I encourage/implore you to read about and listen to Dr. Dana
Suskind as she talks about the urgency of helping young children learn by
talking! I have recently purchased her
2015 book, Thirty Million Words and will offer future posts on her work and
ideas from the book.
Dr. Suskind’s 50 minute video on 30 Million Words
A few additional
resources
Dr. Dana
Suskind, a surgeon at the U of Chicago and founder of the Thirty Million Words
Initiative, as reported in USA Today/Burlington Free Press on Sunday October 18
2015.
A short excerpt from
the article by Kim Painter.
“In a new book, Thirty Million Words: Building
a child’s Brain, Suskind says she first encountered the apparent effects of the
word gap among deaf children she treated with cochlear implants. In general, she says, those from poorer homes
struggled much more to develop language and other skills.
Her hope is that
teaching parents and other caregivers to talk more, and talk more effectively,
will help all sorts of children reach their potential….”
As a starting point, she recommends three simple guidelines:
“Tune In: Notice what the child is focused on and talk
about that. Respond when a child
communicates –including when a baby cries or coos.
Talk More: Narrate day to day routines, such as diaper
changes and tooth brushing. Use details
“Let Mommy takes off your diaper. Oh, so
wet.”
Take Turns: Keep the conversation going. Respond to your child’s sounds, gestures and,
eventually, words—and give him or her time to respond to you. Ask lots of questions that require more than
yes or no answers.”
Dr. Suskind’s interview on public radio
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/09/14/437515492/the-surgeon-who-became-an-activist-for-baby-talk
Q and A with Dr. Suskind
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