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Welcome to a Corner filled with Information related to the Speech and Language disorders seen in Children. Information on assessment, intervention strategies, and the latest updates in research. You will also be able to interact with other professionals and parents.

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Friday, June 17, 2011

Word Acquisition in toddlers

A team of cognitive scientists have good news for parents who are worried that they are setting a bad example for their children when they say "um"and "uh".

A study conducted in the Baby Lab at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, NY, shows that toddlers actually use their parents’ stumbles, hesitations and other disfluencies to help them learn language more efficiently.
For instance, a mother walking through the zoo with a 2-year-old may point and say, “Look at the, uh, rhinoceros.” While fum- bling for the word, the parent also is sending a signal that the child is about to learn some- thing new and should pay attention.

The researchers aren't advocating that parents add dysfluencies in their speech, but it is okay to have these verbal pauses.

From an article cited in the ADVANCE magazine . June 13,2011 Vol.21 No.10

2 comments:

  1. This is great news for mothers who often encounter problems recalling the right term to use for their children to understand. They no longer have to worry that they are sending the wrong signal.

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  2. Wow, that's an incredible finding! I hadn't ever thought that imperfections in speech in parents could actually be a good thing for the children. That's comforting, especially for me since I'm not as strong verbally as I'd like to be. http://www.abcpediatrictherapy.com/therapy-services/speech-therapy/

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