Limiting Technology Use Can Enhance Your Child's Communication Skills and Abilities: May is Better Hearing and Speech Month

The average child ages eight and under in the United States uses more than three personal tech devices at home. Whether it’s a tablet, smartphone, or video game, kids spend more time buried in their devices than playing and communicating with one another. However, the primary way children develop their speech and language abilities is through human communication, something technology simply cannot duplicate.

Technology offers so much potential in a number of areas, but it is important to recognize that an app on a tablet is not a replacement for human interaction. With about 40 million Americans struggling from a variety of communication disorders, each May is recognized as Better Speech and Hearing Month, providing an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association offers information and tips on treatment options to help you make life-altering changes. This May for Better Speech and Hearing Month, I urge you to prioritize verbal communication by managing your kids’ daily use of technology.

Here are some tips on how to set meaningful limits on young children’s technology use:

· Create Tech Free Times. Find opportunities throughout the day for every member of your family to disconnect. Leave smartphones, tablets, etc. behind and talk about each other’s day. Set aside time at breakfast and/or at the dinner table—mealtime is a prime opportunity for conversation.

· Make Tech Use a Group Activity. While most people use their devices to get away from it all, try turning it into a group activity with your family. Play an online game together and talk about what you’re doing.

· Set Daily Time Limits. Certain devices can be programmed to shut off after a specific amount of time. Technology provides other skills kids can use but time should be set aside for playful and imaginative human interaction as well.

· Always Practice Safe Listening. Especially if your child is using headphones, keep the volume at a safe listening level—half volume is a good guide to follow. Even minor hearing loss takes a significant toll on children academically, socially and vocationally.

· Model the Tech Habits You Want Your Kids to Adopt. Set an example for your children on what safe-listening habits are. Limit your technology use, keep your volume on a safe level and take breaks to communicate with your child. They’ll follow your good tech habits.

· Learn the Signs of Communication Disorders. This year’s theme of Better Speech and Hearing Month is “Early Intervention Counts,” so let’s use this opportunity to focus on the loved ones in our life that need attention and help with speaking or hearing. Familiarize yourself with the signs of speech impairment, and seek help as soon as possible to improve the outcome. Early treatment can prevent or reverse many communication disorders. Parents should not wait to see if a child outgrows a possible speech or hearing problem. Seek an assessment from a speech-language pathologist or audiologist if you suspect something is wrong. Some examples of warning signs that your child may have difficulty developing speech and language skills or may have difficulty hearing include:

o He/she has experienced repeated or long term ear infections

o He/she is not understood by playmates or outside the immediate family

o He/she is frustrated when trying to communicate and the situation does not improve over time.

o Your child does not hear television or radio at the same loudness level as other family members

When warning signs of communication or hearing difficulties develop in your child, do not hesitate to visit many of the qualified specialists in New Jersey. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) provides a full range of diagnostic, therapeutic, counseling and referral services to patients of all ages from infants to seniors at both its New Brunswick and Somerville campuses. The Speech Pathology staff at RWJUH is trained and licensed to treat patients with a broad range of communication and/or swallowing impairments that result from a disability, surgery or development disorder. RWJUH also offers a wide range of services for the treatment of hearing-related concerns or impairments. RWJUH Somerset recently opened a new audiology suite in March, which offers a range of assessment and treatment services for infants, children and adults, under the direction of licensed audiologists and speech language pathologists. The new audiology suite allows the staff to expand their capabilities specifically for newborns, and perform hearing tests and conduct the proper evaluations on infants delivered in the hospital.

If you would like more information regarding speech, language, and / or hearing, or to make an appointment for an evaluation, please contact RWJUH’s Speech and Hearing Department at 908-685-2946 for the Somerville campus or 732-937-8655 for the New Brunswick campus.

Kathleen R. Holterman, is a board-certified specialist in swallowing/swallowing disorders and serves as Clinical Supervisor of Speech and Hearing at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset.