Jj is for Jottings 153. Speech Sound Problems: /k,g/
We have previously learned about /s/ as a speech sound problem. Let us now focus on speech sound problems: /k,g/. As always, if your child makes speech errors, you need to know whether the error is actually appropriate for age. (In which case, is it actually an error? Perhaps an “age-appropriate substitution”!) You can find out the rough developmental ages for speech sounds here. Continue reading
The alpacas and Kieran and Sue
Send our Christmas greetings to you.
We hope the New Year
Will bring much greater cheer,
As we farewell old Twenty Two Two.
Jj is for Jottings 152. The Effects of Watching Violence.
Did you know that the effects of watching violence are different from the effects of simply reading about violence? Researchers consistently find that, the more often you watch disturbing scenes, the more anxious you become. This can result in forming long-term traumatic memories. Your brain is unable to distinguish between reality and fiction when viewing violence on screen. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 151. Daily Reading Time.
Daily reading time for children is much more important than just reading books leading to a longer life. It makes sense that children who read more have better vocabulary, reading skills, fluency, reading comprehension and overall literacy. It can also strengthen family relationships and helps children to understand the world outside. So just how many minutes per day should we be reading with our children? Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 150. Reading Books=Longer Life.
Research – some but not all – is now telling us that reading novels leads to a longer life. On the other hand, it is well known that long periods of sitting increases health risks and reduces life span. Researchers from Yale University set out to investigate three things:
Jj is for Jottings 149. Poor Neglected Adverbs.
Unlike the dreaded apostrophe, which many people underuse and many people overuse, the poor neglected adverbs are in danger of disappearing altogether. (Although I still have no idea whether the same people underuse as overuse apostrophes, if they’re different people, or a bit of both. I suspect the third option.) If you are unclear about where to put an apostrophe, you can find out here. Continue reading
Jj is for Jottings 148. Other Effects of Noise.
Most of us know about the effects of noise on our hearing, discussed in the previous post. Spending much time in noisy environments can cause long-term damage to your hearing. Examples are working in a noisy factory or living near an airport. Exposure to loud music has the same effect (and you usually have more control over that one).
“Protect your brain from the other effects of noise, Jagar.”
Jj is for Jottings 147. The Effects of Noise on Hearing.
Many of us have heard about the effects of noise on hearing – noise is a significant source of hearing loss. But we need to understand how noise causes hearing loss and about different noise levels if we are to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.
Jj is for Jottings 146. Social Stories.
Social Stories were developed to explain social situations to autistic children and help them learn socially appropriate behaviour and responses. The terms Social Story™ and Social Stories™ are trademarks originated and owned by Carol Gray in 1991. There are many stories “out there” purporting to be Social Stories, but if they do not follow the trademarked criteria, they are not.
The purpose of this article is to introduce the idea of Social Stories to those who may not have come across them before. For in-depth knowledge of how to write them, you will need to go to the source: Carol Gray herself. (“The New Social Story Book”).
Social Stories? Not this one – they don’t work for cats anyway. It’s a pity I didn’t clear the table but just had to seize the moment.
We’ve all had another strange year,
With COVID rules changing – unclear!
Cats, alpacas and all,
Kier, Sue, Antony call
For a ’22 filled with more cheer.
Shanti had to be bribed to stand on Ant’s present, so she’s not looking frightfully happy.
