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Research -- StepUp to Learn

Less than Ideal Start in Life: What Next?

Less than Ideal Start in Life: What Next?

The early talk and communication that children experience when very young, though essential in preparing them for school, has no direct impact on their reading and writing skills by age 11.
Posted in Education, Language, Reading Skills, School Readiness, Social Development, Social Skills, Speech & Language

Humans are Born with Brains 'Prewired' to See Words

Humans are Born with Brains 'Prewired' to See Words

Humans are born with a part of the brain that is prewired to be receptive to seeing words and letters, setting the stage at birth for people to learn how to read, a new study suggests.
Posted in Language, Neuroscience, Reading Skills, Speech & Language

How the Brain Detects the Rhythms of Speech

How the Brain Detects the Rhythms of Speech

Neuroscientists have discovered how the listening brain scans speech to break it down into syllables.
Posted in Language, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Children Use Both Brain Hemispheres to Understand Language, Unlike Adults

Children Use Both Brain Hemispheres to Understand Language, Unlike Adults

Whereas adults process most discrete neural tasks in specific areas in one or the other of their brain's two hemispheres, young children use both the right and left hemispheres to do the same task. The finding suggests a possible reason why children appear to recover from neural injury much easier than adults.

Posted in Language, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Early Reading in Spanish Helps Children Learn to Read English

Early Reading in Spanish Helps Children Learn to Read English

Children who had strong early reading skills in their native Spanish language when they entered kindergarten experienced greater growth in their ability to read English from kindergarten through fourth grade.

Posted in Language, Reading Skills, School Readiness, Speech & Language

More than Half of U.S. Students Experience Summer Learning Losses Five Years in a Row

More than Half of U.S. Students Experience Summer Learning Losses Five Years in a Row

These students on average lose nearly 40 percent of their school year gains.
Posted in Education, Language, Mathematics, Reading Skills, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Study Shows Approach Can Help English Learners Improve at Math Word Problems

Study Shows Approach Can Help English Learners Improve at Math Word Problems

Study shows how an evidence-based method of helping students understand the language and information of word problems can boost their math achievement.
Posted in Education, Language, Mathematics

The Power of Parents

The Power of Parents

A study on the impact of parents’ inclusion in their young children’s interventions found that parents can play a crucial role in their toddlers’ development. 
Posted in Attention, Engagement, Language, School Readiness, Speech & Language

A “million word gap” for children who aren’t read to at home

A “million word gap” for children who aren’t read to at home

Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to, a new study found.
Posted in Education, Language, Social Development, Speech & Language

Difficulties with audiovisual processing contribute to dyslexia in children

Difficulties with audiovisual processing contribute to dyslexia in children

A University at Buffalo psychologist has published a neuroimaging study that could help develop tests for early identification of dyslexia, a disorder that affects 80 percent of those diagnosed with difficulties reading, writing and spelling.
Posted in Language, Neuroscience, Reading Skills, School Readiness

Sensory Integration Dysfunction Case Study

Sensory Integration Dysfunction Case Study

An August 2010 doctor’s report included history of Oromotor Dyspraxia, Auditory Sensitivity, Articulation Disorder, Developmental Language Delay, and Heavy Metal Toxicity which had improved with prior therapeutic interventions. Current diagnoses include Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Metabolic Disorder, and Developmental Coordination Disorder. Michael was receiving Speech Therapy 5 days a week and Occupational Therapy once a week. His delays first became evident at age 2 when he had not begun to talk.
Posted in Attention, Education, Language, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Children take longer to learn two languages at once

Children take longer to learn two languages at once

Worldwide immigration patterns are increasing the number of children who grow up exposed to two languages, a circumstance that provides numerous benefits as well as some challenges.
Posted in Education, Language, Speech & Language