Childhood Speech and Language Disorders
Supporting Children and Families on the Path to Communication
By (author) Suzanne M. Ducharme
Publication date:
18 January 2019Length of book:
192 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781538126035
Communication is one of life’s most fundamental joys, yet one often taken for granted until it is lost or fails to develop. Yet for millions of children each year, the skills that encompass communication stall or do not emerge at all. Even a mild disorder or temporary interruption in development can have long-term effects and results in serious and far-reaching deficits that touch every aspect of a child’s life. Each year, millions of children and their families join the ranks of those who are navigating a life they never expected, and frequently feel they are unable to take on.
While it is critical to address the child’s deficits with supports and specific interventions, it is equally important to directly address the impact on the family, from the marital relationship to the well-being of siblings. With a warm and compassionate approach, Suzanne Ducharme provides parents with comprehensive information about speech and language development and the intervention process, but also delves deeply into the fears, concerns, and questions that every parent faces when something goes wrong. She provides families with information and resources, but also support and perspective. Using real stories throughout, Ducharme is able to illustrate the range of difficulties, challenges, and triumphs of families who love and support children with speech and language issues.
While it is critical to address the child’s deficits with supports and specific interventions, it is equally important to directly address the impact on the family, from the marital relationship to the well-being of siblings. With a warm and compassionate approach, Suzanne Ducharme provides parents with comprehensive information about speech and language development and the intervention process, but also delves deeply into the fears, concerns, and questions that every parent faces when something goes wrong. She provides families with information and resources, but also support and perspective. Using real stories throughout, Ducharme is able to illustrate the range of difficulties, challenges, and triumphs of families who love and support children with speech and language issues.
Ducharme’s guidebook delivers on the promise of its parent series, Whole Family Approaches to Childhood Illnesses and Disorders. The compassionate, knowledgeable author, who has spent more than two decades as a pediatric speech and language pathologist, reassuringly spells out the issues for parents whose kids will experience lifelong challenges related to a communications disorder, Ducharme’s own child among them. Some advice may seem obvious, if important, such as 'sleep, water and good nutrition are critical to the health and success of both you and your child.' But overall, Ducharme provides specific, high-quality tips. For example, she includes a table that shows the sounds most kids learn at different ages. Mastery of r can take up to eight years, and children with a strong Boston accent may never get it right at the end of words. She ends with an excellent list of resources, including the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. This empowering, can-do look at a category of disorders that can affect as many as 1 in 10 children is an excellent addition to practical health collections.