Empowering Parents to Support Child Language Development
Apr. 24, 2017
Many preschool children learn language incidentally—that is, children learn vocabulary, grammar and social patterns of language through listening to parents, siblings and teachers who talk around them.
Not so for children with language impairments. They struggle to learn new words, make conversation or be understood.
"We know that children with language impairments are at significant risk to not have optimal achievement in school," says Brook Sawyer, assistant professor of teaching, learning and technology. "Language impairments are often linked to reading disabilities." But, she says, "If we focus on children at a very young age and support their language development, we optimize their success in school."
