Since 1927, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association celebrates Better Hearing and Speech Month each May.  This month of awareness is a good time to analyze your own hearing and determine if you are one of the estimated 28 million Americans who have a hearing loss that can be treated.

Click here to view a video about hearing loss by the Better Hearing Institute.

Did You Know:

• Approximately 7.5 million people in the United States have trouble using their voice.
• The prevalence of speech sound disorders in young children is 8 to 9 percent.  By the first grade, roughly 5 percent of children have noticeable speech disorders; the majority of these speech disorders have no known cause.
• By the time they are six months old, infants usually babble or produce repetitive syllables such as "ba, ba, ba" or "da, da, da."  Babbling soon turns into a kind of nonsense speech jargon that often has the tone and cadence of human speech, but does not contain real words.  By the end of their first year, most children have mastered the ability to say a few simple words.  By 18 months of age, most children can say 8 to 10 words.  By age 2, most put words together in crude sentences such as "more milk."  At ages 3, 4, and 5, a child's vocabulary rapidly increases, and he or she begins to master the rules of language.
• It is estimated that more than 3 million Americans stutter.  Stuttering can affect individuals of all ages, but occurs most frequently in young children between the ages of 2 and 6.  Boys are 3 times more likely than girls to stutter.  Most children, however, outgrow their stuttering, and it is estimated that fewer than 1 percent of adults stutter.
• Between 6 and 8 million people in the U.S. have some form of language impairment.  Research suggests that the first 6 months of life are the most crucial to a child's development of language skills.  For a person to become fully competent in any language, exposure must begin as early as possible, preferably before school age.
• Anyone can acquire aphasia (a loss of the ability to use or understand language), but most people who have aphasia are in their middle to late years.  Men and women are equally affected.  It is estimated that approximately 80,000 individuals acquire aphasia each year.  About 1 million persons in the U.S. currently have aphasia.
• Men are more likely to experience hearing loss than women.  Of adults ages 65 and older in the United States, 12.3 percent of men and nearly 14 percent of women are affected by tinnitus.  Tinnitus is identified more frequently in white individuals and the prevalence of tinnitus is almost twice as frequent in the South as in the Northeast.  Approximately 17 percent (36 million) of American adults report some degree of hearing loss.
• About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing.  Nine out of every 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who can hear.  Approximately 15 percent (26 million) of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have high frequency hearing loss due to exposure to loud sounds or noise at work or in leisure activities.
• Only 1 out of 5 people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.  Three out of 4 children experience ear infection (otitis media) by the time they are 3 years old.  More than 112,000 people worldwide have received cochlear implants.  In the United States, roughly 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received them.

Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Speech-Language Pathologists are professionals who help children, adolescents, and adults develop their communication abilities as well as treat speech, language, stuttering, swallowing and voice disorders. They work in many different types of facilities such as: public schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, private practice, rehabilitation centers, state and local health departments, and nursing care facilities. Speech-Language pathologists hold a master’s degree and are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Audiologists are the professionals that test hearing, prescribe hearing aids and assistive listening devices, and teach people with hearing loss how to make sense of the sounds they hear. They also hold a master’s degree and are certified by the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Speech-language pathologists and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teachers (who work in conjunction with Audiologists) are available at each of our schools within the Fontana Unified School District to address the various needs of each individual student.

How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?

Every child is unique in and has an individual rate of development. This chart represents, on the average, the age by which most children will accomplish the listed skills. Just because your child has not accomplished one skill within an age range does not mean the child has a disorder. If you answer no to the majority of items in an age range, seek the advice of a Speech-Language Pathologist.

Click here to download activities for speech courtesy of Progressus Therapy.

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