So you now have that precious baby or toddler as part of your life. Whether it was a long planned event or a surprise, one thing is typically true. You have a bond and natural love for you child that is unlike anything else you have ever experienced! You enjoy your child’s expressions of wonder, excitement and surprise and rush in to offer comfort when he or she is afraid, tired or feeling ill. You relish all the firsts, like a first smile, first pull up into a sitting position, first step, first word and first use of a spoon! Your life has changed forever with the addition of a new person into your family – with the opportunities, challenges and memories that accompany your expanding family. Your routines and interactions become different as your day now becomes full of play time, book reading, visits to zoos, and other child-focused, and relationship building activities. Your life will also include childcare, play dates, pediatric visits and other important supports for your child. If you are wise you will take time to savor many of these integral parts of family life.

So what can parents do to help their young children? Obviously we need to nurture our children and spend quality time with them.

A great document, Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Infants and Toddler Programs * was developed and adopted by the Michigan State Board of Education in 2013. It offers important guidelines for fostering positive early childhood development. Among the recommendations for fostering social and emotional well-being, are the following:

• “provide a stimulating environment’,
• “handle young children in a gentle, confident and respectful way”,
• allow “unhurried time and opportunity to build trusting and caring relationships”,
• build in “one-on-one interactions”,
• provide “predictable, dependable environments”,
• and encourage and support choice-making activities and independent activities (such as dressing and self-feeding).

These parenting/caregiver strategies reinforce the importance of intentional relationship building for positive child development. Intentionality takes time so that these activities and life styles become a focus and not something that you fit in later when you have some spare time.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/ECSQ_IT_approved_422341_7.pdf

One thing parents can do is become more aware of the importance of child development. We want our children to enjoy their lives in the present while at the same time we hope to prepare them for meaningful, successful lives as adults. Child development falls across many domains: cognitive, communicative, social/emotional, adaptive, physical, and spiritual. Each of these important domains contribute to how our children will “survive and thrive” in an increasingly fast-paced, complicated culture.

Another reason you need to understand normal development, to some degree, is so you can recognize when your child may seem a little challenged in an area of development. You also need to be open to comments from others, such as teachers, physicians, friends and family members who might express a concern about something they observe. That doesn’t mean that you accept outside input without question, but that it gives you something to research and check out.

Though there are many important developmental domains, this article will focus on speech and language development, offering some understanding of normal development as well as additional strategies caregivers/parents can incorporate into daily routines to foster good communication skills for infants and toddlers. Keep in mind the time and relationship building that has been previously mentioned. Not only is this important for overall development, but foundational for communication. Children are most likely to develop their best speech and language when they see the purpose of interactions – for requesting, commenting, and responding.

To Know More: https://speechandot.com/can-help-infant-toddler-speech-language-development/

December 25, 2022

 Signs and Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers

Autism is a developmental disability that happens within a person’s brain. Nobody knows for certain what causes this difference, but these differences don’t make your child look any different. Since there isn’t anything about how an autistic toddler looks that sets them apart, it’s important to understand the disability’s other signs and symptoms.

Social Skills

One of the most common areas where autistic children struggle is with their social skills. This is something that’s seen in everyday life. In a toddler it may exhibit itself as:

• Not responding to their own name
• Avoiding eye contact
• A strong preference to play by themselves
• Has flat facial expressions
• Avoids or resists physical contact
• Isn’t comforted by their parents during times of distress
• A lack of interest in the world around them
• Failure to copy words and actions
• Not clapping or waving goodbye
• Not wanting to play peek-a-boo or pat-a-cake

Communication

It’s important to understand that each person with autism has different communication skills. While some can speak fine, others can’t speak at all. It’s also quite common for children with autism to have some words by the time they’re 18-months-old then lose them. Other signs your toddler may have autism include:

• Echolalia: the continued repetition of words or phrases
• Not pointing at anything or responding when you point to something
• Having few, if any, gestures: Not waving goodbye
• Not engaging in pretend play like feeding their doll

Unusual Interests and Behaviors

People with autism are known to have unusual interests and behaviors. Your toddler may demonstrate this by:

• Lining up their toys
• Playing with their toys in the exact same way every time
• Preferring to play with a specific part of a toy like its wheel
• Getting upset by minor changes to their routine
• Flapping their hands, rocking their body, or spinning in circles

Developmental Delays

Toddlers who have autism will have delays in the development of some of their skills, but not in others. The skills that are affected varies depending on the child as each one develops differently. You may also notice that they’ll learn a harder skill before learning an easier one.

Of course, it’s important to understand that each child develops at their own pace so you shouldn’t rush into making a diagnosis. However, if you have a toddler in Plano, Texas who’s exhibiting any of these signs or symptoms, you should reach out to Speech & OT for help. We have helped many parents raise successful children with autism and look forward to helping you do the same.

Source Code: https://speechandot.com/signs-and-symptoms-of-autism-spectrum-disorder-in-toddlers/

November 22, 2022