Delayed Language Development

Jun 28, 2009 in Parenting

Delayed Language Development

My child is not really speaking out as he /she should be and children her age are speaking more than her…can I start speech therapy?

Here are a few facts about speech development and delayed speech.

All children learn speech in the same order: first words, then phrases and, finally, sen¬tences. But this is all the similarity you may find amongst the toddlers learning to speak. It is certainly not fair to compare your child to others or even to his /her own sibling.
Some children may learn to speak late but may have a higher vocabulary than the child who started speaking at an earlier age.
Some may learn to link words faster than the other.
It will surprise you sometimes that your child who was a early walker, climber, jumper, ball-thrower – is not talking or your child who is slow in physical milestones is babbling away words or sentences.

Development of speech is genetic and also gets affected by environmental stimulation that a child gets.it is no surprise that a child learns the language to which he is exposed to very fast.

Lack of stimulation (or even excessive pressure to perform verbally) may also inhibit the development of language. So can a well-meaning family that anticipates a toddler’s every wish before it is spoken.so the child makes no efforts to learn words to communicate.
Whatever the reason, however, once they get started, late talkers often quickly develop mature speech. Because they’re older when they begin, they may have better pronunciation, a better intuitive grasp of grammar and a larger vocabulary (which was quietly building up all along).

So remember that your child may talk anytime between 10 months to two years or even later, but it is advisable to consult your doctor after two years to rule out other problems that may cause a speech delay like hearing problems, tongue tie, autism etc.

Discuss any doubts with your child’s doctor to evaluate the advisability of a hearing test or a formal assessment of language skills by a certified speech and language pathologist

A quick home test to understand the problem will be to command a few simple things to your child like ‘close the door, get a glass of water etc’. Also if your child can communicate with you non verbally through actions, he is by and large not got any hearing or other problems. You may expect him to talk anytime.

How can I encourage my child to talk?

Start reading to him at an early stage. Even a 1 year old can be read to.
Do not speak in baby language with your child. Converse with him like how you would do with an adult.
Try to complete sentences for him when he talks.when he says ‘water’ you may respond by ‘do you want a glass of water OR I’ll get you a glass of water’
Let him mix around with children of his age.