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 Research in the UK has found Covid lockdowns have had a negative impact on children's speech and language development. In England alone the number of five and six year olds who need speech and language support at school has risen by 10% in the space of a year.

Speech disorders and language disorders are different; the former is the inability or difficulty to form sounds that create words, while the latter is the inability or difficulty to learn words or understand what others are saying to them.

By age 8, children typically begin to solidify their reading habits. And because a child’s language and literacy skills form the foundation of success in school, it is at this point in development that some readers begin to show significant gaps in ability. Luckily, no matter what reading level your child is at, you can use this time to help them thrive and succeed in both language and reading. 

Although every child grows and develops at his or her own pace, toddler speech development tends to follow a fairly predictable path. For example, by age 2, most children can:

- Follow simple commands and understand simple questions

- Speak about 50 or more words

- Be understood at least half the time by parents or other primary caregivers

SLP’s governing body, The American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), has said they are concerned that changes in the CDC’s milestone checklist will slow or inhibit early intervention and has voiced their concerns with both the CDC and AAP.

Children who are 5-7 years old may still be working on correctly producing sounds such as the R and TH sounds. This article reviews the development of speech sounds and provides guidance on when a referral to early intervention may be necessary.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common disorders affecting children but is relatively unknown. 

Affecting more than seven per cent of children, DLD is 20 times more common than autism. 

Babies are born communicating. Their cries and coos speak volumes. However, much-anticipated first words do not appear until 12 months later. By 18 months, the average child says about 50 words. By the time a child is ready to start school, their vocabulary will be an estimated 2,300 to 4,700 words. 

The official statement acknowledges that the principles of evidence-based practice inform effective, high-quality speech-language pathology services in schools for students with speech, language and literacy challenges. 

This data provides a snapshot of the experiences of parents who reported having children aged 0 to 14 years with cognitive, behavioural, or emotional disabilities during the early response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Supporting Children With Speech Sound Disorders During COVID-19 Restrictions: Technological Solutions.

 Language development at 5-8 years sees children learning more and longer words. They can make more complex sentences and are better at pronouncing words too. 

While children have been resilient in terms of COVID-19, experts warn of mental, physical, and developmental problems that could arise from delays and isolation caused by COVID-19.

Speech-language pathologists can provide parents with useful tools in five strategy categories. These tools can then be incorporated into everyday routines.

A group that works with students with special needs is concerned that changes to the government's funding formula could impact the quality of the supports they provide.

The Calgary Board of Education has issued layoff notices to speech language pathologists and speech language assistants. Carolyn Kury de Castillo reports on concerns being raised by therapists and education advocates.