Assisting Children with Velocardiofacial Syndrome Who Have Developmental Disabilities and Delays Associated with Speech, Communication, and Education

Children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) have a variety of complex needs. Research shows that VCFS is characterized by a combination of medical problems, developmental delays, and learning disabilities, which vary from child to child. This syndrome also puts adolescents at a higher risk for developing psychiatric and psychotic disorders. The complexity of symptoms that can arise from VCFS can influence the ability of these children to communicate, socialize, and learn effectively. This literature review aims to discuss literature for caregivers, educators, and physicians to aid children effectively and understand their challenges relating to speech, communication, and education. This topic is important to me because my younger brother was diagnosed with VCFS at birth. After understanding the background of the syndrome from the formation of the palate, speech production, communication, and emergence of psychiatric disorders, it is much easier to make the necessary adjustments to assist these children to learn more effectively

Lo que compra un dólar (What a Dollar Buys)

Students in USD’s SPAN 330: Reading and Writing for Communication course wrote a collection of stories for their mid semester creative writing project. For this project, students were challenged to write an original text in Spanish that included an object purchased at a dollar store. This project was inspired by the Dollar Storeys, a series of short audio stories produced by Chicago Public Radio and The Dollar Store Show. In Lo que compra un dólar, audience will learn about the story behind a sad elf boy, the reason for misshaped animal crackers, the enablement a scrunchy can give, the hidden powers of a garden gnome, the life of an energy drink container, the multidimensional experience that reading glasses can offer, the idyll benefits of a garden