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Research -- StepUp to Learn

How music lessons can improve language skills

by StepUp Staff

How music lessons can improve language skills

MIT study links piano education with better word discrimination by kindergartners. Many studies have shown that musical training can enhance language skills. However, it was unknown whether music lessons improve general cognitive ability, leading to better language proficiency, or if the effect of music is more specific to language processing.
Posted in Education, Music, Speech & Language

NeuroNet Success Stories: KidSense Therapy

by StepUp Staff

NeuroNet Success Stories: KidSense Therapy

Marcia Washington, OTR/L, has been practicing pediatric occupational therapy for more than 10 years. She is the owner of KidSense Therapy, a sensory clinic providing occupational therapy for children birth to age 18 years in Pontotoc, Mississippi. We recently had the chance to catch up with Marcia and ask her about her experience using NeuroNet programs in her therapy practice:
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Health & Wellness, Language, Mathematics, Memory, Motivation, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience, Reading Skills, School Readiness, Social Development, Social Skills, Speech & Language

NeuroNet Goes to China!

by Jonathan Rowe

NeuroNet Goes to China!

We recently travelled to China to see how schools in Beijing are using NeuroNet, as well as to share the science behind NeuroNet with parents and teachers in Shanghai.
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Health & Wellness, Language, Memory, Motivation, Movement & Exercise, Neuroscience, Speech & Language, Technology

How Do NeuroNet's Online Nanodegrees for Therapists Work?

by Jonathan Rowe

How Do NeuroNet's Online Nanodegrees for Therapists Work?

How do NeuroNet's online Nanodegrees work for therapists? This post provides an overview of one of NeuroNet's software programs as well the online course experience for therapists.
Posted in Attention, Engagement, Handwriting, Memory, Motivation, Movement & Exercise, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Screen children with reading difficulties more thoroughly for hearing problems, says new report

by Jonathan Rowe

Screen children with reading difficulties more thoroughly for hearing problems, says new report

Children with reading difficulties should be more thoroughly screened for hearing problems, a new report by Coventry University academics has said.
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Memory, Reading Skills, Speech & Language

Brain Imaging Predicts Language Learning in Deaf Children

by Jonathan Rowe

Brain Imaging Predicts Language Learning in Deaf Children

MRI brain scans can predict language improvement after a cochlear implant, laying the foundation for creation of brain specific therapy.

 

Posted in School Readiness, Social Skills, Speech & Language

Intentional teaching makes the biggest impact on early childhood outcomes

by Jonathan Rowe

Intentional teaching makes the biggest impact on early childhood outcomes

A comprehensive review of research on several measures of the quality of early childhood education suggests that the instructional practices of preschool teachers have the largest impact on young children’s academic and social skills. The review helps untangle a complicated knot of factors that affect young children.
Posted in Education, Handwriting, Mathematics, Reading Skills, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Brain Imaging Predicts Language Learning in Deaf Children

by Jonathan Rowe

Brain Imaging Predicts Language Learning in Deaf Children

MRI brain scans can predict language improvement after a cochlear implant, laying the foundation for creation of brain specific therapy.

 

Posted in Neuroscience, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Car, stroller, juice: Babies understand when words are related

by Jonathan Rowe

Car, stroller, juice: Babies understand when words are related

The meaning behind infants’ screeches, squeals and wails may frustrate and confound sleep-deprived new parents. But at an age when babies cannot yet speak to us in words, they are already avid students of language.
Posted in Memory, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Engaging children in math at home equals a boost in more than just math skills

by Jonathan Rowe

Engaging children in math at home equals a boost in more than just math skills

Preschool children who engage in math at home with their parents not only improve their math skills, but also their general vocabulary, according to research from Purdue University.
Posted in Engagement, Mathematics, Reading Skills, School Readiness, Speech & Language

Brain activity is inherited, may inform treatment for ADHD, autism

by Jonathan Rowe

Brain activity is inherited, may inform treatment for ADHD, autism

Every person has a distinct pattern of functional brain connectivity known as a connectotype, or brain fingerprint. A new study conducted at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, concludes that while individually unique, each connectotype demonstrates both familial and heritable relationships.
Posted in Attention, Education, Engagement, Neuroscience, Speech & Language

Bilingual preschoolers have better impulse control, study finds

by Jonathan Rowe

Bilingual preschoolers have better impulse control, study finds

Preschoolers who speak two languages show less impulsiveness than their single-language peers, say University of Oregon researchers whose project was seeded after they met in a graduate psychology course.
Posted in Attention, School Readiness, Social Skills, Speech & Language