Reply to COVIDs Continuing Impact on Reading Scores

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I believed in masking and the COVID vaccine, so it isn't as if I am a kooky anti-science proponent. But as a school psychologist, I’ve noticed something striking in that the first- and second-graders at my school [b]who were about one to two years old when the global lockdowns occurred[/b] are significantly behind in reading. Compared with the kindergarteners and the third- through fifth-graders, there seems to be a clear developmental gap.

Their phonological awareness also seems weaker. Many of them struggle more than expected with rhyming and blending sounds, and their ability to follow multi-step directions is often limited. Taken together, these patterns look different from what we typically see in early elementary development.
It makes me wonder whether researchers will eventually find that a combination of social isolation and widespread mask use during a critical period of early language development had lasting effects. Masks can reduce the clarity and volume of speech AND  obscure mouth movements that young children rely on for visual cues when learning sounds. [b]Muffled speech and the inability to see how sounds are formed (due to others wearing masks) may have made it harder for some children to develop early language and phonological skills.[/b]

Obviously, this could just be a fluke at the two schools I work at, but I just had this conversation with some other school psychologists a week ago who have noticed the same thing. [/quote]
You might find the below articles interesting (I found them fascinating!)—the first two cover studies suggesting that babies are primed for face-to-face interaction (and learning) much earlier than previously thought. Another discusses how babies seem to recognize masked faces, and an additional article is on how infants’ brains seek language that boosts their cognition.

[i]Babies’ Brains Are Wired for Faces at Birth, Study Reveals[/i]
https://www.sciencenewstoday.org/babies-brains-are-wired-for-faces-at-birth-study-reveals

[i]Infants as Young as Two Months May Be Able to Detect Faces and Scenes[/i]
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/infants-as-young-as-two-months-may-be-able-to-detect-faces-and-scenes/

[i]Babies Remember Faces Despite Face Masks, UC Davis Study Suggests[/i]
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/babies-remember-faces-despite-face-masks-uc-davis-study-suggests

[i]Baby Talk and Lemur Chatter—but Not Birdsong—Help an Infant’s Brain Develop[/i]
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/baby-talk-and-lemur-chatter-but-not-birdsong-help-an-infants-brain-develop/[/quote]

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