Minions speak in a babbled high-pitched language of their own.
Minions speak in a babbled high-pitched language of their own.
Preschoolers talking like a babbling Minions cartoon character is an example of the issues keeping Northland speech and language therapists increasingly busy.
Northland Kindergarten Association's Gay Easterbrook has worked with more than 300 children in the last five years.
Mrs Easterbrook, who has spent her whole life as a speech and language therapist, said there was a much greater need now than when she started.
"I do come across children who for one reason or another spend a lot of time with TV and DVDs. They start to assume the character."
While it was fine if they were pretending, in some cases it was taking over their lives.
"You end up with an accent or lots of different accents," Mrs Easterbrook said. She gave examples of preschoolers taking on the characters of the Minions in the Despicable Me movies, Superman and Buzz Lightyear.
Often they took on really strange voices that were not natural for children and created vocal strain. For example, the Minions spoke in a babbled high-pitched language of their own.
"All TV isn't bad, but it is bad when it's used as a babysitter," Mrs Easterbrook said.
While television had been around for decades, it was the constant repetition provided by DVDs, iPads and tablets that was the issue, she said. The interaction provided no opportunity for children to get any kind of meaningful response. The children have to respond to the machine, but with a human interaction it's the opposite."
The emphasis for speech and language therapy tended to be focused on 5 to 8-year-olds. But "early intervention is always the best", Mrs Easterbrook said.
Speech therapist Gay Easterbrook sits with Tikipunga Kindergarten head teacher Heidi Harrison (left) while sharing a story with Lincoln, 3. Photo / John Stone
She is working with 65 children between 2 and 5 years old. Because she is employed by the Northland Kindergarten Association, the families she worked with are not charged. While parents often sought her out, Mrs Easterbrook also goes into kindergartens to work with students and upskill teachers.
Northland Kindergarten Association chief executive Richard Storey said it was the only association in the country to have an in-house therapist.
"What she can do in a short period of time has massive flow-on effects for the rest of their lives," Mr Storey said.
The association recently awarded Mrs Easterbrook a $5000 scholarship to create a visual and audio alphabet for families to take home.
