BABBLING KEY TO ASSESSING HARD-OF-HEARING BABIES

From: Good Housekeeping Magazine - Aug 20, 2003

Researchers have devised an Internet tool to help parents monitor speech development in hard-of-hearing children with cochlear implants or hearing aids. Purdue University speech-language pathologist David Ertmer, an expert in speech and language development in children with a hearing loss, created www.VocalDevelopment.com. The interactive Web site provides parents, students and professionals with audio examples of baby jargon, such as squealing and babbling, so they can assess a child's progress. It also provides information on how to help infants and toddlers develop listening and speech skills. "This site provides information about the initial stages of speech development in young children with normal and impaired hearing," said Ertmer, associate professor in audiology and speech sciences. "At the site, we provide audio examples and practice identifying vocalizations so that parents and clinicians can recognize when the child begins to produce more mature speech patterns."

Copyright 2003 by United Press International.