Beyond Words Ep. 25 | How Children Learn Words: Input, Context, and Generalization

Get ASHA CEUs: Speech Therapy PD for this podcast

In this episode of Beyond Words, Garrett Oyama speaks with Dr. Catherine Sandhofer, professor of psychology at UCLA, about how children learn words, categories, and concepts through everyday experience.

They explore why word learning is not just about hearing words more often, but about when, where, and from whom children hear them. Dr. Sandhofer discusses how contextual variation, caregiver input, repeated routines, and shared book reading shape vocabulary growth and why children may need both consistency and variability at different points in development. They also discuss nouns and verbs in early language input, the role of forgetting and reactivation in learning, how screen-based language differs from human interaction, and what these findings might mean for speech therapy, parenting, AAC, and clinical practice.

Learn more about Dr. Catherine Sandhofer’s work - https://www.psych.ucla.edu/faculty-page/csandhof/

Subscribe on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@GarrettBeyondWords

Beyond Words Ep. 24 | Gaze, Hands, and the Roots of Communication with Gedeon Deák, PhD

In this episode of Beyond Words, host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, is joined by UC San Diego professor Gedeon Deák, PhD, to explore how infants learn to share attention with others and why these early interactions are so important for communication and language development. Together, they unpack the evolving nature of joint attention, including gaze following, pointing, caregiver scaffolding, and the often-overlooked role of hands, movement, and object interaction in early learning.

Drawing from Dr. Deák’s research, this conversation challenges the idea of joint attention as a single developmental milestone. Instead, it highlights how infants gradually learn to coordinate attention through repeated, real-world interactions with caregivers, objects, and their environment. The discussion explores how babies learn to follow attention not simply by watching eyes, but through meaningful experiences that involve looking, reaching, pointing, and shared engagement with objects and routines.

🎙️ Topics include:

• a deeper understanding of how gesture, gaze, and movement
• support early communication development
• valuable perspectives for assessing and supporting young children
• social communication and language delays

Earn ASHA CEUs - https://www.speechtherapypd.com/courses/gaze-hands

Beyond Words Ep. 23 | Music, Voice, and Meaning: From Infant Speech to Social Signals with Greg Bryant, PhD

Get ASHA CEUs: Speech Therapy PD for this podcast

In this episode of Beyond Words, Greg Bryant, PhD, joins host Garrett Oyama, MS, CCC-SLP, to explore how the human voice carries meaning through prosody, musicality, and nonverbal vocalizations.

Together, they examine how infant-directed speech uses exaggerated pitch, rhythm, and timing to capture attention and support early learning, and how these same acoustic patterns overlap with features found in music. Dr. Bryant connects infant communication, emotional vocal expression, and music within an evolutionary framework, highlighting how vocal behavior supports social bonding, coordination, and shared understanding.

🎙️ Topics include:

• How listeners interpret emotion, intention
• Social context from vocal cues alone
• Cross-cultural research
• Highlighting how vocal behavior supports social bonding
• Prosody, pragmatics, and culturally responsive care