- The phenomenon, speech pathologist Nancy Polow says, is part of a concerning trend in kids born during or shortly before the pandemic
- Compounding the crisis, when parents sought help, they were met with lockdown-related roadblocks, such as mask restrictions and telehealth meetings
- Now the restrictions have lessened, Polow says, parents are scrambling to address these failures, signing up for pricey speech therapy sessions
- A growing body of academic research also supports Polow’s claim that children born over the past three or so years possessing weaker verbal skills
A New Jersey speech therapist says she’s recently seen a wave of infants and toddlers ‘unable to communicate’ after being born during the pandemic – one of several now-surfacing consequences of school and day care closures seen over the past few years.
The phenomenon, speech pathologist Nancy Polow says, is part of a concerning trend in kids born during or shortly before the pandemic, who are ‘falling behind’ on key milestones due to a lack of social interaction during that time span.
Compounding the crisis, when parents sought help, they were often met with lockdown-related roadblocks, such as masking restrictions, the challenge of tele-health appointments for toddlers, and fear of in-person therapy. read more
