Building Blocks for Speech, in any Language
March 30, 2009
Here is a list of early speech milestones that occur regardless of home language
• 0-1 month – crying and vegetative sounds
• 1-6 months – cooing, laughter, squealing, growling
• 4-6 months – marginal babbling
• 6-8 months – reduplicated babbling
• 8-10 months – variegated babbling
• 8-12 months – echolalia
• 9-12 months – phonetically consistent forms
• 9-12 months – jargon
Intelligibility
– 2 year olds - about 50% intelligible
– 3 year olds - about 70% intelligible
How do English and Spanish Consonants Differ?
March 9, 2009
While English and Spanish are completely different languages, they share a host of similar sounds. Below is a quick reference for the consonants that each language shares and the ones they use independently.
• Consonants in both languages:
– b p d t g k* m n l “ch” s “y” w
• Spanish consonants not in English
– X ñ G (tap r) R (rolled r)
• English consonants not used to contrast meaning in Spanish
– v “th” (voiced and unvoiced) z “sh” “zh” “h” “j” “ng” r
*The underlined consonants are shared but are pronounced a bit differently.
Why is family participation in Early Childhood Intervention critical?
March 2, 2009
Hi everyone,
Here is a list we compiled as part of some research that we are doing. I included some interesting highlights as to why family participation is critical.
• Parents are the most consistent language models in the child’s life
• When families are involved in the intervention process, language enrichment is ongoing rather than during ECI visits only (Rosetti, 2001)
• Without family involvement, intervention is unlikely to be successful (Bronfenbrebrenner, 1974)
• Empowering parents increases their ability to access information pertaining to their child’s development
• Empowerment leads to self-efficacy or the belief that they can make a difference in their child’s development (Dempsey & Dunst, 2004)
• Mother’s use of labeling and increased periods of interaction lead to increases in receptive vocabulary and greater expansion of expression in older children (Tomasello & Farrar, 1986)
• Participation by fathers in early childhood programs has been shown to be beneficial to the child, father and other family members (Frey, Fewell, & Vadasy, 1989; Krauss, 1993)
• Parents use of language-based strategies leads to:
• Increased receptive language skills in the first year (Baumwell, Tamis-LeMonda & Bornstein, 1997)
• Increased receptive and expressive language skills in the second and third years of life (Olson, Bates & Bayles, 1986)
• Greater receptive vocabulary at 12 years of age (Beckwith & Cohen, 1989)