INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You only want what's best for your child, and when you think they should be at a certain level and they aren't, it can be frustrating for a parent. However, your child will learn language at their own speed, and it's important to be patient and encouraging with them while they make sense of vocabulary and grammar. In most cases, there is nothing to worry about, but sometimes lack of speech, motor control, or other features can indicate a developmental delay in your child. Early recognition of a delay can frequently result in the issue being resolved. To this end, you may want to bring it to your pediatrician's attention if you notice: 3-4 months: poor head support, no babbling or infrequent noise-making, regular eye crossing, and a lack of social smiling. 4-7 months: overly stiff or floppy body, difficulty keeping head steady, difficulty sitting, lack of noise response/social smiling, lack of expressed affection toward caregivers, and doesn't interact with objects. 7-12 months: no crawling, lack of evenness while crawling (1 month after starting), can't stand with assistance, lacks curiosity (especially with hiding games like peek-a-boo), speaks infrequently, and doesn't use body language. 13-24 months: unable to walk by 18 months, cannot make sense or use of daily objects, cannot vocalize a minimum of 6 words by 18 months or 2-word responses by 24 months, doesn't repeat and mimic words and actions, cannot follow simple instructions, loses previously mastered skills. 3-5 years: speech delays (stuttering, lisping, difficulty with articulation), poor motor skills, and under-developed social/emotional skills. In the pre-linguistic stage (0-13 months) your child will babble, cry, coo, and imitate some sounds with poor control. Toward the end of this phase, they might even begin saying, "dadada" or "mamama." Encourage these sounds and connect each with actions and objects throughout this phase. In the holophrastic stage (10 - 13 months), your baby will mostly speak one word at a time, adding meaning through context and non-verbal cues. For example, they might say, "Dada" forcefully, indicating they want their father to come to them. The 2-word sentence phase (at about 18 months) is where your child will begin joining parts of speech together. They will often put nouns with adjectives or verbs with modifiers in expressions like, "Bottle give," "Where dada?", and "Not mama." In the multiple-word sentence stage (2-2.5 years) your child will start putting the rules of language together. At this point, they'll probably make many linguistic errors, like "I catched it" or "I falling off it." This is normal, and part of the learning process. Encourage their efforts so they know you are proud of their attempts at communication. When your child reaches the complex sentence phase (2.5-3 years) they will have some practice at speaking. They'll start trying to put their thoughts in more complicated patterns. There are frequently many errors at this stage. Do not punish your child for poor grammar; this can make them afraid of speaking and making an error. Instead, ask them to explain themselves and describe their thoughts. At the adult-like sentence stage (5-6 years), your child's grammar should be near native and their usage of even complex structures seamless. Continue to encourage reading and speaking around them, as this will still stimulate their linguistic centers and help them continue learning.

SUMMARY: Exercise patience with the stages of language development. Notice and address developmental delays. Respond to babbling as an infant. Interact with single word communications. Engage 2-word communication with normal speech. Encourage more complicated language, even if incorrect. Ask more complicated questions as their ability grows. Carry on full conversations.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: For an inventor to claim to be protected by a patent, that patent must have been filed properly. You or your attorney may be able to do some research and find out that the patent was not, in fact, properly filed. This would give you a strong defense against the claim of patent infringement. Patents are not everlasting. After an inventor files a patent, and it is issued, the patent protection lasts for 20 years. If that time has expired, then the item is no longer protected, and you cannot be challenged or sued for using it. A patent can also expire or be terminated prematurely if the owner does not file annual maintenance fees with the U.S. Patent Office. To find out if this has happened, you can search on the website of the U.S. Patent Office. A patent provides protection against people who unlawfully use an inventor's design or invention. However, the scope of the protection is quite narrow. If you have invented, created or designed something similar, but sufficiently different from the original, then your use may not be prohibited by the patent. The concept of being "sufficiently different" is difficult to define. You may raise this as a defense, but if the patent owner disagrees, you may have to go to court to get a ruling.

SUMMARY: Research the validity of the patent. Find out if the patent has expired. Argue that your item or invention is sufficiently different from the patented item.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Your kit should include food and water for a couple days, a radio, batteries, first aid supplies, and a flashlight. Your kit will not only provide you with items you may need during and after a tsunami event, but it will give you piece of mind while you are evacuating. Perhaps the most important part of preparing for a tsunami is creating evacuation routes to high points inland. By plotting several different evacuation routes, you'll limit the amount of time you may have to waste figuring out where to go during a tsunami. Create plans that will take you from: Work to a safe zone. Home to a safe zone. Likely places you may be in your community to a safe zone. Take the time to drive or walk the route several times in advance. Look for alternative ways to cross rivers, streets, or get around major buildings. By familiarizing yourself with your evacuation route, you'll be much more likely to be able to avoid dangers like downed power lines or damaged bridges. A contact plan will let you know how and when to communicate with friends or family after you have evacuated. You should also include a place to meet friends and family after authorities have signaled an all clear. Choose a location that is easily accessible and in a safety zone. Possible locations include a friend's house, a public park, or a landmark. Make sure you include a timeline for communication in your plan. For example, have a first contact time (maybe 1 to 3 hours after the event), a second contact point (6 to 12 hours after), and a third contact point (a day after the event).

SUMMARY:
Put together a tsunami preparedness kit. Plan evacuation routes. Familiarize yourself with the area around your evacuation route. Create a contact plan with your friends and family.