BumbleBee video series helps late talking children

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This article was published 26/05/2004 (7772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHEN Sherri Baldwin found out her son Nicholas had a speech delay, she began scouring the Internet for any information that could help him.

After searching various websites and message boards and talking online with parents in similar situations, she came across a set of videos that were really helpful to her son.

Through her research, Baldwin had heard a lot about a series of videos called Baby BumbleBee Vocabulary Builders, which teach infants and toddlers to recognize and pronounce words.

“I ended up buying one off E-Bay, and I really, really liked it. My son loved it,” said Baldwin.

Nicholas, who is now almost four years old but was two at the time, had trouble developing his speech, and was placed in speech therapy.

“His parents were very concerned. He had been late to start talking and when he did it wasn’t clear at all,” said Lisa Fehr, who was Nicholas’s speech language pathologist at the Children’s Hospital. “He was quite smart. He really understood well but he had trouble producing sounds and putting them together in sentences.

“He became very shy and withdrawn because no one understood him,” said Fehr.

Fehr worked with Nicholas for one hour per week for three months, and he made some great progress, said Baldwin. But Baldwin found that the videos also helped during his spare time.

“(The videos) would prompt him to say words. Before that he knew he couldn’t say certain words so he wouldn’t even try.”

Fehr liked her young client’s videos as well.

“They’re fabulous,” she said. “They present the words in a kid-friendly, repetitive, fun way.”

But Fehr is quick to note that speech therapy is still far more important than educational videos.

“The videos are not to replace speech therapy. They’re just a tool to help get the language going,” she said. “Speech and language delays can be serious and may require ongoing therapy. Videos are not a cure-all.”

Fehr said parents are always asking her if there is a video or CD that can help their children when they are at home. This is what she now recommends.

Baby BumbleBee (www.babybumblebee.com) makes five Vocabulary Builder tapes, as well as an Action Words verb series, a numerical video and other educational videos and DVDs. The tapes are intended for infants and toddlers who learn to speak at a normal rate. Baldwin’s daughter Julia is two, and just loves the tapes. Fehr said many parents of late talking and autistic children have found them helpful as well.

Baby BumbleBee had previously only been available in the U.S., on the Internet, and at one toy store in Toronto. Baldwin arranged to bring them to Manitoba six months ago. They are available at the Explore Store and at A Child’s Place at St. Vital Centre.

PHOTO LINDA WENSEL/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS