Calendars can be tools to help build speech language development skills in your child — especially if he or she is hearing impaired. Used carefully, they help with language development stages. They can help you relish the present day with your child; build a memorable link to the past; and develop the thinking skills needed for planning the future and setting goals for success. (Note: many child development experts caution that young children are not ready to understand abstract concepts like time. Introduce concepts gradually, and be patient as ideas take hold. Don’t expect complete understanding until about age 5 or 6.)
By using a calendar, you can help your child develop better thinking and language skills. Speech development in children can be difficult with the hearing impaired. Children need to learn about life, but whether they are hearing or deaf, active or relaxed thinkers, the logic of space and time is difficult for children to grasp. This is because these are abstract concepts, as opposed to concrete “touchable” items.
My brother was deaf, so my mother kept our calendar hanging low, beside the kitchen table. That calendar was Reed’s introduction to many concepts: to days, weeks, months, years; to friends, family, relationships; to planning, scheduling, and ordered living. Reed’s life, and his language development, revolved around his daily calendar discussions with Mom. And it helped with toddler speech development.
Calendars Help Children Anticipate the Future
Adults often fail to realize the stress a child feels while being driven to unknown places, or events he only vaguely understands. Because of Mom’s calendar discussions, Reed always knew what the future held, so he could adjust his emotions and thoughts, accordingly.
Mother collected photos of people and places prominent in Reed’s life, and she used them to help him anticipate the future. For example, a photo of the dentist would be placed on the appointment day, and the lesson began: “You go to the dentist in two weeks—on a Thursday, the day before we grocery shop. He will only clean your teeth, and it won’t hurt. You were there six months ago—let’s look that up and see when it was.”
If we were going to visit the grandparents, photos of those favorite folks were placed on the calendar. Family dinner at Aunt Norma’s—post her photo and give a lesson on family trees and titles: uncle, cousin, great-grandfather.
Calendars Help Teach the Meaning of Time
Before Reed learned to recognize the structure of life in a time-controlled world, he could not understand that his birthday would eventually reoccur. So he received gifts on our birthdays, also. With the calendar, he gradually came to understand the passing of months, changing of seasons, repeating of birthdays. We recorded the birthdays and anniversaries of others also, so he could see time passing for the whole family.
Calendars Can Help Store and Organize Past Memories
We also used the calendar as a form of diary; as a record of family history. We wrote down events then discussed them later. These talks allowed Reed to review the passage of time and helped memories “take hold.” By practicing “recall” he learned to store and retrieve information in long-term memory.
Often I work with children who lack these skills. Their minds must be like cluttered file drawers: incomplete memories, people and relationships confused, past/present/future scrambled. It is very difficult to teach children who have such disorganized thinking and defective recall; it is doubly difficult if they are deaf.
Calendars Can Boost Early Reading Skills
As your child matures, photos can be replaced with names, places, and words. When you remove the photos, print the information on the calendar and soon the child will begin to “read” those notes and memories.
The list of language and thinking activities that can revolve around the calendar is endless. Take advantage of the fun and relevant opportunities available. Use them to give your child the gift of time: relish the present day with your child; build a memorable link to the past; and develop the thinking skills needed for planning the future and setting goals for success.
Linda Schrock Taylor is a freelance writer and teacher. She grew up in a home with a brother who was hearing impaired. She writes about ways to help all children learn.