Summer is over!

Summer is over!

After a great relaxed summer, things must get back to how it used to. Work, New clients, new learning, new discussions.
Look out for new developments, articles and discussions in this blog. I will be posting once a week on Wednesday.
Have a great week!

Unraveling how children become bilingual so easily

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer Tue Jul 21, 3:08 am ET

WASHINGTON – The best time to learn a foreign language: Between birth and age 7. Missed that window?

New research is showing just how children's brains can become bilingual so easily, findings that scientists hope eventually could help the rest of us learn a new language a bit easier.

"We think the magic that kids apply to this learning situation, some of the principles, can be imported into learning programs for adults," says Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington, who is part of an international team now trying to turn those lessons into more teachable technology.

Each language uses a unique set of sounds. Scientists now know babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of them, but that ability starts weakening even before they start talking, by the first birthday.

Kuhl offers an example: Japanese doesn't distinguish between the "L" and "R" sounds of English — "rake" and "lake" would sound the same. Her team proved that a 7-month-old in Tokyo and a 7-month-old in Seattle respond equally well to those different sounds. But by 11 months, the Japanese infant had lost a lot of that ability.

Time out — how do you test a baby? By tracking eye gaze. Make a fun toy appear on one side or the other whenever there's a particular sound. The baby quickly learns to look on that side whenever he or she hears a brand-new but similar sound. Noninvasive brain scans document how the brain is processing and imprinting language.

Mastering your dominant language gets in the way of learning a second, less familiar one, Kuhl's research suggests. The brain tunes out sounds that don't fit.

"You're building a brain architecture that's a perfect fit for Japanese or English or French," whatever is native, Kuhl explains — or, if you're a lucky baby, a brain with two sets of neural circuits dedicated to two languages.

It's remarkable that babies being raised bilingual — by simply speaking to them in two languages — can learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. On average, monolingual and bilingual babies start talking around age 1 and can say about 50 words by 18 months.

Italian researchers wondered why there wasn't a delay, and reported this month in the journal Science that being bilingual seems to make the brain more flexible.

The researchers tested 44 12-month-olds to see how they recognized three-syllable patterns — nonsense words, just to test sound learning. Sure enough, gaze-tracking showed the bilingual babies learned two kinds of patterns at the same time — like lo-ba-lo or lo-lo-ba — while the one-language babies learned only one, concluded Agnes Melinda Kovacs of Italy's International School for Advanced Studies.

While new language learning is easiest by age 7, the ability markedly declines after puberty.

"We're seeing the brain as more plastic and ready to create new circuits before than after puberty," Kuhl says. As an adult, "it's a totally different process. You won't learn it in the same way. You won't become (as good as) a native speaker."

Yet a soon-to-be-released survey from the Center for Applied Linguistics, a nonprofit organization that researches language issues, shows U.S. elementary schools cut back on foreign language instruction over the last decade. About a quarter of public elementary schools were teaching foreign languages in 1997, but just 15 percent last year, say preliminary results posted on the center's Web site.

What might help people who missed their childhood window? Baby brains need personal interaction to soak in a new language — TV or CDs alone don't work. So researchers are improving the technology that adults tend to use for language learning, to make it more social and possibly tap brain circuitry that tots would use.

Recall that Japanese "L" and "R" difficulty? Kuhl and scientists at Tokyo Denki University and the University of Minnesota helped develop a computer language program that pictures people speaking in "motherese," the slow exaggeration of sounds that parents use with babies.

Japanese college students who'd had little exposure to spoken English underwent 12 sessions listening to exaggerated "Ls" and "Rs" while watching the computerized instructor's face pronounce English words. Brain scans — a hair dryer-looking device called MEG, for magnetoencephalography — that measure millisecond-by-millisecond activity showed the students could better distinguish between those alien English sounds. And they pronounced them better, too, the team reported in the journal NeuroImage.

"It's our very first, preliminary crude attempt but the gains were phenomenal," says Kuhl.

But she'd rather see parents follow biology and expose youngsters early. If you speak a second language, speak it at home. Or find a play group or caregiver where your child can hear another language regularly.

"You'll be surprised," Kuhl says. "They do seem to pick it up like sponges."

___

EDITOR's NOTE — Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Strategies for Summer Reading for Children with Dyslexia Dale S. Brown (2007)

Here are some summer strategies to help your child with dyslexia remember what they learned in school and see that reading can be useful and enjoyable:(picked up from the website for reading rockets)

• Give them material that motivates them to read, even though they might find it hard to do. Try comic books, directions for interesting projects, and mystery stories. Have them read information on possible activities as you plan your summer vacation. Let them decide what they want to read.
• Support them as they read. Read their book aloud to them, help them decode, and make it easy for them to get the meaning. Even if a question is asked again and again or if you feel irritated, act happy that they asked. Show them that reading is a way to find out what they need to know, or even to entertain themselves.
• Give them easy reading. Summer is supposed to be relaxed. Let them succeed and get absorbed in the book.
• When you read with them, make it your goal to enjoy the book together. You don't have to make them read perfectly! Avoid too much correction. In school next year, the teacher will help them improve their skills.
• Let younger children "pretend" to read. Read the story aloud together. Let them follow your voice. Have them look at the words as you point to them, even if they aren't actually reading. When they say the wrong word, say the word correctly and cheerfully while pointing to the word.
• Read aloud to them as you do daily chores, sightsee, or sit on the beach. Read an instruction manual with them as you try to fix something. While visiting a museum, read the interpretive materials. If you see the slightest sign they want to read aloud to you, let them!
• Model and teach persistence. When you are working on something that is hard, model the discipline and patience that you want them to show while learning to read. Teach them explicitly the value of working hard to do something challenging. Tell them inspirational stories about famous people -- or members of your own family -- who have overcome obstacles.
• Accommodate their dyslexia. For example, if they have to read aloud in public, have them memorize their passage ahead of time. Ask the teacher or camp counselor to request volunteers to read rather than pass the book from one person to another. If you give them a recipe for cooking (or any project involving written directions), be sure that it is at their reading level and that the print is large enough for them.
• Be a model of reading. Bring books to the beach and read them. If you are traveling, find a book for the whole family to read and discuss. If you are dyslexic, "read" your taped books on vacation, letting your child see you or give them their own tapes. Show and tell them how you overcome your own difficulties.
• Have reading matter conveniently available. You might carry small children's books and magazines with you and have them ready when you must wait in line for those crowded amusement park rides and popular sightseeing destinations.

The summer months are important to your child's academic development in two ways. First, they need to be reminded of what they learned during the school year so that they remember it when they return in the fall. Second, and perhaps more important, children with dyslexia can discover the joys of reading and other academic skills in the relaxed summer season. If nobody tells them they have to read to get good grades, they might just pick up a book and enjoy it.

Reaping the rewards of reading to your child

Nothing can be more satisfying and rewarding than reading to our children. My son is 2 years old now. And after reading to him these past two years, he has started to say bits of a story. The other day after reading the story of Jonah and the whale many times over the months, Benjamin sat narrating the story to me.
Jonah said no. Big fish AAA UM(expression for ate him). Jonah said yes God. Big Fish toop(spat him out).
As simple as that.
He is learning to construct short phrases.
He is learning to fit together the connection in the story.
He is learning to narrate out the story to me with sound effects and gestures.
He is having a conversation with me.

Continue reading... reap the benefits.....

The hardships and blessings of raising a special needs child

Here is an interview with a mom, with a special needs child. Read and find hope and peace in any situation you are in.

Up Close & Personal with Maura Weis

The hardships and blessings of raising a special needs child.

by Mary Darr

Friday, November 28, 2008

Maura Weis co-authored Miles from the Sidelines: A Mother's Journey with Her Special Needs Daughter (Sorin Books, 2008). This heartfelt book describes the emotional and spiritual journey the Weis family has experienced with Hannah (13), whose name means grace of God. Maura has been married to Charlie, the football coach for the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, for 16 years, and also has a son Charlie, Jr. (15).

In 2003, they started Hannah and Friends (hannahandfriends.org) to give out grants of up to $500 to people with low to moderate income who have kids with special needs and need a special bike, or therapeutic horseback riding lessons or music therapy. A year ago they purchased 30 acres in South Bend to build 16 residential homes for adults with special needs.

MomSense Editor Mary Darr talked with Maura about the challenges and blessings of raising a special needs child. Editorial assistance was provided by MOPS Area Coordinator Peggy Brinkmann from Wisconsin.

Describe your daughter's developmental delays

Although Hannah was diagnosed with autism when she was 2½ years old, that diagnosis never sat right with me. My maternal instinct told me that something wasn't right with Hannah, but it wasn't autism. I'd tell the physicians, "She's really not talking." And they'd say, "That's OK, but does she understand?" I wasn't sure what she understood. But I knew something was wrong with her diagnosis.

Ten years later we discovered Hannah has a rare seizure disorder called Landau Kleffner Syndrome, which starts around age 15 to 18 months. That's when Hannah's developmental complications emerged. We didn't see the seizures happening because they occurred at night. But they caused her mental retardation and developmental delays.

How is Hannah doing today?

She's 13, and the doctors told us her seizures will end in her mid-teens. But we did an EEG back in April, and found out she's seizure-free!

Every night when I put Hannah to bed, she asks me, "Are you happy?" She's so sweet! Other people have 13-year-old daughters with whom they're struggling with so many issues, and we have the sweetest teenager ever. Hannah is like a 4- or 5-year-old who has a limited vocabulary of about 50 words. She perceives much more than what she verbalizes. She's a smart girl, though, and knows how to get her point across. And she's very independent. You can sit with her for awhile, and when she's had enough of you being around, she'll escort you to the door and say, "See you later."

We take care of all her daily hygiene—we have to brush her teeth and bathe her. But she's really great about it; a lot of kids with special needs are not. I look at our life with Hannah as something God wants us to do. We love her no matter what—that's unconditional love.

Did you struggle with how and why this happened to your daughter?

I don't know how this happened to my daughter. Maybe it was from the extensive kidney surgery she had at two months old. The doctors can't answer those questions. I do struggle knowing none of the seven specialists I took her to over the years thought to give her an overnight EEG to determine if she was having seizures. Why did it take until she was 10 to discover she was having seizures, and then to age 12 to learn there was a name for it? I try not to think about it much because I want to remain positive. At least we found out what was happening to Hannah. If we'd found out earlier, I'm sure she'd still have delays, but they may not have been as severe.

Did you blame yourself?

I asked myself, What had I done wrong while I was pregnant with her? I thought of everything I'd eaten during my pregnancy. I didn't drink. I've never done drugs. I knew I'd had a virus and was sick for two days. But I cannot blame myself. And I don't blame my husband. We both know this is the child God wanted us to have. She was supposed to be in our lives no matter what. We were meant to be together.

How has Hannah impacted your family?

My husband and I are super close, and one of the reasons is because of Hannah. Our whole family is closer because of Hannah. We're a team; together we figure things out. Hannah has taught me every day is a blessing. She wakes up with a smile on her face even when she hasn't gotten much sleep. And she never complains about all the things she has to deal with: limited vocabulary, fine motor and major motor skill problems, poor eyesight.

Where have you found support as a parent of a special needs child?

I'm a happy person by nature, but after Hannah was diagnosed with autism, I felt sad and depressed. Having a child with special needs is so devastating early on. I knew my kids deserved a happy mom, so I went to counseling one hour a day, once a week for nine months. I was able to talk through my grief.

Some people with special needs kids like to join groups. But those groups didn't work for me. I found help on the Internet. I also found help at Hannah's school from other moms who had older children with special needs. They thought positively about their situation and embraced it. And my husband, Charlie, has been a tremendous support. Both parents of a special needs child experience separate times of mourning and then of moving forward to embrace their child for who she is. Kids with special needs are God's special children. That's why I say in my book that parents who receive them are special, too. But God has helped me the most. And I feel closer to him now more than ever. My trust in him leads me along the path I follow.

How can someone sensitively ask about your child's special needs?

I've felt a lot of prejudice toward Hannah from other people. But there also were some adults and children who would say to me, "Can I ask what's wrong?" I embraced them because I'd rather a person be honest. Sometimes Hannah would have a meltdown in the store. But if only someone would have just said, "Could I give you a hand?" It doesn't cost anything to offer help instead of looking at someone as though their child's a brat. It's been difficult because Hannah looks normal and then will have a complete meltdown. I understand people are scared, but it's time for us to step out of the box and be kind. And people who've extended their hand to us have been happy they've gotten to know Hannah.

How can moms offer support to a mother with a special needs child?

Offer her an hour to go to the gym, to read a book, to go for a walk or even to go to the store without her child. That hour is like gold! It doesn't cost any money. Yes, it's going to be a difficult hour. But once you get to know that child, you'll look forward to your time together. And your friend will be so grateful.

Or help a mom attend church. For instance, we can't bring Hannah to church because she can't sit for an hour.

It's also like gold to a parent when you say, "I know you're going through a really hard time. If you ever need me, I'm here to listen to you." Moms of normal children may feel uncomfortable reaching out. I've lost friends because they couldn't accept my daughter. But when you can reach out, your friendship will be deepened for life.

How do you create a "normal" life for the sibling who doesn't have special needs?

Parents of special needs kids should never forget they have another child. Our son has had a good childhood because we've made sure he's gotten the attention he deserved. We've taken him on vacations with us by himself. That's important, especially since he's a teenager. Hannah doesn't travel well, and he needs his alone time with us. When he was younger he'd say to me, "Mommy, that's enough Hannah time; time for me now." And the normal children will be the ones to help your special needs adult when you're gone. You want to make growing up a good experience for them so they don't resent their sibling for getting all the attention.

What would you say to a mom who's struggling to accept her special needs child or who's angry at God for "allowing her child to suffer"?

There is always so much guilt surrounding parents of a special needs kid. I tell people, "Don't feel guilty because that's another negative emotion you're going to put on top of the ones you feel already."

I don't think God points his finger at us and says, "This is what's going to happen to you!" Some things just happen in life. It's difficult to realize your child is never going to do the things normal children do. And being angry at God can be a very natural response. But God can take it if we're angry at him for a period of time. He's there for us no matter what. He understands.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/MomSense magazine.

This article first appeared in November/December 2008 issue of MomSense. Used by permission of MOPS International, Denver, Colorado 80231. You can find this article at:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/momsense/2008/novdec/10.8.html

www.ChristianityToday.com

Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today International

Playing,Reading and Talking to your 2 year old(Part 1)

Regular play times together build up a bank of shared experiences which provide wonderful conversational topics.He is at a stage when adult suggestions sensitively given can do much to help him make imaginative leaps in his pretend play and also to find out many wonderful ways in which play material can be used.

1. Make sure that the setting is quiet. Switch of T.V or radios. Sit at his level.
   
2. Make sure the toys are intact and are kept in the same place so that your child knows exactly where they are and doesn't need to be distracted by searching for them.
3. Have a clear area of floor or table top so that he has plenty of room to play.
4. During play, for e.g. fixing Lego blocks ;you are creating an imaginative space for him and later, him wanting to try his hand in creating different things.
   
5. Give a running commentary of what you are doing with funny sounds and play words. Wait for responses from him, ask questions(Do you want this red block?Is it hard to fix? Do you want help? Is that a car you are making?).
6. If he walks away or takes something else , don't stop him and force him to play that activity. Their attention and concentration is only so much. Insist on putting away that toy and then take the new one.
7. Wanting the best for our child , we buy a lot of toys. Electronic, plastic,talking, interactive, educational..... A simple set of stacking cups and a cardboard box is one of the many simple inexpensive toys you can provide for your child and his imagination. So chill out! Don't feel bad that you cant afford to buy these expensive toys.
   
8. Do not display all his toys in his toy box or play room. He is more likely to play and mess with everything and naturally loose value for these toys and not to mention their various parts and pieces. Put a few of them away and bring out after a few months. When you bring out some new ones , put away some old ones. This helps you a lot , when they easily get bored with their toys. Old ones seem to look so new again!
9. Teaching them to put away their toys in the respective place is very important. Or you end up always putting them away a million times. Make strict rules. Tell them,'You don't put them in their boxes, you don't get to play with them'. Enforcing this can take time and effort. But once established , its worth all the time and effort. They also develop respect and value for their things.
   
10. Do not direct the play and conversation during play so much. Give way for them to develop their own pace and their own optimum learning situation. Giving streams of directions like ' Come and look at this', 'Now do this jigsaw', Finish this', put it this way' is not what your child wants to hear. It can now, however be enormously helpful to make some suggestions in order to help her extend her pretend play.
    
11. It is also very important to show her the various ways in which different play materials can be used. It's best, when showing her a new activity, to start it and then to withdraw and let her try it out for herself. She will let you know as soon as she wants your further involvement. A Canadian study , found that a group of children whose mothers showed a high level of intrusiveness into their children's play had significantly lower language attainments than did a group whose mothers followed their children's lead.

I hope these tips prove useful when you play with your little one. More to follow soon on reading and talking to your 2 year old.
Any comments or more ideas on playing with your children are appreciated.

Marnee Brick at ASHA

Here is a link to watch Marnee at an interview at ASHA. Marnee Brick is an experienced Speech-Language Pathologist and business owner. Marnee has worked in many management capacities including the elected position of Director of Human Resources for the Board at a multidisciplinary therapy firm. In addition to partnering in private practice, Marnee worked as a speech-language consultant and supervisor for school boards, public health units, and medical centers in Canada and the United States. At TinyEYE, Marnee is lead contributor to software development and Director of Speech Therapy Services. Marnee believes in giving children a better tomorrow than they had yesterday and is an advocate for Speech Therapy Telepractice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xVJ13ZwRrk&feature=channel