ROCKVILLE, Maryland, May 1, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — One quarter of U.S. parents of children ages 0–8 have had concerns about their child’s ability to communicate, according to poll results released today by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) for national Better Hearing & Speech Month. At the same time, parents who were polled overwhelmingly agree that speech, language, and hearing developmental milestones are among the most important in life.

Commissioned by ASHA and conducted this spring by YouGov, this nationally representative poll of more than 1,100 parents revealed perceptions of communication and communication disorders among the most populous racial and ethnic groups—White, Black or African American, and Hispanic households. Most common among parents were concerns about speech development, followed by language concerns and then hearing-related worries.

Besides parents’ concerns about their children’s ability to communicate, the poll revealed the actions that parents took. Seventy-three percent of all parents who had concerns sought treatment, with 8 in 10 of those reporting that they perceived “a great deal” or “a good amount” of improvement after treatment. Speech-language pathologists headed the list of professionals that parents sought help from for their children’s speech and language issues; for hearing problems, pediatricians were the most commonly consulted, followed closely by audiologists.

The poll is the latest activity of ASHA’s Identify the Signs campaign, which educates the public about the warning signs of communication disorders. It marks the first time the campaign has done such comprehensive polling among the general population of parents, including a view into racial and ethnic minority groups. This coincides with the 50th anniversary year of ASHA’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, a landmark development in the organization’s long history of leadership in the realm of diversity.

“This poll offers a rich picture of how U.S. households view communication development, communication disorders, and treatment,” ASHA 2019 President Shari Robertson, PhD, CCC-SLP, said.

“While it is encouraging that parents across the board reported that they often seek help from our professionals and see their children’s communication health improve significantly with treatment, the polling also found that more than one quarter of parents with concerns hadn’t sought treatment. This is far too many when it comes to communication health, something parents themselves strongly agreed is important to their children’s well-being. Since communication disorders are highly treatable, this is an especially unfortunate missed opportunity for those children.”

According to the poll results, the top reasons parents gave for not seeking treatment were uncertainty about where to get treatment; pediatricians telling them that their children would grow out of the problem; a child’s school or teacher saying there wasn’t a problem; parents thinking that the concern didn’t seem like a big deal; and parents not knowing where to start or who to contact. 

In addition, whether parents had concerns or not, the polling suggests that too many families are in the dark about communication disorders and are not doing all that they can to foster the development of their children’s communication skills.

Just 23% of parents were able to correctly identify 75% or more of the signs of communication disorders provided in the survey. And just 5% were able to correctly identify all the signs of communication disorders provided.

In terms of fostering the development of communication skills, 9 in 10 respondents correctly identified activities that have a positive impact on communication skills, such as talking/having verbal interactions with others and being read to by family members. However, in practice, only 46% said that their children are read to 5–7 days a week.

More than half of all parents said that not enough information about communication disorders is available. Four in 10 received information from their child’s pediatrician, and nearly as many (35%) report receiving information from media sources. Compared with White families, more Black or African American and Hispanic families report receiving information via media sources.

According to ASHA President Robertson, “It is incumbent on us to keep spreading the word to as many communities as we can—to build the information and education flow about ways to foster a child’s communication development, as well as be informed about the signs of communication disorders and the availability of effective treatment.

“Our polling also showed that some parents may not fully trust their own instincts—less than half (42%) strongly agreed that they know their child and their child’s needs the best. I would encourage them to trust themselves more and get professional help right away if they sense something is wrong. Early intervention is absolutely key.”

For more information about the signs of communication disorders and related topics, visit http://IdentifytheSigns.org.

CONTACT
Francine Pierson
301-296-8715
[email protected]

SOURCE American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Rise of E-Cigarettes Represents a Tobacco Tipping Point for Hispanic Youth

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — “E-cigarettes are addicting a new generation of smokers and online retail sales are a driving force. We applaud the bipartisan introduction today of the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act to close the online door to underage sales and protect the health of our children,” said Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the nation’s leading Hispanic health advocacy group.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during 2017-2018 e-cigarette use increased 77.8% among high school and 48.5% among middle school students. Furthermore, while Hispanic adults are the group least likely to smoke, among middle school students Hispanics are the group most likely to use e-cigarettes, representing a new tobacco tipping point. Online sales are a critical component of access to e-cigarettes. Analysis of Nielson data estimates that 25% of the projected $2 billion of e-cigarette sales in 2018 will be through online channels.

Online sales are attractive to youth, as online and mobile advertising platforms are popular places for e-cigarette advertising, including ads for flavored products appealing to youth. Age restrictions on purchase are also easy to avoid online. A 2014 study of internet tobacco vendors selling e-cigarettes found a majority (63.2%) used age-verification methods that could not effectively verify the age of a consumer or made no attempts to verify age at all.

The Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act addresses this issue by applying safeguards to e-cigarette online purchases identical to those already in place to prevent underage online purchases of regular cigarette and smokeless tobacco. Online sellers would be required to:

• verify the purchaser’s age-related information before shipment;
• use shipping method that requires the receiving party to show proof of age and sign for receipt of the package;
• label packages that contain e-cigarette products; and,
• comply with State and local tobacco tax requirements.

Online sellers of e-cigarettes would also be required to register with the U.S. Attorney General. Furthermore, package delivery services would be banned from completing shipments for any seller appearing on the U.S. Attorney General’s noncompliant sellers listing.

“E-cigarette sales are driving a youth tobacco tipping point.  It is time for us to protect youth and give parents the tools they need to ensure their children cannot easily evade age restrictions on purchase of e-cigarettes. We applaud Senators Feinstein (D-CA), Cornyn (R-TX), and Van Hollen (D-MD) on their introduction today of this common-sense bipartisan legislation to protect children and families,” concluded Dr. Delgado.

About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (The Alliance) — The Alliance is the nation’s foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the health of Hispanics in the United States with a mission to achieve the best health for all. For more information visit us www.healthyamericas.org

SOURCE National Alliance for Hispanic Health