Working together to promote language development
Why are we working on language development?
In the past, the Local Action Committee (CAL) put in place actions to promote language development. While these actions certainly had an impact, we find that the problems still exist.
Field observations and figures from the Quebec Survey of Child Development in Kindergarten (EQDEM) show that children in our territory need support when it comes to language development, and this is doubly true for the Anglophone community. That’s why, during the 2017 Strategic Planning process, Memphré en Mouvement partners decided to work on this area of child development.
The Work of the Committee
The work of the Committee on Language Development began in May 2018. The committee was comprised of representatives from CPEs, community organizations, schools, the health care centre and municipalities.
The process that was initiated by the committee began with a survey of current language development services in the Memphrémagog MRC. The aim was to determine where we should focus our energies in order to come up with an action plan. To make our projects a reality, we created two working committees, each with its own specific mandate.
The goal of the Promotion Committee is to promote information support services pertaining to language development. These services need to reach the entire population (e.g. Anglophones, people with low levels of literacy), and be available throughout the territory. The goal of the Prevention and Referral Committee, on the other hand, is to implement actions that will be helpful in identifying and supporting children who are at risk of developing language problems.
The Concept of Community Speech Therapy
The work that’s underway is based on the work by a group of researchers on community speech therapy. According to this concept, we all have a role to play in the language development of children. Hence, by working collaboratively, we can prevent problems from occurring, carry out early interventions and empower families.
We look forward to sharing the fruits of our labour with you throughout the coming year.
