates
For primary schools, we've developed a number of lesson plans and activity templates for you to use and adapt. Follow the links below to download:
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Activity templates
Secondary activity templates and plans
For secondary schools's we've developed a number of activity templates and lesson plans for you to use and adapt. Follow the links below to download:

Activity templates

Secondary school lesson plans

Sign up now and you could win £1,500 of resources
Schools that take part in No Pens Day Wednesday could win up to £1,500 of resources. The Communication Trust will work with the winning schools to create prize packages that best meet their needs.

You've got to be in it to win it - so if you haven't already registerd for No Pens Day Wednesday, complete this form to register your interest. More information about the categories for the competition are in the activity pack.
Please click here to read the full terms and conditions.

Think about getting involved but need more information?By clicking here you can download a presentation to give you more information about No Pens Day Wednesday.

Please help the campaign by telling others about No Pens Day Wednesday

Pass this information onto your colleagues and friends or click here to download text that you can use for newsletters, website etc.

Or you can order copies of the No Pens Day Wednesday flyer here to share with your colleagues, friends and family.

We want to work with you to shout about your involvement in No Pens Day Wednesday to your local media. Press release and photo-call templates are available and a toolkit Bring the Noise advises you on how to make your story stand out from the crowd.

To discuss local media opportunities in detail, contact Laura Smith, Media and Campaign Manager on 020 7843 2519 or emaillsmith@thecommunicationtrust.org.uk

Parents, has your child got Specific Language Impairment?

Parents and families of children and young people with Specific Language Impairment (SLI)
now have access to the first comprehensive guide on SLI, officially launched today by
I CAN, the children’s communication charity, and Afasic.
Commissioned by The Communication Trust, as part of the Hello campaign, the SLI
Handbook aims to provide a clear and concise guide on SLI, to help identify and support
children with this ‘invisible’ difficulty. Endorsed by Jean Gross, the Government’s
Communication Champion, this handbook will help both parents and practitioners to better
understand the issue, find practical ways to support children and young people with SLI and
signpost to further support.
About 7% of all children and young people have SLI, and are often as intelligent, able and
healthy as other children, except they have enormous difficulty talking and understanding
language. SLI is not caused by any known neurological, sensory, intellectual or emotional
difficulty, so many children and young people across the UK have needs that may be missed
or misdiagnosed. SLI is a very broad term, with some children having mild problems that are
short-lived, with others having severe and persistent difficulties with both understanding and
talking.
The SLI Handbook uses clear language and illustrations to ensure it is accessible to parents
and professionals who will encounter children with these needs. This will include: teachers,
TAs, SENCOs, Educational Psychologists, SLTs, Paediatricians and Occupational
Therapists.
Mandy Grist, I CAN Communication Advisor and SLI Handbook author, said, “Parents and
practitioners often tell us there isn’t one place to find comprehensive information about SLI.
The Bercow Review of Services for Children and Young People with Speech, Language and
Communication Needs (SLCN) in 2008 found that 77% of parents did not get the information
and support that they needed when they needed it. SLI is often misunderstood and ‘invisible’ as children try to hide their difficulties by imitating others or their frustrations come out
through negative behaviour. Finally, families and practitioners can use this handbook to help
identify, understand and support these children and young people so they can live life to the
full and achieve their potential.”
Linda Lascelles, Afasic Chief Executive, said, “At the heart of the Hello campaign is
supporting children and families affected by speech, language and communication
difficulties, including SLI.  7% of all children struggle in school and throughout their lives with
this ‘invisible’ difficulty. The SLI Handbook is an essential resource to empower parents and
families by providing them with easy to understand information on SLI. The SLI Handbook
was written by I CAN and Afasic with parents specifically in mind, and will give them
accessible information and useful guidance from the first instance when their child’s needs
are identified, through to accessing the right services and how to support children throughout
their education.”
A parent of child with SLI, said, “The handbook explains SLI clearly and in an easy to
understand way.  We found it very difficult to get any information when our child was
diagnosed, especially a clear explanation of SLI. This is a really helpful booklet and will
definitely be very useful and informative to other parents.”

For more information, interviews and pictures, please contact Emma Selim (Press and PR Officer)

eselim@ican.org.uk or 0207 843 254