Author: Multilingual Families Lab

The focus of the Multilingual Families Lab is to study the development of bilingual children and their families.

@MultilingFamLab on Research on RehabMed Live!

To celebrate May Speech & Hearing month, #CommunicateAwareness, the Communication Science and Disorders Department’s Dr. Esther Kim, Dr. Bill Hodgetts and I participated in today’s @UofARehabMed’ RehabMed Live.  It was exciting to pull together our perspectives on connecting with loved ones and overcoming challenges.

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From our lab’s work, I shared about our Survey findings and some new findings from our communicating with children survey.

We have found that most children have lost regular connections with their friends, in particular toddlers and younger school-aged children. Their connections are more limited during the week, and with fewer children

How to help? Try coordinating video play dates…

  • Kids can plan a favourite game and take turns taking the lead
  • “Share” a snack
  • Choose a good time of the day, snack time, quiet time, … 
  • Brainstorm a few activities, start simple: Eye-spy, Simon says, show and tell, green-light-red-light.
  • Ready to level-up? Read a book together, sing a song, learn a new dance, play dress-up, yoga, or even a craft project

Remember that these need not be long – and it might take a few play dates for everyone to get comfortable

Some great resources for parenting during the pandemic from WHO and for talking to children about COVID-19.

AM

 

Tips for communicating with family & friends during COVID-19

Early in the isolation and lock-down, we found lots of information about how to communicate with colleagues when working remotely.  But we found very little on how to better communicate with family and friends.  Although most of us have family and Communicating with Family & Friends (4)friends who live afar, we often don’t need to use “remote” tools to talk with loved ones who live nearby.  In early April, our lab launched an online survey to better understand how we are communicating with family and friends during COVID-19.

We found that ( PDF Here : )

  • we use different tools depending on our age
  • by using different tools we are quite satisfied with our interactions with loved ones.

And we are coping well.

We did find that we were less likely to be satisfied in interactions with our elderly family and friends.  How can we improve these interactions? Try calling from a quiet place, talking about something familiar, and reminisce.

#WeAreInThisTogether #UAlbertaCSD #CommunicateAwareness

We have released a French version of our Survey!

Notre laboratoire à l’Université d’Alberta mène une enquête en ligne d’environ 10 minutes sur la habiletés de communication des enfants durant le COVID-19. Nous souhaitons en savoir davantage sur les changements dans les habitudes de communication des enfants, notamment pour les enfants avec des troubles de la communication.

La participation est volontaire: https://qrgo.page.link/LwQsy

Vos réponses nous aideront à développer des stratégies pour les parents, les enseignant.e.s et les clinicien.ne.s pour soutenir la communication des enfants durant cette crise.

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Children’s communication during COVID-19

MFLCommKidsSurveyOur lab is conducting a 10 minute survey to learn more about  how children are communicating during COVID-19, including children with communication disorders.Your participation is voluntary.  Your answers will help us develop tips for communicating during this crisis.

You can take the survey here.

 

New multilingual book for kids to help cope with COVID-19

As May Speech and Hearing Month begins, I am excited to share this new resource: an international group of experts have worked together to write a children’s book to help families understand and cope with COVID-19. The book has been translated into 37 languages! You can download it for free.

My Hero cover illustration

My Hero is You follow’s Sara as she tries to help children around the world protect themselves and others.  Ario, an orange dragon, caries her on her adventure.  She meets other kids and they talk about what they can do to help: wash your hands with soap and water! wave instead of shaking hands! stay 2 meters apart! They also learn what to do if they feel scared or overwhelmed: take a deep breath or call someone who makes you feel safe.  Ario reassures Sara that  it is normal to miss people that we can’t see right now, and that sometimes it’s hard to be have to stay in your home.  

It’s a great read for parents with young children, and older children can read it on their own.  My eyes did water at the end “You are a hero to all those who love you.”

AM

* Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychocosocial Support in Emergency Settings and experts from 104 countries.