KIDS WHO STRUGGLE WITH READING: PREDICTING ISSUES AND INTERVENING EARLY

Early detection leads to early intervention which gives our children their best chance. Researchers are looking to see if there are any signs which may identify possible reading and learning difficulties for preschoolers.

Children learn to read by connecting sounds to meaning, if their can connect a sound to a specific letter or combination of letter early, then they are more likely to be successful readers. If at an early age, we know a child will have difficulties reading, then we can enrich their environment with sounds and visuals and enroll them in early reading programs for children.

Researchers at Northwestern University used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to directly measure and analyzed brain waves of young children to see how the brain identifies speech (looking at several specific sounds) in noisy environments. Background noise stresses our auditory system, it forces our brain to select which sounds it must focus on in a matter to milliseconds. Consonants are the hardest to pick out since vowels tend to be louder and longer.

Auditory processing is part of that prereading development: If your brain is slower to distinguish a “D” from a “B” sound, for example, then recognizing words and piecing together sentences could be affected, too (Nina Kraus, director of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory).

Dr Kraus hopes her work will eventually lead to identification as early as newborns and to include the test with the infant hearing screening.

Speech Therapy Works and GTA SPEECH has SUMMER PROGRAMS For Social Language, Reading and Writing for children at various ages and reading levels (identifying sight words to reading short stories). We not only work on reading skills but stress the importance of reading comprehension and reading skills beyond the clinic environment. We work with the children so that they are able to use their skills learned in everyday situations.

SUMMER Reading Program
The Summer Reading Program is for early readers under the age of seven. Whether your child is learning to read or reading to learn, we could help! Children have the option to register for our 4 week program or the 8 week program. We offer individual sessions at our clinic or at your home. The summer reading program starts with an assessment by a speech-language pathologist to identify your child’s unique needs. The program could help develop or establish

• Sound-letter correspondence
• Sight word recognition
• Decoding skills
• Phonological awareness
• Reading fluency and reading comprehension

Home programs will be provided at the end of each session to practice skills in between sessions. Call Speech Therapy Works for more information or to register (416) 553-0729.

Article from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/how-the-brain-deciphers-speech-linked-to-preschoolers-reading-ability/article25554712/