Recording of Lydia Soifer Red Flags and Warning Signs: A Language Problem is Lurking! Webinar

Language is a most remarkable gift.  It is essential in our personal interactions as the essence of our communication skills.  Listening and speaking language skills lay the foundation for all aspects of literacy, from decoding and comprehension to spelling and writing.  Children begin to process language the moment they are born and most certainly, they are learning to read just as soon as they hit the air!  There are early milestones to be achieved as the foundation for future learning.  What happens when those milestones are not achieved?  How early can we identify delays?  What are the risks of “Oh, don’t worry she’ll outgrow it?” What are those milestones and red flags that should never be ignored?  This webinar will help make clear just how early children begin to acquire crucial comprehension and production skills, as well as what to watch for, and what to do.

PRESENTER BIO:

Dr. Soifer is a language pathologist with more than 50 years of experience in clinical and private practice, as well as university teaching.  For its highly respected and valued 25-year tenure, Dr. Soifer was the founder and director of The Soifer Center for Learning and Child Development, which was the first multidisciplinary private diagnostic and remedial setting established in Westchester County.  Dr. Soifer continues to provide educational consultation and advocacy services to families on behalf of their children, in coordination with other professionals and schools. As a parent educator, teacher trainer, and staff developer, she specializes in the role of language in the development of children's learning, literacy, behavior, and social-emotional development. Classroom Language Dynamics ©, the teacher training program Dr. Soifer designed, is used in a variety of school settings to empower teachers and invigorate learners of all kinds.  A frequent presenter at local, national and international conferences, Dr. Soifer focuses on guiding all educational professionals to answer the essential question, “Who is this child?” She is also the author of a chapter entitled, The Development of Oral Language and its Relationship to Literacy for a textbook published in September 1999 by Brookes, Multisensory Structured Language Teaching: Theory and Practice, now published in a 4^th edition, as well as a contributor to local publications. In 2017, Dr. Soifer was the honoree of the Eagle Hill School, Greenwich, CT at their annual gala.  In 2022, Dr. Soifer received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Smart Kids with LD of Wilton, CT. A respected educator, Dr. Soifer served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, CT and the Gateway School of New York, in New York City. Additionally, she is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and faculty member in the Early Intervention Training Institute (EITI), both at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  Dr. Soifer is the Director of Language and Methodology at the Torah and Language (TAL) Academy in Belle Harbor, New York.