Dear group, I am the SLP in early intervention. I have been writing into the group because I have a large group of late talkers on my caseload now (all boys, except one girl) ranging in age from 21 to 26 months, all with good receptive language and appropriate socialization (no aut. spectrum type issues). They have between 10 to 35 words, but certainly not all words are clear (many approximations). I feel like I have my own little research study going on!
I live in an area of great affluence/educational level, but also some pockets of poverty (immigrants, usually). For some families there is an educational component to therapy that is fairly intuitive to other parents: talk to your child, play with your child, read with your child, and so on. I suggest developing language routines, encouraging imitation, repeating and recasting...all the types of things that the Hanen program recommends and other books that have similar recommendations: matching your child, providing balanced interactions, keeping it playful, affirming your child, and so on. We talk about what words are easy for babies to say, what sounds, what syllable combinations. Also what words are really functional for a young toddler. Using music, daily routines, and so on.
So I do all this and some families are asking me, "you just play with him/her?" "Is that it?" They want something that looks more structured or more "serious.' And, of course, they want results. I read about specific therapy activities members are using in this group with young children: various "programs," and I do not know what they are. Maybe this is because I am in the U.S. and many of the participants are in Australia and Britain. Just in the last groups of emails about ICD (which some of these kiddos do...very interesting, thanks for the discussion) a couple of things were mentioned that I am not familiar with: what is SAILS, Miccio stimulability program and "Word Flips?" Also not sure about the ear training (Van Riper?). I know I must seem like a complete idiot, but it has been a long time since my university days, and my continuing education has been all over the map as I have been a jack of all trades for years and am only just now focusing on the little ones.
As the kids all get closer to their second birthday and beyond, which structured approaches would be more effective with late talkers? And, what kind of parameters should I look for to know that a child is "ready" to do more than just "play?" Right now I can't see any of them repeating or imitating on command (verbally, at least). But I am thinking some 2 and a half year olds would be able to do this. I realize my question is general. I know I am not giving you the specific sound inventories of the individual children. I guess I am looking for a general answer: "most of the time, I find that..."
Thanks again, Kerry Wilson, M.A. CCC-SLP
P.S. Another thing I am finding is that the parents are very frustrated and tired of being told that "Einstein didn't talk until he was three." Did you know there is even a book on the subject on Amazon? Something like the "Einstein effect" about late talkers who go on to be brilliant, apparently. I have not read the book as it had mixed reviews and did not seem especially pertinent to my issues. Like I said, I don't think any of my kids are Aspergers kids, so that is not what is going on with my group of late talkers. The parents also get a lot of "well, he has no reason to talk because you do everything for him/her." from helpful grandparents and the like. I disagree. I think if kids can talk, they generally will in most cases. regardless of whether or not mom gets his milk and hands it to him. Any thoughts?
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