Stephanie Cohen on The Morning Show with Gregory Berg WGTD
Stephanie Cohen appears on The Morning Show with Gregory Berg WGTD on September 4, 2024 where she discusses early childhood development and her Learn To Talk With Me toddler board book series
Transcript
WGTD The Morning Show with Greg Berg is next
Gregory Berg: and we welcome you to the Wednesday morning show on WGTD. I'm Gregory Berg. Today we're going to be talking about what sounds like a really exciting new program, uh, under the auspices of the Kenosha Public Library. A program called Growing KPL Kids. And this is a program, a series of programs actually kicking off, uh, this coming Monday, September 9th, that is devoted to helping toddlers, even babies, uh, as they first begin accessing the world and interacting with others.
And, uh. A number of different events are going to occur over the next month or so, [00:01:00] culminating in a series of workshops on Saturday, October 5th. And, uh, three of those workshops are gonna be led by my morning show guest for the first part of today's program, a speech pathologist, uh, by the name of Stephanie Cohen, who is also the, or the author of a series of books, the first of which my first learn to talk book.
We'll be given out at those, at those workshops, and she's done a great deal of work with really, really young, young children around this area of accessing speech and so on. And later in today's program, we're gonna be hearing from several staff members of the Kenosha Public Library and hearing more about this series of events, which again, begin on September 9th, culminate on October 5th.
And, uh, for the first part of today's program, Stephanie Cohen is joining us via Zoom. Stephanie Cohen, we welcome you to the Morning show.
Stephanie Cohen: Thank you so much for having me. I've been looking forward to this conversation.
Gregory Berg: [00:02:00] Uh, me too. And this is, uh, an area I just want to say very quickly, parenthetically, uh, I have somebody in, in my life, in my family, uh, a nephew who was slow to speak.
Early on, it was coupled with a couple of other issues and, uh. He is an example of someone who ultimately surmounted those early difficulties that sort of slow to speak syndrome and, uh, and now one would never imagine that that had ever been an issue for him. And, uh, so anyway, I, I, I kind of know from experience I.
Uh, that this can be an important issue. Sometimes it's kind of a scary issue and it makes such a difference when we can do something to kind of ease those difficult situations. So I'm, I'm on a very personal level, interested to hear. More about the work that you do, tell us first of all how you got interested in this field of, of, of study and professional endeavor.[00:03:00]
Stephanie Cohen: You know, when I was in high school and in college, I always loved interacting with young kids and, um, you know, assisting them. I would join summer programs and be sort of a one-on-one aide for different children. And what I loved about those experiences. The most is being someone who could support their ability to communicate with those around them and really participate in the activities that their peers were participating in.
And as I started college and started to learn just about child development, I realized that this was really an area that I wanted to pursue as a career, and it. First, you know, really interested in the, the communication portion. But the other thing that I, that I also do is I help kids who have difficulties with eating so that it doesn't seem like, um, you know, a speech language pathologist would do these di lots of these different things.
But those are really two big areas that I spend a lot of my time, um, [00:04:00] working on with families or supporting families. And, and I just wanna say, I love how you phrased, um, you know. That I work with babies and toddlers as they begin to access the world. Mm. Because I really think about that. Just in that way, I guess they begin to be able to participate in the world and develop all of the different areas of, you know, of their learning.
I just have always been fascinated by how development unfolds. I think it's a little bit magical, um, to watch it happen. Sure. And I've just loved it for. Almost 24 years now.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. Tell us the nature of the work that you do. I mean, primarily Monday through Friday. I know you were telling me you are based in Northbrook.
Uh, tell us where you do your work as a speech pathologist and. Of the nuts and bolts of at least typically how you do this work?
Stephanie Cohen: Yeah, so I think about this a lot as I reflect back. Um, so I started out my career working in a clinic like you would think, you go see a speech therapist, you go to a [00:05:00] clinic, you go in a room and there's the speech therapy happens and I went from there to a hospital.
And then as I had my own children, I transitioned into working primarily with the early intervention program here in Illinois and. I have the great honor of being able to work in families', homes, what we call the natural environment, because you know, the early intervention program, we really believe that the best learning happens in the family's home or the child's natural environment with the people that they live with and who care for them every day.
And um, when I transitioned into working in this. Setting, I realized how, how truly effective, you know, this work can be when we start by understanding family life. Because as you said, it can be so stressful, so scary when your child isn't developing in the way that you expected. And, and so I feel pretty lucky that I get to get to know families and, um, and help them, [00:06:00] you know, even learn more about their, their children.
Gregory Berg: So is it fair to say that. All of the work you do, or the vast majority of the work that you do is to address a problem or a need, uh, I mean a deficiency. Uh, a child who for whatever reason is not sort of meeting the standard benchmarks or is a fair amount of your work, uh, in a sense, uh, just to supplement.
Uh, what already might be a perfectly healthy situation and a child within so-called normal or expected parameters. I mean, uh, generally speaking, what sorts of youngsters are you working with?
Stephanie Cohen: That's such a good question, and I think it's a little bit of. Both. So usually families make their way to me because they have a concern about some aspect of their child's development.
So maybe they've heard that their 1-year-old should be using words and they're not. Um, and they're a little bit concerned, or maybe they're concerned that their child [00:07:00] isn't responding to their name or doesn't seem to be very interactive. And so they might talk to their pediatrician, hopefully their pediatrician says, Hey, there's this great resource called the Early Intervention Program.
And, um. It's called something different in every state, but the early intervention program provides free evaluations for families. It's your right to seek this for your child if you have any concerns in a variety of areas. And so it usually starts, it starts with a concern, and you know, I. I feel that if a parent feels stress, then that is reason enough for them to reach out and just find out more information about their children.
Now, the way that speech pathologists work is we are, we're medical providers, developmental medical providers, so we do, I. Bill insurance, we bill Medicaid. So we can't do that if we're just sort of supporting a child who really is developing in the way that we expect. Um, but we do often send parents off if their child doesn't qualify for the program or really needs services with lots of tips.
[00:08:00] So in that way, yes, I, I absolutely love to support families just in their everyday, um, activities with their children. But the majority of the families I work with. Um, have goals for their child and outcomes and ways that they hope to make communication easier and more effective. And I, I partner with them to, to support them in that way.
Hmm.
Gregory Berg: For those of you just joining us, we are beginning today's morning show with Stephanie Cohen, a speech pathologist who works in Northbrook, Illinois. She is going to be participating on the final day of, uh, an exciting program that kicks off this Monday, September 9th. Growing KPL kids, a program designed for babies and toddlers as well as for parents and caregivers and so on.
And, uh, she will be presenting three workshops on the final day of this, uh, ongoing program on Saturday, October 5th, uh, at the North Side Library, uh, in, in Kenosha. Stephanie Cohen. [00:09:00] I find myself thinking about this term speech pathologist and it, it's sort of intriguing and for all of the times I've heard that term over the years, I don't think I've ever really stopped to think about it or wonder about just why it is called that.
What is behind that term, especially when we think about. What typically we're talking about with pathology and pathogens and, and so on, uh, take us inside that term speech pathology and, uh, and also maybe give us a sense of, of what the entire field is, even beyond what your particular specialties happen to be.
Stephanie Cohen: Yeah, so the term, the official term, actually people call us lots of different things. The official term, according to our national organization is. Speech language pathologist. So it tells you a little bit about what we might do, right? Most people think we help with, um, saying letters clearly. Um, you might think, you know, someone who has trouble pronouncing their S'S or their R's, and there certainly are a, a, [00:10:00] a number of us that do that.
I am not one of them. Um. My work with babies and toddlers encompasses really understanding how babies learn as they access the world, as you phrased it. Um, as they learn about interacting with other people and as they have needs that they want to communicate to a loving caregiver. Um, I help. Babies and toddlers really help parents support their children to do that, be able to communicate more effectively.
Um, I mentioned briefly that I also help, um, babies and toddlers learn to eat. So there are a variety of reasons why an infant or toddler may struggle with eating due to a medical condition or, you know, maybe something that's happened to them. And so that really affects all aspects of family life because you think about how many times you share mealtimes with your children.
Yeah. So that's another area. But the, the field of speech, language pathology has so many different subspecialties. There are people who help with, um, voice equality and there are people who [00:11:00] help with, um, public speaking. There are people who help adults. Who maybe are, um, recovering after an injury. So we do so many different things.
And so if you've met one speech pathologist, you've met one speech pathologist. 'cause we all just have different interests and specialties. Um, but there are a lot of, a lot of us who really love supporting babies and toddlers. But it's funny that you ask about that term because, and then you asked me a moment ago if I mostly help people with problems because we all think of the word pathology.
As a problem. Um, and I think that that is, it's one of the things I think about a lot with developmental therapies and things we're so used to talking about the problem. And Greg, I have to tell you, one of the things I love about the evolution of our field and education in general is we are, we are moving away from thinking about.
Things as sort of deficit focus, problem focus, and instead thinking about the wonderful variety of ways that we see development unfold and just starting to understand lots [00:12:00] of different ways that kids learn.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. I like that. I was thinking about you working with babies and toddlers and how, for instance, what a challenge it is, uh, for the typical just medical doctor.
Who, uh, pediatrician working with those kind of youngsters who, uh, can't talk at all or barely talk at all in terms of, I mean, just that as something as basic as where does it hurt or why does it hurt, or why are you crying? I mean, uh, you know, for, for, for, for youngsters who are not at the point where they can really communicate any of that, at least really directly and verbally in the way that we might think, and I should think.
For your work as well. That's a challenge in and of itself in terms of if there is a child and, uh, they maybe are not yet at, at the point of being able to [00:13:00] interact with the world, uh, as one might hope or expect. Uh, how do you get at the bottom of what's going on when in a sense they can't tell you what's going on?
Stephanie Cohen: So if we think about this in terms of communication, right? Most parents in our initial conversations wonder why they're not seeing what they expect to see. And I sort of partner with them and you know, we think about, well maybe how did we get here? And in doing that, we think all about. Development from the newborn stage and the building blocks of learning to communicate and learning to interact.
And we kind of peel back the layers because most parents notice, wow, my child's not saying words, or My child's not pointing or waving, or My child's not chewing. I don't know any of those things. And developmental specialists in our training, we learn all of the things that that child's [00:14:00] body needs. To be able to do in order to communicate specifically, right.
Um, whether it's through a gesture, a sign, or through verbal communication, through speaking. And so, um, I think that, you know, while we do wonder. We are more focused initially at kind of noticing where is your child right now? What are they able to do right now? Let's meet them where they are.
Gregory Berg: Mm.
Stephanie Cohen: And this is one of the things that I'm gonna be talking about in one of my sessions, is what are the opportunities for learning right now if we meet your child where they are, because maybe they're using their voice.
But they're not using words yet.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. But
Stephanie Cohen: the way they're communicating it means something. Right? We can tell by their tone of voice if they're upset or they're hungry. Um, and so my whole, my goal initially is to help parents better understand where their child is now, and understand maybe where they've come from and then what those next steps [00:15:00] are.
Um. One of the most frequent questions I get is just, how do I get my kids to use words? And I think that the fact that I get that question most often is telling because, um, parents often have a deeper understanding of how development happens when we start to discuss all the things children need to learn to do before they can use the word.
Mm. So I hope that answers your question. I sort of got off on a little bit of a.
Gregory Berg: No, that's, that's, that's very much, much part of it. I want to tie back into the personal story that I mentioned briefly at the outset, uh, that I have a nephew who was slow to begin speech and, and now you would absolutely not imagine that had ever been an issue.
I don't remember now if this was ever firmly determined, but, but, but he grew up with two. Loving, talkative sisters and I'm, I [00:16:00] seem to recall my, my sister, uh, my nephew's mother, speculating that he might have not spoken too much because his sisters were so gleefully, excitedly doing all the talking for him.
And it, it, I only mention it to say that, uh, you've already touched on the fact that a lot of the work that you're doing is, is actually with parents. And, and I wonder how often. This comes down to how parents are interacting with this youngster, how siblings who are in the home are also interacting. And, uh, how much of the assessment work that you do, how much of that assessment is maybe directed even at people in the home, other than the baby or toddler around whom there might be a concern.
Stephanie Cohen: That's such a good question. Um, I have three children in my own home as well, and I, that's another question I get a lot, um, is my older child just talks for the younger child. [00:17:00] And so I think that's probably the, the problem. And you know what, I should, what I should also have added to that last question, which I think relates here is, you know, in our work.
To like help parents understand their child's skill level and, and how they might be communicating best. We certainly know that there are a number of like medical reasons and diagnoses that may be associated with communication differences. And so in our work and assessment, um, we always are making sure that we're thorough and that we aren't neglecting to uncover something that, you know, that we might wanna pay attention to.
But then there are also a number of things like birth order that you, um, gender. Um, a lot of folks think that there are communication patterns related to gender and you know, the research doesn't really bear that out in terms of birth order. There's no solid research that shows us that youngest children talk later.
And, you know, if you think about the environment, yes, maybe. Parents aren't directly spending the amount of time with that youngest child, one-on-one, that maybe they were able to with the oldest child. That [00:18:00] certainly was my experience. But that youngest child is also interacting with lots of different people at different times.
So the language environment though, it's different. It isn't, uh, it isn't necessarily, um, less effective in supporting language development. Um, so I think it's really more about how that particular child is learning. Um, over time.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. So when you are trying to encourage a bit more in the way of, of verbal expression, verbal speech and so on, uh, is a lot of what you do, would it look like playing games?
Stephanie Cohen: Yes. A lot of what I do looks like play and I every day think to myself how lucky I am that I get to go, um, meet a family and play with just the cutest kids, you know, you can find, um. But it's play with a purpose and it's play with a purpose that is led by our [00:19:00] observations of a child. Right? Hmm. Um, one of my sessions, the, the meeting children where they are, I.
You know, I help parents understand that we have to start by observing and watching. And so sometimes it seems like I'm not really doing anything at all. 'cause I'm just kind of sitting and I'm watching what a child is interested in because the research tells us that when we play, join a child and share what they are showing us they're interested in, in that moment, we are far more effective in kind of setting them up to be able to communicate and like.
Stay with us and participate with us for longer.
Gregory Berg: Hmm.
Stephanie Cohen: So, um, it does look like play, but it's really child led. I think that one thing that has kind of tripped us up as adults is sometimes we think we need to get kids to do something or get kids to say a word, make them use their words. But I approach it from like.
The other end of the spectrum in that I wanna see what are you [00:20:00] motivated to communicate to us? And can I model, can I show you, um, a gesture that might help you communicate that need? Or can I name something? If we're playing with a ball, can I say. Football, roll the ball versus bringing a child over and trying to get them to do something or name a picture in a book.
So, um, yeah, I'm just really thinking about kind of scaffolding and actually what I'm really thinking about is helping parents do that with their child.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. One of the things that of course we hear about is certain situations, uh, that involve, for instance. The, the, the whole matter of neurodiversity and the fact of, and we talk about, uh, children and for that matter, adults on the spectrum.
Uh, if we're talking about a situation like that, does your expertise allow you to work with those kind of children, or is that. For a, a, a sort [00:21:00] of a different kind of expert to, uh, to deal with.
Stephanie Cohen: No, I'm glad you brought up that topic. It's one of my favorite things to talk about. Um, so yes, so I have worked with lots of autistic children and I have just learned so much about.
All of the different ways that human beings develop how different brains and bodies and sensory systems work. And you know what I was really thinking about, which I think maybe you picked up on it when I was talking about the idea of, of being problem focused versus being focused on all of the beautiful neurodiversity in our world.
Um, I, I, my job has evolved in that way from saying. From helping parents maybe notice that different doesn't mean bad, it doesn't mean deficit. It just means what are the tools? What are the supports that your child or you need to be able to participate in the things you wanna participate in? Whether that's [00:22:00] how are you able to communicate with your peers or your family, or how are you able to nourish your body and what foods is your body able to eat?
Gregory Berg: Mm-hmm.
Stephanie Cohen: So, um. I think a lot about that, and again, as a field, our perspective and the language we use has become, um, much more focused around learning, particularly from. Those who are neurodivergent. And we are so fortunate to have so many voices out there who are doing that work of educating, um, those of us who don't quite understand what they've been through in so many ways.
And, and we just keep learning. And I just think it's, it's been such a beautiful journey to see the field shift in this way, to support all different ways of learning and communicating and interacting and, and just be more focused on how do we change the world. To enable everyone to participate in it.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. And are you saying that this is a change that you have even seen through the course of your own [00:23:00] career? I mean, I think you said you've been doing this work for the last 24 years, so mm-hmm. What I, what I hear you saying is that when you began this work, it was not approached in the way that you just described, or not to the same extent.
Stephanie Cohen: There certainly were voices out there that were. Shouting this from the rooftops. Um, I think about Dr. Barry Praza. Serena Wier, um, some of the sort of leaders in the field who wrote books, um, and, you know, tried to, you know, spread this message. Folks who are, um, teaching an approach that's relationship based versus, um.
Some other, you know, families out there might have heard of a BA or Applied behavioral analysis, which is a very adult directed approach to therapy that, you know, seeks to, um, to sort of. Quote, many autistic people who have been through that treatment seeks to, [00:24:00] um, make them appear more, quote unquote neurotypical and kind of assimilate versus, um, allowing them to just be who they are.
And so I have seen a shift. Absolutely. It did not start when I started. It started before, but I think it has just become, it's a huge movement as we prioritize. Neurodivergent voices and lived experiences and platform them. And we step back as the people who, if those are not our experiences, we are not the experts.
We're here to listen and to learn. And um, yes, absolutely it's happened in the communication world and it's happened in the world of feeding challenges because we receive so much information. Um. From just the media and even our educational systems about the ideal diet, the ideal way to eat, and there are different ways to eat that can be very healthy.
You can survive eating a very narrow diet and you can be a very healthy person if we, um, broaden our perspective and [00:25:00] just understand that there is just, is no one way to be healthy and to thrive.
Gregory Berg: Hmm. I want to give you a chance to talk about, uh, the workshops that you're going to be doing on Saturday, October 5th, and again, that's gonna be the final day of this.
Program that kicks off, uh, this coming Monday, September 9th, called Growing KPL Kids, sponsored by the Kenosha Public Library. You're doing three workshops on Saturday, October 5th. Uh, just briefly, what's kind of the general nature of what's gonna happen at those workshops and who do you hope will come and participate?
I guess another way to phrase that is. For whom are these workshops really designed?
Stephanie Cohen: So the first one is a keynote, so I, I will be talking about. How children, babies, and toddlers learn to communicate through imitation. Really how they learn everything through imitation. Um, sorry. And so, um, we are gonna talk a lot about [00:26:00] early imitation from the newborn stage.
So really this session, I believe is going to be primarily professionals, early childhood professionals. But my second or the second and third sessions are. For parents and families and anybody who wants to come, anyone who wants to learn more about how babies and toddlers learn. My goal with the second and third sessions are, as I said earlier, to help parents really understand how to meet their kids where they are and support their learning and be really child centered and focused.
Um, and I'm gonna talk about how my books fit into that work and those efforts because. I created this book series because I wanted parents to have tools that were easy to use. That could be used with children of different levels. So my books can be used from the earliest stage, the newborn stage when infant's vision is developing.
I, I fill my books with [00:27:00] simple photographs of babies and toddlers faces because we know that infants are bri biologically programmed, right to attend to faces. And so, um, from that point, you know, they. Parents can model simple sounds on each page and just expose their kids to, um, getting to know books, getting to know what reading is all about, what this book is as an object all the way up to the toddler stage where parents might, or caregivers might be able to read all the texts in the page or maybe even get through most of the book, but.
The books really are a manifestation of this overall philosophy of let's meet kids where they are and support their, their learning and those next steps. So I'm gonna talk a lot about that idea. Hopefully give parents some, uh, tips to. Think about that with their own child and the kids are gonna be there.
So I'm quite sure I'll get some questions and we'll be able to really, um, unpack that concept with very specific examples. I'll certainly share examples from my own work and my own children. And then the [00:28:00] last session is really fun. It's called The Power of Verbal Routines, and that's really a fancy way of saying.
Uh, or a fancy way to describe those things that we say in the same way over and over again in a situation. So think about, um, if you're playing with a car, rolling a ball, you might say, ready, set, go.
Gregory Berg: Hmm.
Stephanie Cohen: We always say that, those three words in that order, right? So baby brains love that. And there are all sorts of things like that.
Like how big is Jack, right? There are all kinds of songs are that way. Um, lots of books that are filled with rhythm and rhyme, um, have verbal routines in them, but really. Something you say over and over again so that an infant or toddler's brain really hears it so many times that they begin to predict what comes next.
Mm-hmm. And it's a very powerful way to help kids join in and start to imitate some words. So I'm gonna send caregivers, parents and caregivers home with some practical ideas that they can use with their kids, you know, right away.
Gregory Berg: Mm-hmm. Sounds fantastic. Again, that's gonna [00:29:00] be on Saturday, October 9th, and it's.
The culminating day of this, uh, project, uh, that begins on Monday, September 9th, uh, under the auspices of the Kenosha Public Library and, uh, uh, speech language pathologist, uh, Stephanie Cohen. Uh, it's been just great to talk with you about the fascinating and important work that you do. And I know a lot of people are excited.
Uh. At, uh, the role that you're gonna play in this, uh, exciting, uh, event, uh, in Kenosha. And, uh, we wish you well and wish you well on all of your future work. And thank you for being my morning show guest today.
Stephanie Cohen: Thank you. This has been such a fun conversation. Thank you for recognizing the importance of this topic and these issues, and sharing it with your audience.
Gregory Berg: You're listening to the Wednesday morning show on WGTD. I'm Gregory Berg and I'm so pleased now that we can, uh, finish out, uh, today's morning show with Tessa [00:30:00] Fox Hick, who is, uh, early literacy librarian for the Kenosha Public Library and one of the chief organizers of this exciting program that we have just been talking about with Stephanie Cohen.
And we should clarify that there is. Ongoing work with the Kenosha Public Library, which is called Building KPL Kids. Uh, but this upcoming event that begins this coming Monday has sort of a special subtitle of terrific talkers. And again, it is designed to. Foster early language development in babies and toddlers, and all of these different events occurring over the next four weeks are geared, uh, for babies and toddlers and of course, parents, grandparents, and other, uh, caregivers and guardians and mentors.
Uh, and, uh, I'm really glad that, uh, that Tessa can be here to, uh, fill in the gaps with, uh, some of the, uh, other events that are gonna be going on over the next four weeks. Tessa Fox [00:31:00] Pekk, we welcome you to the morning show.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Hi. Yes, happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
Gregory Berg: And, uh, Dessa actually just sat with me, uh, listening to this conversation with speech, uh, pathologist, uh, Stephanie Cohen, who is part of the final day of, of terrific talkers on, uh, Saturday, October 5th.
Any quick responses to what you heard from Stephanie Cohen?
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Stephanie is such a wealth of knowledge and you can tell she's very passionate about her work. Um, so it will probably not surprise some people that, I mean, she, her book was really kind of the creation. Of this four week program series, we saw the book, we recognize it as something special and valuable that we want to share with parents and caregivers.
Um, and we have 200 copies of that first, my first Learn to Talk book, um, that we will be giving out at our programs, um, that Stephanie gave us a nice publisher discount on. So that was very generous of [00:32:00] her. Um, and yeah, we're really excited that her, her book kind of. Gave life to this whole idea. Um, and we've been able to very easily build.
Upon it to expand the, the view,
Gregory Berg: just explain the relationship between this kind of overarching thing called building KPL kids and then this specific event, terrific talkers that begins on, uh, on, on Monday, September 9th.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yeah. So growing KPL kids
Gregory Berg: growing KPL kids. Yeah. Close. Yeah.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Um, yeah, so, uh, a few years ago I was coming back to work off of my first maternity leave and, um.
The, my branch manager at the Northside Library, Jennifer Colu, she had also recently had her first um, child, and we kind of got together and thought, you know, where are some opportunities in library programming that we can really meet parents and caregivers of young children and give them some additional.
Support, um, you know, having both gone through it very [00:33:00] recently ourselves for the first time. Mm-hmm. Um, you know, seeing where maybe we needed support or some of the logistical strategies that might prevent people with young children from making it to the library. Um, those are all very valid concerns.
Nap time. Mm-hmm. In particular. Um, so we kind of thought, you know, what are some of these different kind of more health literacy, early childhood education type programs that maybe we. We should have because we haven't previously. So in the fall of, uh, 2022, we started offering these Grand kpl L Kids programming series.
It was only ever, like once a month, a couple different programs here and there. Um, we had partnered with different, uh. Excuse me, uh, medical providers from Aurora Healthcare. So we had a few speech pathologists come out or occupational therapists come out. Um, we had a few different pelvic floor, um, specialists that came to our baby playtime after baby [00:34:00] story time to talk to, um, new moms about, um, you know, keeping moms strong and taking care of their pelvic floor.
Um, particularly. During pregnancy and postpartum. Um, and we also had started doing developmental screenings at the library. Um, so you know, the developmental screenings are really just a gauge to see, you know, how is your child developing? Are they sort of following the typical trajectory of development?
Um, or maybe there's some areas that, hey, it looks like maybe they are a little behind. Maybe we need some early intervention. And so then they would refer them out to different, um. Targeted specialists like a speech language pathologist such as Stephanie Cohen. Um, and we had, the first time we did the developmental screenings, we had, I think it was like a dozen kids that were all identified as needing kind of a follow up service.
Wow. Um, and connecting them with. With next steps. So these developmental screenings are similar to what you might do [00:35:00] at a pediatrician office during those early, um, you know, well child visits, um, from newborn through, you know, the first couple years they're very regular visits. Um, but some of those visits have six months between them mm-hmm.
Or even more than that. Sure. Um, and early intervention is key. So basically the sooner you can identify these things and the sooner you can get in and intervene. The better the results ultimately. So by, you know, giving, we heard a lot of parents say, wow, this was so nice to be able to do this screen at the library
Gregory Berg: when you were already coming anyway for another event when you're already coming
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: for story time.
Yeah. We knew that, you know, those parents aren't gonna be able to make a special trip out just for a, a parent education program. But if they're already there doing something with their kids. We can kind of sneak that education in.
Gregory Berg: Perfect. It's absolutely fabulous. So we have this series of really, really great events and it's gonna be a busy four weeks that you have put together.
And again, sort of the capstone or culminating event, uh, on Saturday, October 5th, uh, will be this event with, uh, actually several different [00:36:00] events with, with, uh, Stephanie Cohen. But all kinds of other things are gonna be going on as well. Tessie, you were telling me that you're. Your sort of, uh, home base of operation with Kenosha Public Library as early literacy librarian is at the North Side Library.
Is that where all of these events are taking place over the last, uh, next four weeks?
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: They are not all at the North Side Library. Um, the Stephanie's keynote visit on the October 5th is at the North Side Library, um, but they are at branches across the Kenosha Public Library. So the, the first two weeks of programming.
We have a lot of those pre developmental screenings, um, in partnership with Help Me Grow, um, that are occurring at different libraries, um, after their weekly story times. Great. So the first two, uh, screenings are at the Southwest Library. The third one is at our new. Um, KPL kids at Uptown Lofts, the brand new children's library.
And then, um, oh, actually the next two are at the Children's Library. And then we have [00:37:00] a couple more at Northside after that. And then the last day we have one at Northside and Southwest. So we're, we're bouncing around all the different age groups, all the different libraries.
Gregory Berg: That's great. I mean, of course.
And that's a really important thing to do. Well, let's give you an opportunity to just sort of talk your way through this busy schedule of different events, beginning with the kickoff, uh, coming up on Monday, September 9th. It's,
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: yeah. So, uh, as we mentioned, the, the first two weeks of our Terrific Talkers, um, program Slate is really focused on those developmental screenings.
Um, and. People are already there at the library. So, uh, these free developmental screenings, it's not just about speech, it's about, you know, also fine motor development using those tiny little hand muscles. Mm-hmm. And building that hand dexterity. It's also about gross motor, social, emotional, there's lots of different parts of the screen.
Um, but one of them would include language and and communication. Um, so all of those are just happening right after our story times. Um, you can get. We'll be giving away [00:38:00] free copies of Stephanie's first book in her series at the screens. Um, our partner, uh, help me Grow. We'll also have, um, some giveaways for those who complete the developmental screenings.
Um, and then aside from those eight different screenings across two weeks, um, we do have a couple one-off programs with some other community. Partners. Uh, the first of those would be Saturday, September 14th, which is Terrific Talkers Sing. And that is at our Northside library, um, at 10 30 for anybody who's marking their calendar.
Um, and that is essentially a free kinder music class with, um, our local Harmony music school here in Kenosha.
Gregory Berg: Mm-hmm.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Um, and we are very excited to be able to offer that. Um, and talk about how music and, you know, singing. With young children is ultimately helping their language and speech development.
Music kind of slows the language down. It has a rhythm, it keeps the child excited and entertained. Um, and again, kind of helps with that memorization and [00:39:00] repetition if they, you know, are starting to learn the song, the words to the song, um, and things like that. So. We're very excited for that, um, free kinder music class, um, particularly because, you know, not everybody can afford to enroll their kid in something like that.
So it's a really nice opportunity to have a free class, um, and get people exposed to the importance of singing and, um, its role in speech development with children.
Gregory Berg: Fantastic.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yeah. And then, uh, let's see. The next one-off program that we have is Thursday, September 26th. And that's terrific talkers, right?
And that is at our new, um, children's library, uh, in the bottom level of the Uptown Lofts apartment on 22nd there. Um, and that is at 11 o'clock. So this is right after, um, our baby story time that is at. The new KPL l Kids library. Um, and we will be having a kid power occupational therapist and, um, local art educator, Linda Potter, who will be there, [00:40:00] um, to really talk about how art making is foundational for developing those pre-writing skills.
Um, through sensory play. Hmm. Um, so that, you know, is helping foster fine motor skills, problem solving, emotional expression, um, and creativity. So we will have, um, Casey Pon, who is a pediatric occupational therapist from Kid Power. She will be there, um, at that event talking about why creative play is so valuable for communication.
Um, and then, uh, local art educator, Linda Potter, who will be there. Um. Helping facilitate the messy fun.
Gregory Berg: So
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: we're very excited for that. Um, a couple days later, we have our terrific talkers play, and that will be at our Southwest Library at 10 30 in the morning, and that is in partnership with Simply Spoken Therapy.
So we have another talented speech language pathologist, Amanda Townsend, who is coming in, um, for a session to help, uh, caregivers discover different types of developmentally [00:41:00] appropriate play to really help support their child's communication at every stage. Um, we know early childhood, you know, development.
Big differences between a newborn, a three month old, a six month old, a nine month old. There's lots of development happening there. So finding ways to, you know, work it in for wherever your child might be at. Um, we've got a little bit of something for everybody.
Gregory Berg: Yeah.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: And it all builds upon itself.
Gregory Berg: Right, exactly.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: So let's see then after that, um, this brings us to the first week of October and the last week of our terrific Talkers programming series. Uh, we have our at home with terrific talkers. Which is in partnership with Early Head Start, um, talking about. How to work those building blocks of language into the family routines at home.
So we'll have some open-ended activities, um, and different ideas of things you can do at home with your young child to help encourage that speech. Um, I think a lot of this will, will be some of the similar [00:42:00] content that Stephanie will be talking about during her last keynote session of the power of verbal routines.
Um, that'll. Probably be a little bit of overlap there. Um, so great for people who, you know, maybe can only make one or not the other. You'll get at least some of the same content. Um, but you should go to both if you
Gregory Berg: can.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Um, and then Wednesday, October 2nd, we had at Mealtime with terrific talkers. Which is, um, in partnership with Aurora Healthcare, we have another speech pathologist, Trevor Harris, who will be joining us.
So for anyone keeping track, that's three different speech pathologists, um, as part of this terrific talker series. Um, and Trevor will be there talking about making mealtime fun and rewarding. So different ways to present food to children, different behavioral techniques you can use, um, for success, what sort of milestones you can look for and when you might need some help.
Um, and so then all of that culminates with Stephanie's, uh, [00:43:00] visit on Saturday, October 5th, where she will be presenting three of those different, um, workshops. The first one targeted more for early childhood educators, um, and they, if they attend the live session, they will also be, um, able to get continuing education credit.
Through the Wisconsin registry. Um, so that's a great opportunity to work in the, um, continuing education for those educators. We're very excited to offer that. Yeah. Um, and so that first session is imitation and communication, making connections, and that is at nine 30 on Saturday, October 5th, the North Side Library.
Um, we will have all of these, all of Stephanie's, um, keynote sessions will be. Obviously in person, but we do have virtual live streaming options as well. Ah, so if you can't make it in person, um, you can register and get, and get the link to, um, watch along on Zoom. Um, her second session is Opportunities for Learning, meeting Your C Child, child where they are.
Um, that starts at 10 [00:44:00] 45 and is for parents and caregivers. Um. We know that, you know, parents and caregivers, young children, your kids are probably coming with, especially if you can't find, um, childcare. And so you are absolutely welcome to bring your children. We will have some toys and things for them to interact with.
There's a family restroom nearby if we need to go out and change any diapers. Um, you know, keep your baby fed however you need to during the session. That's, that's the case at any library program. Mm-hmm. You know, we're the babies. The boss.
Gregory Berg: Absolutely. We wanna
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: make them happy, you take care of them and we'll help take care of you.
Gregory Berg: Wow. Love it. Love it. What a fabulous layout of, of programs and, and again, I mean, whatever people are able to take in, uh, it's just, uh, a, a tremendous opportunity and, uh, and these opportunities are free.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Absolutely.
Gregory Berg: I mean, it's something we probably can't underline too much. I wanna be sure to give you a chance to just say a quick word about, uh, some of the [00:45:00] concerns that have been raised about, uh.
Early literacy and particularly, uh, reading, uh, ability among, uh, some of the, uh, the, the youngsters in, uh, in, in the city of Kenosha. And, uh, why that is, you know, really the inspiration for all of this effort that is currently underway.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yeah, absolutely. So, uh, first you learn how to read and then you read to learn.
Gregory Berg: Hmm.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: And so children when they're in school though, that kind of reading instruction really starts kindergarten, first, second grade. But by the time that kids are in third grade, a lot of that reading instruction in the main classroom ends. Um, and if you're still struggling with your literacy skills in third grade, where all of a sudden you're expected to be able to learn, to read, to learn the content, if you're struggling just with the reading, you know, it's easy to get left behind and then.
We have of course, reading intervention specialists who, who kind of start coming in and [00:46:00] things like that, but. Most of your peers are off to the races.
Gregory Berg: Mm-hmm. Um,
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: and that third grade reading level proficiency, um, has been proven to be sort of a, a strong indicator of future success, um, in a child, adult life.
And in Kenosha, we have seen, um, it's on the rise now, so we, we've got a bright horizon coming, but we have seen a recent decline in that third grade reading proficiency. Um, in 2015, it was about.
This is a monthly test of the Southeast and south central Wisconsin Emergency Alert System. In the event of an emergency, this system would bring you important information. This test is now concluded.[00:47:00]
Gregory Berg: You were, you were saying Tess.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yes. So, um, in 2015, about 48% of, um, children in Kenosha were reading that benchmark as being proficient, um, in third grade reading. Um, and then we start to see an unfortunate down trend, um, in that, um, and the lowest. Not surprising to anybody. Um, was during 2020, you know, as Covid hit that third grade, uh, reading proficiency was down to just 27%.
Wow. In Kenosha, which is so sad.
Gregory Berg: And so scary.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yeah. And scary.
Gregory Berg: Yeah.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Real, a really devastating number.
Gregory Berg: So you're saying that there are some signs of. Uh, encouraging signs that, uh, that the, this level is coming back up again, but, uh, in a sense to take no chances and to not just allow it to naturally rise. Uh, all of this programming at the Kenosha [00:48:00] Public Library, all of it free, uh, is really designed to, to help bring about as much.
Uh, improvement and robustness in those reading rates as possible. Yeah. So if people want to register to, uh, attend, I mean, is that something they need to do in order to attend these events that you were laying out today?
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yes. So. None of the programs require registration except for Stephanie's ah, visit on that last day, October 5th.
Gregory Berg: And if people want to register or want to see this calendar of events for themselves, 'cause it's of course a dizzying amount of information, where do they look?
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Yes. Uh, you could absolutely go to the library website, um, and look at our event calendar for all of our programming, not just the terrific Talker series, but if you just wanna look at the terrific talkers information, you could go to, uh, my kpl.
Us slash talkers. And that will bring up a whole nice webpage with all of the different, um, logistical information for all those [00:49:00] programming, um, events, as well as more information about what each program is.
Gregory Berg: Fantastic. We'll try to add that, uh, link to, uh. Our webpage as well. If people Wonderful. Look up this event.
Uh, let this interview, uh, in our morning show archive. Tessa Fox Pek is early literacy librarian at the Kenosha Public Library and one of the chief organizers of this wonderful, terrific talkers series of events that kickoff this Monday, September 9th. Tessa, thank you so much for being here. It was great to meet you and to hear about all the great work going on at the Kenosha Public Library.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Absolutely. We are so happy to have a little extra. Promotion for this really valuable series that we are super excited about.
Gregory Berg: That's why we're here. Thank you again for being here.
Tessa—Kenosha Public Library: Thank you.
Gregory Berg: Tomorrow in the morning show, Ashley Hanson from Carthage College. She is the vice president of enrollment and we will be talking with her about the long, complicated, fascinating process of student recruitment.
This is W-G-T-D-H-D, Kenosha Racine, Elkhorn in Lake Geneva.