After Covid, a spike in speech delays
Plus: A Quail Hollow tournament of a different kind; Is the Uptown Cabaret's building historic after all?; Eastland saga to continue at council meeting today; Hornets' new owner on GameStop
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The number of young children who need help with speech delays has skyrocketed, speech pathologists say; ‘under-stimulation of language’ in critical first few years
Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center, a nonprofit practice, serves 3,200 children in Union and Mecklenburg counties. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center)
by Lindsey Banks
Katie Irwin’s 3-year-old son was just a newborn when the pandemic shut down the world. His social circle was limited to his parents and babysitter — all who knew his nonverbal cues.
Because of that, Irwin thinks, her son, R.A. (she asked to use his initials due to privacy) didn’t see a reason to talk. He knew a few words in sign language and was surrounded by people who could guess what he wanted. He wasn’t challenged by other children or unfamiliar adults to use words to express his needs.
“There was no storytime at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library when he was really little,” Irwin said. “There was no playing with other kids at the park in a shared space. Everybody kept to their own area if you went to a playground.”
R.A. was Katie and her husband Tom’s first child, and Katie said they weren’t fully aware of the typical speech benchmarks for children. But they did have a niece and knew that at 9 months old, R.A. should at least be trying to form simple words. By 20 months, they grew so concerned that they had him evaluated for a speech delay and enrolled him in speech therapy.
Speech and language experts say they're seeing a skyrocketing number of children with speech delays like R.A.'s, who have been diagnosed since the pandemic.
“The impact on children from birth to 3 during the pandemic was particularly severe as a result of the significant under-stimulation of language that young children experienced during that time,” said Shannon Tucker, executive director of Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center.
Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center is a nonprofit founded in 1967 that serves 3,200 children across Union and Mecklenburg counties regardless of insurance coverage.
Tucker said that in the fall of 2019, Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center screened over 2,200 children and saw about a 20% average fail rate across both counties, meaning that 20% of children needed speech therapy services. In the fall of 2022, that failure rate hit nearly 50% across all income levels. In some areas with higher concentrations of poverty, as many as 65% to 70% of those children failed their screenings, she said.
For some families, it can be a long road between recognizing that their child is having a speech delay and getting help.
When the Irwins first spoke to R.A.’s pediatrician about his speech around 9 months, she told them that male children are generally slower to develop speech than female children. She wasn’t concerned yet.
When R.A. was around 20 months old, Katie Irwin said that although it was clear her son understood what they were saying when they asked him to complete tasks, he still wasn’t trying to talk. They took him to get a speech evaluation and learned that his receptive speech, or how he understands language, was above average, but his expressive speech, or how he expresses himself through words, was below average.
Because his receptive speech score was so high, his overall evaluation score averaged only slightly below average, so the Irwins said their insurance provider didn’t recognize the need for speech therapy and wouldn’t cover it.
The Irwins turned to Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center to get R.A. the care he needed. He met with a speech-language pathologist once a week at first, and then moved to twice a week. His speech-language pathologist played games with R.A., and Katie Irwin said he looked forward to going to therapy.
The importance of early intervention: Tucker, who worked as a speech-language pathologist before her role as executive director of CSHC, said early vocabulary development of children before age 5 is a big predictor of how well they’ll read in third grade, as well as whether they’ll graduate from high school.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association sent a survey earlier this year to 5,460 ASHA-certified audiologists and 5,534 ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists in the U.S. Of the 858 recipients who responded, ASHA reported:
80% of respondents believe the pandemic affected referrals and requests for evaluation of young children
69% of respondents said they are getting more referrals/requests for evaluation of young children than they did before the pandemic began.
64% of SLP respondents who reported an increase in evaluations after the pandemic believe that the main cause for the increase is limited opportunities for social interaction or play with peers.
Tucker added that during the pandemic, children whose parents worked remotely often saw an increase in screen time, as parents were often forced to use iPads and TV to entertain their children. There were fewer two-way conversations, which are critical for complex language development.
Masks also proved to be a hindrance in language development.
“Babies begin lip reading around 8 months of age, which corresponds to the time they typically start doing more complex babbling that then turns into words,” Tucker said. “They continue to rely on lip reading to help their language comprehension as they’re developing new vocabulary. This is especially true for children who are dual language learners.”
Tucker said that screenings and speech delay diagnoses have not returned to pre-pandemic numbers yet. The center is offering free 15-minute screenings during the summer.
“We typically screen children most frequently between the age of 3 to 5, so we're still working through those children who had their first critical years during the pandemic,” Tucker said. “I’m hoping that we'll see the tide start to turn in the next couple of years.”
Many families held off on bringing their children in for screenings during the height of the pandemic, and Tucker said that it was difficult to get an appointment when Covid restrictions were lifted because offices were overwhelmed.
R.A. started therapy in December 2021 and ended in October 2022. When he finished therapy, he was speaking at his grade level.
Katie Irwin had another son in July 2021, but by the time he was old enough to be out in public, the pandemic had receded, and storytimes and music classes were back. He also had an older brother to interact with at home.
“R.A.’s world was so small, and he was so understood, even if he wasn’t speaking verbally, he was able to express what he wanted to us,” Irwin said. “He was exposed to fewer people speaking [during the pandemic], and I think it had a very significant impact.”
Lindsey Banks is a staff reporter for The Ledger. Reach her at lindsey@cltledger.com
Today’s supporting sponsor is Landon A. Dunn, attorney-at-law in Matthews:
A different kind of Quail Hollow tournament is coming in September
There’s an upcoming opportunity for non-members to play at the exclusive Quail Hollow Club in south Charlotte — but no, it’s not to play golf.
InReach, a nonprofit organization that supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will host its first pickleball tournament in September on Quail Hollow’s four pickleball courts. The fundraiser, called InReach Smash, will go toward an activities coordinator position at InReach’s activities center, which provides arts and music activities and socialization opportunities for the individuals the nonprofit serves.
“People just love pickleball,” said Kathi Knier, InReach’s chief development officer. “It just seemed like a terrific opportunity to go ahead and jump on the bandwagon and establish a fundraiser that is really fun and engaging for InReach but at a different kind of place with it being at Quail Hollow Club than anything we’ve ever done before.”
InReach is known for its annual cornhole tournament fundraiser called Crown Town Throwdown, which was held in April at Lenny Boy Brewing Co. Knier said 142 teams of two participated in the tournament and raised $150,000.
Knier said that Quail Hollow Club is donating its facility and four pickleball courts for InReach Smash.
InReach is currently selling sponsorships to those interested in participating in the tournament. There are opportunities for 64 players of all levels to compete in the tournament.
Knier says InReach hopes to raise $50,000 with InReach Smash. The last day to register is Aug. 30, and the tournament will be held Sept. 16. —LB
Related Ledger article:
“Charity Spotlight: InReach works to give adults with disabilities as much independence as possible” (July 2022)
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How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
Is the Uptown Cabaret building historic after all? Article says it’s more than 90 years old
There is now construction fencing around the old Uptown Cabaret building on Morehead Street, which closed last month to make way for a $700M development that’s expected to eventually contain two towers of 40+ stories each.
Although Uptown Cabaret has been there for more than 25 years, few people have publicly mourned its demise. There seems to be little significance to the closing of a strip club.
Or is there?
In his excellent newsletter
, writer digs into the history of the Uptown Cabaret building, which — surprisingly — he finds was built around 1930:This feels right in the heart of Charlotte now, but was firmly in the suburbs during the Depression. Real estate records say the two-story building was erected in 1932, but old fire insurance maps appear to show it there in 1929. Newspaper ads from the time indicate that the first occupant was a grocery store. There wasn’t much else nearby.
In 1934, the building became home to Reese’s Antiques Shop, which declared itself to have the “South’s finest collection of authentic antiques.” This wasn’t, like, a junky antiques store. The owners, Simon and Florence Perlin, would make regular trips to Europe to find chandeliers, china, chairs, oil paintings, furniture, and more. It was a Charlotte fixture in that spot for two decades until it moved out to Providence Road in Myers Park in 1954. …
After Reese’s moved out of that two-story building at Morehead and Tryon, Charlotte financier E.B. Stone renovated it into a “very modern” style and moved his company into the top floor in August 1956.
The building had a variety of uses and tenants until 1995, when, Markovich says, “a 53-year-old man named Daniel Seeman … looked at the old gray office building at Tryon and Morehead and saw potential. ‘The location is almost idyllic,’ he said of its spot near the stadium and the convention center. So, he applied for a permit. To open a strip club.”
Although the building is more than 90 years old, that fact on its own is probably not enough to qualify it as a historic site. The piece quotes planning commissioner Clayton Sealey and historian Tom Hanchett as saying it would need to be connected to a historical event or architectural style and not been modified to achieve a historic designation.
Unintentionally accurate: The funny thing is that The Ledger was unintentionally ahead of this revelation. Our April Fools’ issue this year, with completely made-up information, turned out to be more accurate than we knew at the time. One of its articles — “New towers in jeopardy? Beloved longtime business requests historic status” — included the lines:
Uptown Cabaret has been in business since 1995 and has a historically significant facade and dancer poles, some of which are more than a century old. The site has been home to a series of different adult businesses hosting burlesque shows and “exotic dancers” since colonial times.
Sure, no evidence has emerged — yet — that the club’s dancer poles are historic artifacts, or that other adult businesses operated on the site from colonial times (though Markovich’s article does refer to an “escort service” that had an office in the building in the 1970s). But why quibble over specifics when we got the gist of the idea?
It’s not the first time our made-up April Fools’ issues have contained unexpected grains of truth: Our 2022 edition accurately predicted a half-dozen occurrences that wound up to be at least partially true, including an announcement of underground mixed-use construction, accolades for Leah & Louise and a Brady Manek razor endorsement deal.
This year’s edition is also off to a strong start. Its lead story disclosed fake plans for a casino to be built uptown. Two months later, legislators approved a law that will allow sports gambling operations at the Spectrum Center and Bank of America Stadium, with a vote on legalizing casinos in four rural counties expected this month. —TM
➡️ You can read the full piece from N.C. Rabbit Hole here.
Related Ledger articles:
“Uptown Cabaret performer mourns longtime strip club’s impending closure; final weekend to ‘make racks’” (🔒, June 30)
“The amazing predictive power of The Ledger’s April Fools’ issue” (Sept. 26, 2022)
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
TUESDAY, AUG. 15: Summer Marketing Series: How to Create a Marketing Plan & Use it to Grow Your Business, 10-11 a.m., VentureX, 1213 W. Morehead St., Suite 500; or virtual. The Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce’s Summer Marketing Series is a great way to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and practices in the marketing world. This week: Creating a marketing plan is truly the “backbone” of marketing strategy and essential for success. Free for members or $15 for nonmembers.
MONDAY, SEPT. 11: Regional Transportation Summit, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., Ballantyne hotel. Come hear from federal, state and municipal leaders about one of the keys to economic development and quality of life in the Charlotte area: transportation and mobility. South Charlotte Partners once again brings together stakeholders to discuss the current status and future direction for transportation and mobility in the region. $100; table sponsorships available.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
Correction
A news summary item and headline in Saturday’s newsletter misstated the amount of the school bond that will be put before Mecklenburg voters in November. It is $2.5 billion. (Not $2.5 million.) Our apologies for the error.
In brief:
Eastland decision nearing? The Charlotte City Council is expected to receive an update this afternoon on development plans for the old Eastland Mall. There are two proposals vying for a thumbs-up (and money) from the council: one that would build a tech center and concert venue with outdoor fields, and a second that would build an indoor sports complex. Neighborhood groups have backed the indoor sports complex, though city staff have previously seemed to favor the tech/concert venue.
Apartments for Johnston Y site: Developer Republic Metropolitan has filed permits indicating plans to build 455 apartments on the site of the Johnston YMCA in NoDa. A neighborhood group has requested the developer preserve trees and green space and retain at least the facade of the Y building. The plans apparently do not require a rezoning. (Axios Charlotte)
Downtown recovery: Charlotte ranks No. 29 out of 52 U.S. cities for its downtown’s recovery from Covid, based on pedestrian activity from cell phone location data, according to a study from the University of Toronto. The number of pedestrians was about 63% as many this spring compared with the spring of 2019. (University of Toronto)
Tourism falls in Asheville: The number of tourists booking hotels and Airbnbs in Asheville is down 11% this summer compared with last summer. Downtown merchants in Asheville have complained about increased panhandling and shoplifting. (WLOS)
Sparring over building codes: The General Assembly is expected to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would prevent updating state building codes. Supporters of the bill say new rules would make homes unaffordable, while opponents say new rules would make homes safer and more energy-efficient. (WFAE)
Quotable: The Hornets’ new owner on the GameStop meltdown that cost him $7B
Gabe Plotkin, one of the new majority owners of the Charlotte Hornets, reflects on the GameStop stock “meme rally” of 2021 at an event in Charlotte last week. The episode led to the collapse of his investment firm, Melvin Capital Management, after amateur investors on Reddit bid up the stock price when Plotkin’s firm had bet the price would drop, costing it $7 billion. From The Charlotte Observer last week:
I think I was fortunate at that point in my career where for 15-20 years — kind of unbelievable success. I launched a fund … We had industry-leading returns in the business. Went from a billion dollars in assets to 13 billion. Most of that was organic.
And so I was at a pretty young age and was managing a pretty big business and had had a lot of success. What happened was a really bizarre dynamic in finance history, where a really bad business got taken to incredible heights by a bunch of people online. And it’s unprecedented and it’s unfortunate. But you learn from it. And it didn’t kill me.
And I think it’s something you try to grow from. Being here today and kind of looking at the next chapter — I’m really excited about that.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks
This is like newsletter inception.