May is Better Hearing & Speech Month

Courtesy Pediatric Therapy Center of New Jersey

Each May, Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM) provides an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the role of professionals like Speech-Language Pathologists in providing lifealtering treatment.

Here are some facts about communications disorders from ASHA:

• 1 in 4 parents have had concerns about their child’s ability to communicate

• 95% of parents agree that speech, language, and hearing milestones are some of the most important developmental milestones

• More than a quarter (27%) of concerned parents did not seek help for their child, most commonly because they didn’t know where to go for help

• Although most parents are confident that they know the signs of communication disorders, just 23% are

Carissa Jannicelli Pampanin MS, OTR/L Director of Occupational Therapy Pathology

able to correctly identify a solid majority (75% or more) of the provided signs of communication disorders, and only 5% are able to correctly identify all the provided signs of communication disorders

• Of parents who sought treatment, 8 in 10 (81%) said that their child showed a “great deal” or “a good amount” of improvement

Here are some of the warning signs of communication disorders from ASHA:

Signs of a language disorder:

• Does not smile or interact with others (birth

Deanna Jannicelli Corby, MS, CCC-SLP Director of Speech and Language Pathology

and older)

• Does not babble (4-7 months)

• Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (712 months)

• Does not understand what others say (7 months-2 years)

• Says only a few words (12-18 months)

• Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)

• Does not put words together to make sentences (1.5-3 years)

• Has trouble playing and talking with other children continued on page 13