The Elks Club and the Ladies of the Royal Purple have adopted speech and hearing services for children as one of their priority causes, A flag-raising ceremony at city hall marked the beginning of better speech and hearing month, and the two groups have a variety of fundraising and ‘awamess-faising activities planned for May. Terrace Review — Wednesday, May 9, 1990: Bi | WORT “AIMS FOR, HEALTH _ by Mary Keeney Did you know that May is Better Speech and Hearing Month? Better Speech and Hearing Month is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Speech/Language Pathologists and Audiologists. ' Speech/Language Patholog- ists are professionals who assess, diagnose and treat in- dividuals with speech and language delays or disorders. ‘Most Speech/Language Path- ologists hold a Master’s Degree in speech-language pathology. - Their university training in- cludes one or two years of academic clinical work. While Speech/Language Pathologists can help people of all ages, the preschool years are the most critical for speech and language development. If you are wor- ried about your preschool — child's speech and/or language development, you may wish to have your child referred to the Health Unit’s Speech/Language Pathologist. The majority of referrals are made by family doctors, public health nurses and infant development specialists. Refer- rals are also made.by preschool teachers, social workers, or other concerned individuals. © However, a professional refer- _ral is not required. Any parent may call the Health Unit to ‘schedule a speech and language screening for their preschool child. - Jf you are concerned about ‘ your child’s speech or language development for any reason whatsoever, you may choose to discuss things with your family. Did you know that... PARKSIDE SCHOOLS 20th anniversary was especially significant for teacher Maureen Clent — she cut the ribbon that opened the school in 1970 and now she teaches there. May is better speech Parkside school and hearing month doctor or public health nurse. They may be able to help you decide if you should refer your child to the Health Unit for a speech/language screening. You might also consult other family members, or preschool teachers to see if they share your con- cern about your child’s speech/language development. The following referral guidelines may help you to _ decide if you should be con- cerned about your preschoolers speech and language develop- _ ment. Remember, they are only guidelines. They are not intend- ed to be any sort of test, but rather are designed to provide you with a very general idea of what behaviours might indicate a need to refer your child to a - Speech/Language Pathologist. You should consider referring: @ A one-year-old child who makes only a few different. sounds and who does not im- itate the sounds people around him make, @ A 18-month-old child who does not yet say any single words, @ A two-year-old child who says only 10 different single words or less. @ A 30-month-old child who says less than [00 different single words, and/or who does not yet consistently put two words together (eg. “‘more juice’’, ‘daddy bye’’) or who is impossible to understand. @ A three-year-old child who says less than 200 different words, who does not use simple sentences (‘‘me go store’’) or whose speech is less than 50 percent understandable. @ A four-year-old child who Says less than 600 words, who uses No sentences, or whose speech is less than about 80 percent understandable. It may seem at first to be an impossible task to count the number of words your preschooler says. The easiest way to get an accurate estimate _is write several categories on a piece of paper including “‘food/drinks’’, “‘names of people’, “‘verbs’’, “toys’’, ‘social words’’ (eg. hi, bye- bye, thank you), and ‘“miscellaneous”, Then spend several days writing down ail the words you hear or remember your child saying under the appropriate categories. You do not need to get an exact count. Words do not have to be pronounced perfectly to count. For exam- ple, if your child says “da du’? instead of “thank you”, it would still count. These are only guidelines for a referral to a Speech/Language Pathologist. You may also consider having the Health Unit Speech’ Language Pathologist screen your child if you are concerned about stuttering, voice disorders, or any other com- munication difficulties your child is experiencing, If your child fails the speech/language screening, the Health Unit Speech/Language Pathologist can assess the problem(s) and begin providing speech/ language therapy if needed. What are your questions and concerns? Write us at: “Did You Know . That..”’ c/o Skeena Health Unit, 3412 Kalum Street, Ter- race, B.C., V8G4T2. marks 20th year by Stephanie Wiebe In» April 1970, seven-year-old Maureen Clent assisted Honorable Minister Donald Brothers in the ribbon-cutting ceremony to offi- cially open Parkside Elementary School. Today, Clent teaches Grade 1 in the same classroom where she was taught at Parkside, as the school now celebrates its twentieth anniversary. "It's really neat, because I’ve come back," Clent said. "It hasn’t changed a lot." Designed by architect Allan Soufar, Parkside. school. features carpeted open classrooms, divided by semi-private partitions mounted on casters. Surprisingly, without closed walls and doors, the school ‘ maintains a quiet but busy atmo- sphere. Each classroom’s outer borders are defined mainly by low shelves and furniture. Students don’t seem distracted by, or even aware of the school’s open floor- plan. Parkside’s fourth principal, Christine Eide has been with the school for eight years. "The school has changed slightly over the years, with the addition of more walls and more self-contained _ Classrooms. But ‘basically, the school has still retained the open- spirited feeling of co-operation," Bide said. "We pride ourselves on being a "family’ school." W.C.B. Industrial First Aid Training Course in Terrace Date: June4toJune15 © Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday Place: Mills Memorial Hospital Fee: $300 includes W.C.B. exam and books Instructor: Roger Cloutier For information or ’ to register call: 845-7752 Days or Evenings Sponsored by Northwest First Aid Training Agency. .