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information about communication impairments, see Cherab's partner informational site, Speechville
Express
Read
more about The Late Talker, a new book for families of children
who are late to talk.
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Press
Release
Please
help bring our children a voice...
silence is not golden
If
you want to raise awareness about speech disorders--and the threat to
IDEA--here's a press release you can share with your local media. Find
out the name of the health and education correspondents. Call them up
to outline the situation. Then send the press release to them. Call them
again later to see if they need more information. Best of all make your
family available to be interviewed to personalize the story. The
first is a brief, which is good for TV or radio -just to snag attention. The PR release is more suitable for newspapers..but could be sent as a
follow-up to TV.
Story Idea
They’re children without a voice—literally.
They’re not able to speak at all while infants of the same age are talking
like crazy, experimenting with new sounds and new word combinations all
the time these kids are intelligent. They know what they want to say—but
the words just won’t come out. It’s a frustrating and agonizing for them
and their parents. Often parents are reassured by friends, relatives and
even their pediatricians: “Don’t worry, he’s just a late talker.” But, for
a dramatically increasing number of children that’s not true. Tens of thousands
of American children don’t have a speech delay. They have a serious speech
disorder. And if they don’t get intensive therapy at a very young age—they
may never speak properly. It’s a problem that’s getting worse. In a 10-year
period which saw a four-fold increase in autism, there was a staggering
30-fold increase in children with speech and language disorders. But it’s
a problem that gets surprisingly little attention.
The
non-profit group, Cherab, is now seeking to raise awareness with the public—and
health professionals. Cherab president Lisa Geng is also co-author of
a new book, “The Late Talker: What To Do If Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet.” Co-author Marilyn Agin, M.D., is a developmental pediatrician and medical
director of early intervention for New York City .
Contact:
Lisa Geng
Phone: 772. 335. 5135
E-mail: lisa@cherab.org
For Immediate Release
Non
profit group speaks up for children
who
live in a world of silence
Billy
is two years old—and he’s not uttered a word. His parents haven’t even
heard him say “mama” or “dada.” Everyone—including their pediatrician—has
told them not to worry because he’s “just a late talker.”
And
quite often that’s sound advice. But for Billy and tens of thousands of
infants like him it’s not that simple. A dramatically increasing number
of children who don’t speak when they’re expected to speak don’t have
a developmental delay but a serious neurological disorder that needs early
and intensive treatment. US Department of Education statistics reveal
a 30-fold rise in speech and language disorders, compared with a four-fold
increase in autism. Yet it’s a problem that’s received surprisingly little
attention.
Now a non-profit group called Cherab (Communication Help, Research, Education Base) is spearheading a campaign
to bring greater awareness to these little known conditions. Cherab is providing
a voice for kids who can’t speak up for themselves, children who live in
a frustrating world of silence where they struggle to make their needs known. Says
the group’s president, Lisa Geng, mother of a child with apraxia, a serious
neurological speech disorder, “Children with speech disorders are often
misdiagnosed as autistic or mentally retarded. They frequently do not get
the therapy that they need. It’s a major uphill battle. If the proposed
legislation becomes law, it will set us back thirty years.” Developmental pediatrician
Marilyn Agin, medical director of New
York ’s early intervention
program agrees. Co-author with Geng of a new book called “The Later Talker:
What To Do If Your Child Isn’t Talking Yet,” she says, “It is so important
for children to be evaluated and treated at an early age. Adopting a wait
and see approach can in some circumstances have devastating consequences.”
In
their book Agin and Geng provide:
• A review of the developmental milestones and what to do if expectations
are not met.
• An explanation of the various speech and language disorders, and recommendations
on when and how to seek the right kind of professional evaluation.
• An exploration of the appropriate therapies a child should receive from
speech-language pathologists (SLPs), and how to support their efforts.
• Exercises to do at home with a child.
•
Tips for easing the inevitable frustration a late talking child experiences—as
well as advice to parents on coping with their own frustrations.
•
An explanation of parents’ rights and how to navigate the school system
and insurance maze on the child’s behalf.
•
Stories of other parents who have struggled with a child’s speech development
problems.
(Above
is a general press release. For parents who want to do something locally,
insert at the end a personal quote…e.g. Philadelphia mother, Mary Smith,
who has a xx year old child with a speech disorder, says, “You wouldn’t
believe how hard it is to get the right kind of therapy. It’s a never-ending
battle with the school system and the insurance company.” You could use
this quote -or if you’re more adventurous add an entirely new quote. If
you are mentioned in The Late Talker book, you could
get media attention by mentioning the fact that you’re in the book. Anyone who is a member of the nonprofit Cherab group could
get media attention by mentioning the fact that you’re a member.)
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