The Problem
Of the approximately 60,000 children born in Ireland every year, 10% will experience a significant speech language and communication difficulty. Their parents face many obstacles and challenges to access timely and effective support for their children, particularly in the crucial early years of their milestone development. Also, the increased presence of the smartphone in our homes may be negatively impacting our children's early speech, language and communication development. We are still not fully aware of what the long term impact of the increased use off smart phones in our homes is having on our children’s development.
Approx. 60,000 children are born every year in Ireland.
10% of children have Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
7% of children have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
50% of children in areas of social disadvantage start school with language delay
Over 30,000 children are waiting for Speech, Language and Psychology services
2 children in every class of 30 have a Developmental Language Difficulty
The Impact on Children
A. Making Friends
B. Classroom
C. Learning
D. Task Avoidance
Not answering questions
Not listening
E. Literacy
F. Difficulty
Telling Stories
Understanding
Low self esteem
G. Emotional Wellbeing
The Solution
Hello, I am Camilla. I am the founder of Toddler-Talk. I have been working as a parent, education and behavioural consultant for over twenty years. I have noticed a sharp increase over recent years in children experiencing speech-language and communication difficulties.
I am increasingly frustrated by the long waiting times parents face to access assessment, intervention and support for children with specific concerns about their child’s speech, language and communication development.
I also think that although major advances in technology have created wonderful opportunities for all of us to stay connected to wider communities all over the world, the increasing presence of smartphones in all our lives may lead to a disruption in the early childhood developmental journey.
So, in 2019, I decided to develop a parent-friendly support service, “Toddler-Talk", for all parents to effectively equip and empower them to support their child’s early developmental journey. Early intervention, prevention, and parents' empowerment to support and enrich their child’s early milestone developmental journey are key tenets of Toddler-Talk’s mission.
Toddler Talk has been on a fascinating journey over the past two years; please read on to learn more about that journey.
The Journey So Far
1. March 2019 - Idea for Toddler Talk pitched to the SEI Awards Panel.
2. May 2019 - Awarded place on SEI Ideas Academy.
3. October 2019 - Awarded Seed funding by SEI to support the Toddler Talk service's initial developmental stages.
4. March 2020 - Awarded Feasibility grant from LEO to support the Toddler Talk interactive platform's development.
5. September 2020 - Awarded a place on the SEI Action Lab programme.
6. November 2020 - Awarded Seed funding by SEI to further develop the Toddler Talk interactive platform.
7. February 2021 - Awarded Trading Online Voucher Funding by LEO to support the Toddler Talk interactive platform's online launch.
8. March 2021 - Toddler Talk launches a new interactive platform.
The Toddler Talk Service
ACTIVITY BOX: Free to Use and easily accessible activities to support early childhood development at 7 stages.
PASSPORT: Parent-Friendly Assessment, Measurement and Monitoring tool.
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SUPPORT; PROFESSIONAL LISTING PAGE: Cost-effective and timely access to online consultation and advice from early childhood professionals:
I would like to acknowledge the wonderful support, financial, emotional, business and mentorship from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) in the development of Toddler Talk. I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful support, financial, business and mentorship from my Local Louth Enterprise (LEO) office in the development of Toddler Talk.