[Source: Medical X-Press]

Toddlers are surprisingly good at processing the speech of other young children, according to a new study. And toddlers who have more exposure to other children, such as those in daycare, may be particularly good at certain word learning skills.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo examined the word processing skills of toddlers who spend most of their time with adults compared with those who have more exposure to groups of children. They focused on how well the toddlers understood the speech of other children.

[Source:  Medical X-Press]

In a series of experiments with children 3 to 5 years old, the researchers found that when children are learning new nouns, they use what they know about these objects-how typical or unusual they are for their categories (such as fish, dog, bird or flower)-to help them figure out what these words mean. This type of sophisticated reasoning was thought to only develop later. The researchers' work appears in the current issue of the Journal of Child Language.

[Source: Science Daily]

Pivotal response treatment involving parents works better than other existing therapies at motivating children with autism and significant speech delays to talk, according to the results of a large study.

Because children with autism are less socially motivated than typically developing children, parents' instincts about how to engage them often don't succeed, said Grace Gengoux, PhD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. PRT gives parents a way to breach this barrier.

Are you an SLP looking for an Early Childhood opportunity? PediaStaff is seeking a full-time Speech-Language Pathologist to work in an early childhood setting starting as soon as possible until mid-June. What greater reward than helping a child during his/her first few years of life?

* Speech-Language Pathologist will have the opportunity to treat children ages 3 to 5

* Work collaboratively with parents and other caregivers to incorporate intervention strategies into the child's daily routines

[Source:  Teach Speech 365 via Speechie Freebies]

It's September and that means back to school! This month, I've put together a freebie with real life pictures and language prompts to help your students expand their expressive language skills. I hope you're enjoying the beginning of the school year!

[Source: The Autism Helper]

It's barely scratching the surface of December and I've already got the loads of Christmas presents I need to buy on my brain. This is the time of year where we could really use a few freebies! Check out this stellar list of TpT freebies organized by level.

[Source: The Autism Helper]