Chelsea Burke, a speech therapist at Bluffton Regional Medical Center. will speak on the effects of electronics on children Thursday morning during a meeting of the Ossian Rotary Club.
The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Ossian, 1001 Dehner Drive. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Burke has a bachelor of science in communication sciences and disorders from Purdue University, earned at the Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne campus. She also has a master of science degree in communication disorders from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va.
A native of Decatur, Burke graduated from Bellmont High School in 2009. She has always had a passion for pediatrics, starting her career in First Steps and a pediatric outpatient clinic. She transitioned to the hospital in 2019 where she maintained a diverse pediatric population.
Burke’s interests in the field have grown and changed along with her patients’ needs. She has completed extensive professional development in the realm of pediatric feeding disorders. Her ultimate goal as a speech language pathologist is to help patients and families communicate and interact within their daily lives with as much joy and success as possible.
Burke has warnings for parents in how the use of electronics can negatively impact children. She will discuss how electronics affects the growth and development, and specifically the communication skills, of children. She will also talk about how parents can promote safe use of technology for young children, at the time when their brains are in the most crucial stages of development. She will discuss how adults can minimize electronics as much as possible, how to avoid using technology as a means to “occupy” or “calm/quiet” an infant or child, how to use self-directed, open-ended types of technology that allow children to stay engaged with their environment, how to use a lot of language and play between times of technology use, and how to avoid using technology as a reward or punishment.
Ossian Rotary is a group of people with a desire to meet new people, get involved and make a difference in Ossian and worldwide. Each week features different speakers, who help attendees stay informed on topics that are relevant to our community. Contact Jeremy Penrod, Ossian Rotary pºresident, at jeremy.penrod@edwardjones.com for more information.
