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About Karen Trengove

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So far Karen Trengove has created 43 blog entries.

Why does my child have a Communication Disorder?

There are many reasons why your child may have a communication disorder.

Some children may have a communication disorder which is secondary to another developmental condition.  These conditions include but are not limited to:

Hearing impairment, Clefts of the lip / palate, Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, other neurological conditions and syndromes including Fragile X Syndrome, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

Some children may acquire communication disorders as a result of a brain insult e.g. stroke or head injury.

Exposure to toxins such as drugs and alcohol whilst in utero can contribute to the development of communication disorders for children as can exposure to trauma, neglect and/or abuse.

Most Communication Disorders have no identifiable cause

This can be quite frustrating for parents, carers and educators who often want to know ‘why’ their child or a child they care for has challenges with speech, language and/or communication skills.

Sometimes knowing the causes can be helpful….

This is especially true when we can put remediation in place that address the root cause of the issues.  A good example of this may be a child who has delays in his or her speech development due to conductive, fluctuating hearing loss. Often getting this identified early and working with an ENT specialist can result in this type of hearing loss being improved.

In many cases, however, even when the root cause can be and is addressed, a child may still require assistance with the communication challenges that have already resulted.

In most cases, even when a cause can be identified, quick fixes are not to be found.  This is not a very popular message to broadcasting but the truth is that communication disorders and challenges take lots of time, dedication and the commitment of the entire village around the child to support.

If you have any niggling doubts about a child’s communication skills…

Download our free guide and educate yourself about what can be expected at different ages and stage.  https://learn2communicate.com.au/product/identifying-speech-and-language-difficulties-a-practical-guide-for-early-childhood-educators/

Don’t blame yourself!

Remember that the vast majority of communication disorders have no identifiable cause.  Genetics play a very strong role but there can be huge differences in personalities, learning styles and skill levels across individuals even within the same family.  Don’t waste time blaming yourself.  This gets you and your child nowhere!  Accept your little person for who they are.  Nurture their strengths and get the help you need to support any areas of challenge and difficulty.

Contact a Speech Pathologist for a chat

You can email us at Learn2Communicate any time for free confidential advice info@learn2communicate.com.au and, if you are in Australia, you can contact your local Community Health Centre to speak to a Speech Pathologist who services your local area.  If you are wanting more support, your child’s Early Childhood Educator is a great first port of call to discuss any concerns you might have.

As we have previously mentioned in The Chatterbox…your child is not being lazy and it is highly unlikely that you, as the parent, have […]

2023-02-27T05:17:33+00:00
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Should I teach my baby Sign Language

The short answer to the first question here is ‘No’…Sign Language is not something we SHOULD be teaching our babies or young toddlers.  The long answer is a tad more complex.  Using natural gestures to accompany what you say when communicating with your child WILL help him or her to understand language more readily.  Modelling such gestures may also assist your little one to start communicating earlier than if you only modelled spoken words.

For those children who are late to acquire spoken language, the use of more of these natural gestures and sometimes the introduction Key Word Sign can be of enormous benefit.

What is Key Word Sign?

Key Word Sign adds signs to spoken english.  In Australia, we use signs from the Deaf community’s sign language called Auslan.   Key Word Sign can be used to support children to understand language and can also help them to get their message across to others more successfully.  We say the full sentence and sign just the key words using Auslan signs https://auslan.org.au/

What is Makaton

Key Word Sign was formerly known a Makaton.  Sometimes these terms are still interchanged in our community but it is important to know that if you are teaching Key Word Sign to children in Australia, that you draw upon the signs of Auslan.  Makaton was originally derived from British Sign Language so it can be very easy to get confused. The last thing we want is for Speech Pathologists, Parents/Carers and Educators teaching different signs for the same word.  To keep consistent, it is best to keep the lines of communication open so that all working the child know which signs are being taught and that we borrow the signs from Auslan.

What Signs should I Teach my Child?

The answer to this one is pretty clear…whichever signs your child needs in order to communicate effectively with others.  So often I see ‘finished’ and ‘toilet’ as the only signs being targeted.  How functional are these are words we need to communicate to others?  Sure…we need to understand them but if we are wanting to teach our children signs to communicate with others, there are far more useful words to start with.  We will often recommend ‘Core’ words.  These are words that can be used across various situations with different people.  How often do you need to use ‘colour’ words when communicating to others versus a Core word such as WANT, MORE, GO, NO, LOOK, GET, COME, and HELP?  Sit down with your child’s team and look at the reasons why your child is communicating and how?  Where are the gaps?  What might be causing frustration?  Could you perhaps teach a simple sign for those moments?

How Do I Teach Key Word Signs?

Always Say and Sign simultaneously.  Slow your speech rate down.  Get face to face with your child to maximise […]

2023-03-05T22:50:24+00:00
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Is your child a Gestalt Language Learner?

Gestalt Language Processors

Despite what this term sounds like; it is NOT a term to describe the newest piece of technology on the market!

Several of the children we work with at Learn2Communicate are Gestalt Language Learners. This means that they learn language in ‘chunks’ much easier than they do single words.  Instead of learning single words and then gradually combining these words into short phrases and eventually, sentences, Gestalt Language Learners often start speaking in complete phrases.  It can seem to carers and educators that they have ‘skipped’ the single word stage when in fact they acquire language differently to other children.

Gestalt Language Learners may also, but not always, be diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum.

Some are also hyperlexic; showing a strong interest in the the alphabet and reading well before their school years.

Yes, these children are fascinating!  They are often late to start speaking but then start speaking  in complete phrases before single words have even been acquired.  If this sounds like your child or a child you educate, there is so much you can do to support language to grow.

What is Echolalia?

Echolalia is a term that is used to describe when a child uses ‘copy cat’ speech i.e. words and phrases that they have heard elsewhere.  Sometimes a child will copy a line from a favourite TV show or song.  At other times they might imitate the question you have asked instead of answering the question.  You might notice that your child imitates words and phrases immediately or that these phrases are used at other times of the day.  Often children will repeat the words and phrases in the same intonation each time.

Echolalia is very commonly noted for Gestalt Language Learners.

How to respond to Echolalia

The most helpful way to respond when you notice that your child is using Echolalia is to do your best to first understand the intent of the message.

Is your child trying to convey an emotion?  Happy, Sad, Excited, Frustrated…..

Perhaps your child is trying to comment on something that is happening.

Remember that using spontaneous language can be tricky for these children when they are first learning to use language.  In these early stages you will need to act like a detective.  Look for the ‘clues’ in the scripts that your child is using to help understand what your child is trying to communicate.

Advocate for your child.  Let others who care for and educate your child understand what your child’s most commonly used scripts mean.  This is where our previously discussed idea of developing a Personal Communication Dictionary may be helpful.  https://learn2communicate.com.au/personal-communication-dictionaries/

Understand the Intent

What is your child trying to communicate?

Interpret the Intent ‘as he/she would if he/she could’

Using simple language with a sing – song voice (as gestalt language learners are often drawn to pitch and intonation patterns in speech), interpret your child’s gestalt / echolalic phrase / script.  Where possible, reduce your use of questions.  Comments that match your child’s intent e.g.  “Oh….feeling […]

2023-02-12T22:34:11+00:00
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My Child is Difficult to Understand

There can be many reasons why your child’s speech may be difficult to understand.

Your child’s age and stage of speech and language development are one of the first things we will consider.

Children gradually become easier to understand.  By school age, we expect that your child’s speech will be easily understood by all conversational partners.  There may still be a few tricky sounds and longer words may still be unclear at times but, as a general rule of thumb, by the time a child starts school we can understand most of what he or she says.

There is quite a wide amount of variety around when children acquire speech and language milestones.  If you have any concerns it is best to seek the advice of your child’s educator as a first port of call.  Educators have the benefit of working with a large group of children a similar age to yours.  If your child is more difficult to understand than other children his or her age, then it may be worthwhile to seek a Speech Pathology opinion.

When do Speech Sounds develop?

Different sounds develop at different stages.  We often refer to the early, middle and late sounds when working with young children.

Most consonant sounds are acquired by the age of 5;0 years (years;months).  The consonants /b, n, m, p, h, w, d / are usually acquired between the age of 2 and 3 years followed by /g, k, f, t, ng, y/ which are heard in child speech by the age of 3;11.  By the age of 5 years, children are using /v, j, s, ch, l , sh and z/ accurately.  The ‘r’ sound is usually used with accuracy by 6 years of age and the ‘th’ sound by 7 years of age.

My child is speaking in ‘gobbeltygoop’!

Some children need assistance to learn how to use words in simple sentences.  When using spoken language is difficult or lagging in development, they may substitute what sounds like ‘gobbeltygoop’ for words at times.  Speech Pathologists may refer to this as ‘jargon’ and it simply means that your child is likely to be using combinations of sounds and syllables to communicate instead of words.  Often children will do so using correct intonation and facial expressions to help the listener understand what is being communicated.  These children often respond well to a focus upon building up their vocabulary and sentences first before focusing upon specific speech sounds.  Our popular ’10 Tips for Talking’ https://learn2communicate.com.au/product/10-tips-for-talking-poster-series/resource may be an appropriate place for you to start if this sounds like your child.

Tune in and Listen

Are there any particular sounds that your child has difficulty in using accurately?  Perhaps start a little list, noting words that are misarticulated.  You might start to see a pattern.

Do I need to be concerned?

Check out our developmental checklists and further information in our guide available for free download https://learn2communicate.com.au/product/identifying-speech-and-language-difficulties-a-practical-guide-for-early-childhood-educators/  or contact us https://learn2communicate.com.au/contact-us/  The earlier your child receives assistance; the better […]

2023-02-06T02:03:02+00:00
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Back to School

Those long summer days

where lunch boxes do not need to be packed, children are sometimes able to stay up on weeknights until a little later than normal and routines are not as clear are over.

School is back across the country!

Some children will be starting school for the first time whilst others will be transitioning to new classrooms, classmates and teachers.  Whatever the scenario is for you and your child, there is sure to be a period of adjustment for everyone over the next few weeks.  Luckily there are plenty of simple things you can do to help make the next few weeks run as smoothly as possible.  Here are some ideas for you to consider:

Create a Routine

When children know what to expect, they tend to feel more in control of their environment.  Creating a simple routine and sticking to it where possible, can really work wonders when it comes to helping children get used to changes in their lives.

Get bedtimes back on track.  Sleep is just so important for our overall health and wellbeing.  Unless children are well rested their brains will not be ready to learn.

Organise your shopping list to include those healthy snacks for the lunchboxes so you are not scrambling at the last minute and opting for less nutritious or satisfying options.

If your child has activities before and/or after school, draw a simple visual calendar using a whiteboard or a strip of cardboard that you can attach to the fridge.  This helps your child to understand when activities are happening in their lives and also assists in understanding concepts of time and sequence.

Add Story Time to your Daily Routine

The benefit of a bedtime story cannot be underestimated.  These special moments can be used not only as lovely moments to connect with your child but also provide you with opportunities to expose your child to new vocabulary, sentence structure and ideas.  Feel free to flesh out the story themes by discussing when your child perhaps had similar experiences to the main character or visited a similar location.  Tempt your child’s imagination by engaging in some ‘think alouds’; “Imagine if….” or “I wonder how…..”.  Understanding how stories are organised also assists children to learn how to engage in higher levels of discourse and can really provide a boost to your child’s language development, all without them knowing that it is ‘work’!

Listening Practice

School requires much more sitting and listening than perhaps other settings your child has been used to, especially if this is your child’s first year of school.  Practice listening and waiting for your turn to talk in general conversations and maybe at the dinner table when talking about your day.  No need to raise your hand to speak in these situations (haha) but learning to wait can be a tricky skill for many children!

Taking Care of Things

Learning how to organise and take care and responsibilities of one’s own belongings is a terrific life skill that you […]

2023-01-30T03:12:47+00:00
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Personal Communication Dictionaries

Does your child or a child you work with communicate using unconventional gestures that are sometimes missed or misunderstood by others?

It may be challenging at times for others to understand your child’s emotional state, wants, needs and ideas especially if your child is nonverbal or if your child has a complex communication difficulty.

When we don’t respond appropriately or accidentally ignore a child’s communication signal, communication can breakdown and development can stall.

Creating a Personal Communication Dictionary for your child can help others to recognise your child’s efforts to communicate and reinforce these in positive ways.

A Personal Communication Dictionary is a document with information about the individual ways that your child communicates.

It details what your child does, what this might mean and how the communication partner can respond to the communication behaviour seen.

Why are Personal Communication Dictionaries Needed?

These documents can be incredibly helpful for communication partners as well as for your child.  Partners can get to know your child, recognise communication behaviours and interpret these communication attempts appropriately.  This helps back and forth interaction to grow.  When children have their emotional states, needs/wants and ideas understood by others, communication continues to grow.

Personal Communication Dictionaries can be compiled by Parents and/or Speech Pathologists and distributed to all other adults who spend time with your child.  Your child’s gestures, body language, facial expressions, vocalisations and signs can even be photographed and included in the dictionary.

A mix of text, photos and pictures can create a beautiful, authentic document all about your child and how your child communicates.

How to get started…

Head to https://shop.scopeaust.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Personal-Communication-Dictionary-form.pdf and download your free template.

Start to write down in as much detail what your child does…any little idiosyncratic behaviour, sound, gesture or action your child makes to communicate.

Does your child jump up and down and flap his or her hands?

Does your child take you by the hand and drag you to the front door?

Perhaps your child likes to engage in repetitive humming when playing by him or herself?

Once you have detailed all of the behaviours, you can then match these behaviours to an interpretation of what your child may mean when he or she engages in each behaviour.

The final column can be used to explain to your child’s communication partners HOW they can respond in a way that will help your child.

Here is a quick example:

What I do

I place the palm of my hand on my chest and pat my chest repeatedly

What this might mean

I am learning the Key Word Sign for ‘more’.  When I use this gesture, I am communicating to you that I want more of the item, food or drink or I want you to do more of the action you are doing e.g. I often use this gesture if you are chasing me or tickling me and I want you to continue.

What you can do

Please acknowledge my attempts to request more.  Say ‘More!’ and model for me the Key Word Sign as you […]

2023-01-23T01:04:05+00:00
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A Lazy Talker?

We hear this so often in our work as Speech Pathologists; a comment often made or question posed by parents or educators about children who have speech, language and communication challenges.

Yes, children may have delays in their development.

They may have specific challenges in areas of communication.  They may have speech sound disorders which result in them being difficult to understand.  They may not talk much at all.

None of these scenarios suggest to me, however,  that a child is choosing to be lazy.  In fact, quite the opposite.

Using clear, spoken language is the most efficient and effective way for us to communicate with others.

Not using clear, easily understood spoken  language creates far more ‘work’ for a child than does using words.  Think about it for a moment as we put ourselves in a little child’s shoes.  If you were limited to pointing and grunting / whining to communicate your needs to another human….imagine the scope for misinterpretation and the limited range of methods you would have access to in order to then clarify your message.  Incredibly frustrating, right!?  If you were learning how to say a new sound and could finally say that new sound correctly in words AFTER your parent WHEN your parent was using lots of gesture and support (phew, that took lots of work) …it would take lots and lots of practice before you could use that new sound in words and sentences during everyday conversation when that adult support was not readily available.  Imagine for a moment that I requested you to say all of the words you currently use that start with a /b/ sound and to change these to starting with a /f/ sound.  I want you to do this at all times, with all people in all situations.  You can say a /f/ sound right?  Okay, so what is the problem?  Are you being lazy?  Hmmmmm…..

In each of these scenarios,

laziness is simply just not a factor when we really boil it down and look at what is going on for a child.  Learning to use speech and language happens gradually and when children experience hiccups in their development for whatever the reason may be (yes, a topic for another blogpost), we do them a disservice if we describe those challenges as arising due to a child being lazy.  Would we describe a child learning a new skill such as how to ride a tricycle but stumbling along the way  to achieving this goal as ‘lazy’?  No, we would see this for what it is…a child learning a new complex motor skills and needing lots and lots of practice until this skill becomes automatic.  Learning to talk and to communicate takes practice. Young children are still learning.

Yes, all of us can be lazy from time to time and display this in our mood and behaviour but rarely is it a cause or even a factor when working with children who have genuine challenges with speech, language and/or communication skills.

So, what can […]
2023-01-17T05:28:30+00:00
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Do Ear Infections affect Speech Development?

“Has your child had a history of ear infections?”

“Has your child had a hearing test recently?”

These are two questions we frequently ask Educators and Parents when they call us to enquire about Speech Pathology services for a child.

Middle Ear Infections are very common in children, especially between the ages of 0-3 years.  Most ear infections improve quickly without treatment and are not overly serious.  These infections of the middle ear are called Otitis Media.

We all have Eustachian Tubes that connect our middle ear to our throats.  Young children have very small, narrow tubes which are not yet tilted as in adults.  When children are unwell with a common cold, germs from the throat can travel to the ear and cause infection.  Repeated infections can result in fluid sitting behind the ear drum for weeks and even months in some cases.  Children who have persistent fluid in their middle ear have Glue Ear.  The fluid become thick and glue like.  This can make hearing difficult as the ear drum is unable to effectively vibrate when there is thick, viscous fluid sitting behind it.  For a child trying to hear, it is a little like trying to listen when you are under water.  Compromised hearing over time can impact how well a child acquires speech sounds and language skills as so much development takes place between 0-3 years. Some children also have difficulties with attention and behaviour as a result of ongoing complications with ear infections and fluid drainage from the middle ear.

Children may complain of ear pain, develop a temperature or present as irritable when they have an ear infection.  Children with chronic glue ear may experience no pain and have very little symptoms so it is really important to be vigilant in checking for any signs that your child may be experiencing an ear infection or difficulties with hearing.

If you have any concerns at all about your child’s hearing, it is best to discuss this with your GP/Doctor who may decide to monitor the situation, refer your child for a hearing test or recommend an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist to investigate the possibility of minor surgery for children who have recurrent and persistent difficulties with their ear health and hearing.

2023-01-07T02:46:36+00:00
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Why Vocabulary is Key

Possessing a strong vocabulary is just one of those things that will help you to get wherever you want to go in life.

There are well documented connections between the size and quality of your vocabulary whilst still at school and your income level in the future.

Vocabulary size is a reliable indicator of your skill in reading, writing and speaking as well as of your general knowledge of science and history.

Vocabulary is also key to children enjoying reading and comprehension.

Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what words mean.

As children learn to read more advanced texts, they must also learn the meaning of new words that are not part of their oral vocabulary.

So… whilst vocabulary is important for academic and occupational success, there is another good reason to boost your child’s vocabulary;

and that is the link between vocabulary and happiness.

We communicate to others as well as to ourselves internally using words.

We grasp new concepts and ideas by interpreting words.

Words help us to communicate our thoughts and feelings and to build strong relationships with others.

Developing your child’s vocabulary is one of the easiest and most important things you can do to improve your child’s chances of success and happiness in life.  Sharing a story together, playing alongside your child, making time to talk during every day routines, commentating, labelling and describing what you can see in your environment; each of these activities will build emotional connection, relationship bonds and vocabulary for your child.

Children can learn new words at an incredibly fast rate when they are young

The most important predictor of how well a child will do so is the number of words that children hear from adults.

Language is really one of our greatest gifts that we can give our children.

When children experience more child-directed conversations they have larger expressive and receptive vocabularies by the age of 2 years than when they simply overhear adults using speech in their surroundings.

Although differences in verbal and intellectual abilities between individuals are influenced by a range of factors including genetics, the contributions of early carer-child experiences are substantial.  If you would like some tips for talking with your child in a way that will boost vocabulary then download our FREE 10 Tips for Talking.

So, will all of this in mind…

Over this holiday period, remember that your presence is the most precious gift you can give your child.  A few minutes of your time every day is all it takes to build your child’s vocabulary from an early age and set him or her up for success at all stages of life.

2022-12-24T06:47:58+00:00
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My child has started to Stutter

Stuttering is a relatively common communication disorder that affects 1-2% of the population and impacts the fluency or flow of speech.

Children who stutter have difficulty saying what they want to using smooth or fluent speech.  Unfortunately the onset of stuttering in young children can cause much worry and even alarm for parents.  Luckily we have several effective treatments at our fingertips to help….but first, some answers to some frequently asked questions.

What Causes Stuttering

Contrary to popular belief, stuttering is not caused by anxiety, exposure to trauma / stress or parenting.  Instead, it is now known that stuttering is a problem with neural processing involving the brain activity that supports speech production.  We also know that stuttering tends to run in families and is more common in males than females.

Can Stuttering Appear Overnight?

Stuttering can appear quite suddenly or can develop gradually over several weeks or months. Stuttering is usually first noticed in the toddler to preschool years when children are learning to combine words into phrases and short sentences.  Stuttering can range in severity to very mild to quite severe.

Will my child grow out of it?

Some children will naturally grow out of their stuttering whilst some will require therapy.  As it is not possible to predict which children will recover naturally, speech pathologists recommend that children who begin to stutter should receive therapy.

What Does Stuttering Sound Like?

Repetitions:

These are the most common type of stuttering behaviour. Repetitions often occur at the beginning of an utterance and may be the first sound, syllable or entire word or phrase.

  • e.g. “C C C Can I have the car?”
  • e.g. “Can Can Can I have the car?”
  • e.g. “Choc Choc Chocolate is yummy”
  • e.g. “I want I want I want a biscuit”

Blocking:

Children who use this stuttering behaviour sound like they are ‘stuck’ on words. The word does not sound bumpy as with repetitions but more like a struggle to get the words out. Blocking is often accompanied by facial grimaces or other body movements.

Prolongations:

Words may sound stretched
• e.g. “IIIIIIIIIIIIIII want one”

How is stuttering treated?

Luckily we have plenty of effective interventions available for treating stuttering.  Those who receive early intervention have really good chances of becoming stutter-free particularly if that treatment is received in the preschool years when treatments are simpler and more effective.

Some recent research has shown that even children as young as 7 who stutter are at risk of feeling anxious about talking in social situations so this is another reason why we recommend treating stuttering when a child is under the age of 6 years wherever possible.

There are currently two evidence-based approaches that we use to treat preschooler who stutter at Learn2Communicate. These are the Lidcombe Programme and the Westmead Program.  Both are effective and many can be delivered either face to face or using telehealth.

Please contact a Speech Pathologist if you have any concerns that your child may be stuttering.  Contact us if you would […]

2022-12-22T00:10:10+00:00
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