| Reading books to your child can do more than | | | | 3. Initiate communication with your child's teacher. |
| teach him or her how to read. It is also critical in | | | | "Ask the teacher about your child's reading |
| helping your child learn to talk, says Wytona | | | | comprehension skills," says Johnson. "Is your son |
| Johnson, a speech pathologist and executive | | | | or daughter able to answer 'who, what, when, |
| director of First Words Speech Services, a | | | | where and why' questions?" They should be able |
| counseling center in Smyrna, Georgia. "Speech and | | | | to explain the five "W's" in stories that are read |
| reading go hand in hand. Effective speech skills are | | | | to them, as well as the stories they can read |
| the building blocks for effective reading ability," | | | | themselves. |
| she says. Johnson specializes in autism and | | | | 4. Monitor your child's reading fluency, both at |
| complex speech disorders in children ages two to | | | | home and at school. |
| ten, and she regularly uses children's books when | | | | "You want to know if your child can connect the |
| counseling her clients. She says that parents can | | | | words smoothly when reading aloud, or if they |
| adopt her methods to enhance speech and | | | | simply call out words as they are reading," says |
| reading ability in their own children, regardless of | | | | Johnson. If you sense that there's a problem, ask |
| the child's developmental status. Here are | | | | your child's teacher about any professional |
| Johnson's five reading time tips for parents and | | | | resources available to help you. |
| educators: | | | | 5. Know When to Call a Specialist |
| 1. Find books that have repetitive phrases. | | | | It's hard to determine when each child will hit his |
| "Children really like books with recurring phrases, | | | | or her speech and hearing milestones. If you're |
| and they are also effective in speech production," | | | | concerned that your child is not at their grade |
| says Johnson. When kids are able to guess the | | | | level, however, be sure to ask for professional |
| phrases, they can "read" text and then receive | | | | advice. The American Speech-Language-Hearing |
| the satisfaction of knowing they're moving the | | | | Association (ASHA) recommends seeing an ASHA |
| story along. Johnson says that the children she | | | | certified Speech Language pathologist for a |
| counsels also enjoy rhyming books that offer fun | | | | professional evaluation in these situations. The |
| word play. | | | | speech language pathologist can administer a |
| 2. If you're pressed for time, use finger or sock | | | | variety of tests on language skills and your child's |
| puppets as props to enhance the story. | | | | utterances. They may even help pinpoint the |
| These simple items create a huge impact, even if | | | | cause of the slow language progress. A |
| parents only have a few minutes to dedicate to | | | | professional will also be able to offer counseling as |
| reading time. "Finger and sock puppets can help | | | | necessary. |
| your child remember the story," says Johnson. | | | | With encouraging and consistent help, your child |
| They encourage young students to become great | | | | could be well on their way to becoming a master |
| storytellers themselves. | | | | at both speaking and reading. |