In an earlier piece for Huff — and an earlier segment of Body, Mind and Child — I asked whether or not we should continue to teach handwriting in the digital age. I found the feedback surprising, as more individuals than expected unequivocally proclaimed that handwriting is a thing of the past. While I’m not […]
One’s intelligence appears unrelated to the specific brain pattern that causes dyslexia, researchers reported Thursday. The findings are important because they suggest that IQ shouldn’t be considered by education specialists when diagnosing dyslexia. In fact, doing say may bar some children from receiving special education services to improve reading comprehension. The study, funded by the […]
By Bonnie Rochman Sleeping like a baby is now more regimented than ever, in light of updated guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about how best to put baby to bed to reduce the risk of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome. Much has changed in the six years since the AAP’s […]
Preschool children with relatively poor language skills improve more if they are placed in classrooms with high-achieving students, a new study found. Researchers found that children with relatively poor language skills either didn’t improve over the course of one academic year, or actually lost ground in development of language skills, when they were placed with […]
By: Debra Johnson, MS, OTR/L Many parents who contact me for OT services begin the conversation by saying that they aren’t really sure whether OT can help them or not. They are struggling, searching for answers and may have had others tell them they are over-reacting or that their child will outgrow the problems. During […]
This past weekend, I attended a conference for Speech-Language Pathologists here in British Columbia. I was fortunate to learn about several things, but the idea of Mindfulness, a new idea for me, was a topic that really stuck out in my mind, because I found that I could apply it to both clientele and to […]
By Rachael Rettner How fast a baby’s brain grows, rather than how large it is, predicts the child’s mental abilities later in life, a new study of preterm infants suggests. The faster the brain’s cerebral cortex grew during the first months of life, the higher the children scored at age 6 on intelligence tests […]
The child does not get enough exercise. Children require huge amounts of movement, preferably outside, every single day. Movement and exercise is as essential as food for children in order to stay organized, develop and mature their nervous systems, improve their coordination, strength and motor planning, and to be healthy! So many of us live […]
Singing therapy is often used to restore fluency to sufferers of speech disorders due to stroke. Recent research found, however, it may not be the singing itself that helps. Christie Nicholson reports Left-sided stroke victims are often left with a debilitating speech disorder. Yet many can sing entire pieces of text fluently. Singing is thought […]
By: Danette Schotte, M.A. Many children with special needs have problems with friendships. The problems can surround not understanding nonverbal communication, to not being able to identify emotions, to confusion over humor and more. One thing we know for sure is that a life without friendships and human connections is a very lonely life. Humor […]
BC Speech, Language and Communication is a speech-language pathology practice manned by sole practitioner, Jill Topp. Jill has been working as a Speech-Language Pathologist since 1992. She believes that operating as part of a team with other professionals and/or family members is the best way to help her clientele achieve their potential. Jill is committed to a standard of excellence and provides highly individualized, personal care to each of her clients.
Clientele with the following challenges are seen at BC Speech, Language and Communication: Autism, developmental delays, cognitive delays, learning disabilities, hearing loss, Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injury, Apraxia/Dyspraxia of Speech, Attention Deficit Disorder, emotional and behavioral problems, cleft palates/lips, various syndromes, prenatal exposure to drugs and/or alcohol, English as a second language issues, and specific speech/language delays.