May is Speech and Hearing Month. Speech, language, and hearing are all linked to literacy. Children who have smaller vocabularies as preschoolers are more likely to struggle with learning to read. Children who have trouble pronouncing sounds can have difficulty learning to spell and sound out words. Children with undiagnosed hearing loss are at risk for reading and other academic delays. What can we do to put kids on the right track in these areas before they start school?
Language
These activities help promote language skills in preschoolers.
- Play every day! Label objects while you play. Use action words and describing words.
- Talk with your child. Use sentences that are slightly longer than what your child can say. For example if he usually uses two word sentences, model sentences that use three words.
- Read books with your child. You don’t have to read every word. Point out things in the pictures or make up your own story.
Speech
Children who are hard to understand may need help from a professional. In general, strangers should understand:
- half of what children say at two years of age
- seventy-five percent of what children say at three years of age
- almost all of what they say at four years of age
If you are concerned about how your child pronounces sounds, contact the speech-language pathology department in your region.
Hearing
Early diagnosis of hearing loss is key!
- Babies’ hearing should be screened within a month of birth.
- If your child seems to have trouble hearing, does not respond to loud sounds or has many ear infections, ask your doctor to refer for a hearing test.
By encouraging strong language skills and identifying any problems at a young age, we can make sure children are ready to read and learn by the time they go to school!
-- Jill Vaydik
Jill Vaydik is a speech language pathologist at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife. She decided to become a Speech Language Pathologist after seeing the links between early language and literacy firsthand while working as a Family Literacy Coordinator at the NWT Literacy Council.
