With spring just around the corner, it is time to start planning for the summer. Included in this newsletter are some conference and service announcements that you may want to mark on your calendar.

Feel free to submit news, information or questions for future newsletters at any time. If you would like to add or drop a name from our mailing list, just let us know.

What’s New:

Award Winners:

London Speech and Language Centre and the Ontario Barbershop Singer’s "Harmonize for Speech Fund" were honoured recipients of the 1997 London Investment in Education (LIEC) "Partnership in Literacy" award presented at the recent LIEC conference. London Speech and the Barbershoppers were selected because of collaborative assessment, treatment and research efforts geared at helping language impaired children from low income families, a population at high risk for literacy failure.

Conference "Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Issues for parents and professionals". We are helping to plan this conference, to be held at King’s College in London on June 3, 1998, as a fund raiser for the Head Injury Association of London. Drs. Mark Ylvisaker and Jane Gillett along with a panel of other professionals and parents will be speaking. Mark this day on your calendars, and stay tuned for more details.

Our "Talk It Up" Saturday Program is moving:

Since it’s inception last September enrollment for this program has doubled! Designed for children with speaking, listening, reading, writing and/or social interaction difficulties, it has proven to be convenient, economical and popular. "Talk It Up" will be moving to a bigger and brighter location, North Park Community Chapel, beginning March 28, 1998. There are still a few spots open for the session beginning at this time. If you miss out on this one, however, there are always openings for future sessions, since "Talk It Up" runs year round. For more information, please call the office.

Summer Speech Camps:

London Speech has confirmed four weeks of "Talk About Fun" Speech Camps to be held at the Jewish Community Centre. Full day, one week programs for 3-10 year Old children with communication difficulties will run: July 27- 31, and August 10-28, 1998. Parents are invited to enrol their child in one or more sessions. Please call the office for more information.

Free "More Than Just Talking Workshops" for Parents and Educators.

These free workshops, are now offered every month at our Adelaide St. N. offices. Participants learn about red flags for pre-school speech and language delay, where to go for help, and how to start helping children now! Check the Free Press for dates and times, or call the office

New Staff:

Bonnie Riddolls will become our new Office Manager this month. Welcome Bonnie! It is with sadness that we say goodbye to Debbie Barnett who is moving to the States with her family. We wish the Barnetts every success in their new home.

Judy Crow, B.A., D.S.W. joins our treatment team after graduating from Fanshawe College at the top of her class, and working for ten years with special needs children. With Judy’s tremendous skills, we can now offer intensive, in-home services for children with pervasive developmental disorder, autism and other developmental and behaviour difficulties at an affordable cost. Judy is trained in Ron Leaf’s Applied Behaviour Analysis. She is a Resource Teacher at Scatcherd Children’s Centre, instructor for Fanshawe College and a behaviour therapist at London Speech and Language Centre’s "Talk It Up" Saturday Program. Welcome aboard, Judy!

Kid’s Corner: Speech and Language Development

Did you know that noisy classrooms can interfere with a child’s ability to learn? Children with hearing impairment, attention deficit disorder and learning difficulties were cited as most at risk in a recent American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) publication. The article suggests careful planning to solve problems related to poor classroom acoustics, e.g. strategic positioning of air conditioning vents and ducts; use of classroom amplification; and the use of floor, wall, ceiling and window treatments as well as upholstery, plants and wall partitions to reduce the effect of poor acoustics.

Ask the Expert: Answers to Your Questions

Question: What is the difference between a Speech-Language Pathologist, a Speech Therapist and a Speech Correctionist?

Answer: Speech-Language Pathologists are university graduates specializing in human communication and its disorders. They typically have Masters Degrees in the field and must be registered in good standing with the Ontario College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists of Ontario (CASLPO) in order to practice. Similarly, the title "Speech Therapist" can only be used by qualified therapists, although Speech-Language Pathologist is the more complete and accurate title. Speech Correctionists are usually teachers with some additional, limited training in speech therapy (six weeks or so). They are not governed by CASLPO standards.

The Tangled Tongue: Stuttering

Stuttering in the Preschool Years

Stuttering is a frequent occurrence among very young children. Most preschoolers will outgrow the problem with time. How can a parent determine whether or not they need to be concerned about their child? The following behaviours are associated with stuttering that does not resolve on its own, and therefore, may require a referral to a Speech-Language Pathologist:

1. Part word repetitions, e.g. s-s-s-ee

2. Dysfluencies that increase in pitch or loudness

3. Family history of chronic stuttering among blood relatives

4. Child becomes upset about the dysfluencies and begins to avoid words or speaking situations.

Lost for Words: Language- based Learning Disabilities

A recent study entitled "Behaviour problems associated with lack of speech in people with learning disabilities" (Bott et. al., Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 1997), discovered that people with LDs consisting of good language comprehension but no speech, had significantly more behaviour problems than individuals with LDs and good speech. Test results were collected on 3662 individuals. Researchers summarized by stressing the importance of teaching communication techniques as early as possible in order to pre-empt behaviour problems.

The Hidden Hurt: Traumatic Brain Injury

Did you know that people caring for someone who is in a coma are able to use the Internet for help? The address is: http://www.waiting.com .

Professionals may also want to recommend that families of survivors of brain injury consider subscribing to the "TBI Challenge" Newsletter

Brain Injury Association

1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite #100, Washington, DC 20036

Interesting tips like the above-mentioned Internet address appear in this publication, and it’s free!

Shop Talk: Tips for the Workplace

Tip #2: When you use the phone-smile! Your customers will perceive you as being more friendly and helpful. Believe it or not, you can really hear a smile over the phone!

Thought for the Day:

"The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." John Ruskin