PRAISE FOR THIRTY MILLION WORDS "Suskind''s vision is empowering, her methods are surprisingly simple to execute, and the results have been proven to nurture children toward becoming stable, empathetic adults. Informative, exciting new data that confirms the significant benefits gained by talking to your child." -- Kirkus Reviews "How empowering the realization that each of us can be our children''s personal neuro-developer, that the sheer quality of our interactions can impact the attitude of inquiry and health of our kids. The practical application of Dr. Suskind''s work is limitless; as a dad, and as (a ''gritty'') someone invested in early child development, I''m excited to see how far it takes us." --Steve Nash, president of the Steve Nash Foundation and two-time National Basketball Association MVP "I thank Dana Suskind for opening doors to solutions and hope. The answer to the growing problem of social inequalities in our country is to make use of America''s top two resources: its children and their parents. If we care about this country and the children who will live in it as adults, we have to make Dr.

Suskind''s advice become reality." --Sandra Gutierrez, founder and national director of Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors "Grounded upon experience as a cochlear implant surgeon, informed by compelling social science research, and inspired by a profound commitment to children and families, this book helps all of us understand the importance of communicating abundantly, pleasantly, and responsively with infants and toddlers. Tell everyone you know to read it! Together, we can enrich language environments for generations to come, in all types of homes and communities. The book is a gem!" --Ronald F. Ferguson, faculty director at the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University "Straight from the front lines Dr. Dana Suskind tells the story of the power of talk in helping children learn. Easy to read and with striking insights on every page, this book will not only make you think differently about how you parent but will give you the tools to help your child be at his or her best." --Sian Beilock, professor at the University of Chicago and author of Choke and How the Body Knows Its Mind "Suskind writes with clarity and authority to explain why parents need to talk to their infant children, and why some forms of communication are better than others.

Thirty Million Words belongs on the shortlist of books that every parent, teacher, and education policy maker should read." --Adam Alter, associate professor at New York University and author of Drunk Tank Pink "Anyone who cares about children, anyone who cares about the future of this country, should read this book." --Barbara Bowman, Irving B. Harris Professor at Erikson Institute "A passionate, personal account of the power all parents have to raise thriving, successful children." --Diana Mendley Rauner, president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund "Prepare for a revolution. This book will make you cry, laugh, and deeply reflect on what we should be doing to give everyone a chance to succeed in life. As a scholar I was in awe, as a teacher I was dazzled, and as a father I was thankful to the authors of this book. When you pick it up, have a few hours to spare because you will not put it down.

Unequivocal 5 stars." --John A. List, Homer J. Livingston Professor at the University of Chicago and author of The Why Axis "Dana Suskind hails others as heroes, but she is the true hero! She stepped out of the safe harbor of her role as a pediatric cochlear implant surgeon when she realized that helping deaf children hear was not enough to help them learn language. She takes us on her compelling and page-turning journey, navigating the best research in children''s early learning, always sharing sound and extremely helpful examples of what we all must do to help children learn language and much more, always in joyful and loving ways." --Ellen Galinsky, president of Families and Work Institute and author of Mind in the Making "Dr. Suskind''s work reveals that the greatest gift we can give our children is free. How empowering to understand that it doesn''t take money to give our children advantages in the world, it takes words.

Her research is vital." --Chris Nee, creator and executive producer of Doc McStuffins "Three cheers for the promise of parents, prevention, and neuroplasticity!" -- Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at Harvard Medical School An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014 Copyright © 2015 by Dana Suskind and Beth Suskind Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader. DUTTON--EST.

1852 and DUTTON are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA has been applied for. ISBN 978-0-698-19432-8 While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. For Amelie, Asher, and Genevieve DS For Lily, Carter, and Michael BS For Bob and our wonderful family LL-S Praise for Thirty Million Words Title Page Copyright Dedication 1. CONNECTIONS: Why a Pediatric Cochlear Implant Surgeon Became a Social Scientist 2. THE FIRST WORD: The Pioneers of Parent Talk 3. NEUROPLASTICITY: Riding the Revolutionary Wave in Brain Science 4. THE POWER OF PARENT TALK: From Language to an Outlook on Life 5.

THE THREE Ts: Setting the Stage for Optimum Brain Development 6. THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES: Where the Science of Neuroplasticity Can Take Us 7. SPREADING THE WORDS: The Next Step EPILOGUE: Stepping Off the Shoreline Appendix: Early Childhood Organizations and Resources Notes Acknowledgments Index CHAPTER 1 CONNECTIONS WHY A PEDIATRIC COCHLEAR IMPLANT SURGEON BECAME A SOCIAL SCIENTIST Blindness separates me from things; deafness separates me from people. --Helen Keller Parent talk is probably the most valuable resource in our world. No matter the language, the culture, the nuances of vocabulary, or the socioeconomic status, language is the element that helps develop the brain to its optimum potential. In the same way, the lack of language is the enemy of brain development. Children who are born hearing, but in an austere language environment, are almost identical to children who are born deaf who have not received a rich sign environment. Without intervention, both can suffer the critical, lifelong effects of silence.

On the other hand, children in a rich language environment, whether born hearing or given the gift of hearing via cochlear implants, can soar. MY STORY The irony is not lost on me that a pediatric cochlear implant surgeon is writing a book on the power of parent talk. Surgeons are known for many things; talk is not among them. Rather than words, we are defined by our hands, our dexterity in the operating room, and our ability to identify problems and find solutions. To a surgeon, there is nothing more gratifying than when the puzzle pieces fit just so. Cochlear implantation, allowing a child born deaf to hear, is an extraordinary example of all those components. Coiled two and a half times around the snail-shaped cochlea, the organ where the nerve part of hearing begins, a cochlear implant successfully skips over the defective cells, the point along the hearing pathway where sound had come to a screeching halt, going directly to the acoustic, or hearing, nerve, the superhighway that connects the ear to the brain. The amazing result is that a child born into silence now has the ability to hear, to talk, and to meld into the world both educationally and socially.

The cochlear implant is a puzzle piece that fits, just so, a miraculous solution to total deafness. At least, that''s what I thought. In medical school, it was the brain, not the ear, that captured my imagination. The brain seemed a profound mystery holding the key to all the unanswered questions about life. My dream was to be a neurosurgeon, fixing with my hands some of the most important and vexing issues facing humanity. My first neurosurgical case in medical school did not, however, go smoothly. The chief of neurosurgery, Dr. R.

, had invited me to "scrub in" on a meningioma resection, the removal of a benign brain tumor. We''d been writing a textbook chapter on meningioma resection and he thought it might be helpful if I actually saw one. When I came into the operating room, Dr. R. gestured me toward the operating room table, where a shaved head, stained with the yellow and red of Betadine and blood, confronted me. Inside a large gap of missing skull, a grayish gelatinous mass pulsated rhythmically, as if trying to escape its bony confines. The patient''s torso had disappeared completely, like a magician''.