PEDIATRIC CARE
Late Talkers / Delayed Speech and Language
Children are able to communicate with their family long before they learn to speak words. A child's cries, coos, smiles and other responses help the family to understand his/her needs. The critical period of learning and development lies between 0 - 5 years. Following are age specific developmental milestones that describe the expected growth in many areas like Listening, Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Speech, Cognition and Pragmatics from birth to 8 years. All children grow and develop in similar patterns, but each child develops at her or his own pace. The above chart helps in tracking and monitoring a child’s progress in general.
Delay in acquiring speech and language skills is the most common type of developmental delay amongst children. One out of 5 children are “late talkers”. Some children with delayed speech and language development also show behavioural problems/hyperactivity because they get frustrated when they can't express what they need or want. Children may lack confidence and develop feelings of anxiety due to the difficulty in talking and interacting like other children of same age. It is important to have your child evaluated by a qualified audiologist- speech and language pathologist in order to ascertain if the child will outgrow the delay on his/her own or will need speech and language therapy to help him/her chase the lag. Starting treatment early can make a significant difference as we can tap this critical period of learning.
Common questions about delayed speech and language development:
When you notice that your child is not keeping up with other children, your concern is understandable. Most children begin talking (using one-word utterances) between 1-1 ½ year of age. Their speech and language skills grow consistently through the years and between 3-3 ½ years they are able to talk in sentences. Some children may not have an underlying reason/medical condition for the delayed development; some do. A few conditions that cause speech and language delays in children are:
- Hearing Loss
- Auditory Processing Disorder: Deficits in the processing/decoding of auditory -information by the hearing nerve and the brain.
- Neurological problems like cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy etc.
- Autism
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Apraxia of Speech: It is a specific speech disorder in which the child has difficulty in planning and executing the motoric speech movements.
- Lowered intellectual ability
- Cleft lip/palate
After the comprehensive evaluation, a therapy plan is devised based on your child’s current level of functioning, personality, strengths, likes, dislikes and areas that need improvement. Each session is goal oriented, relevant and enjoyable for the child. Together, families play, sing and read with the child as goals in different areas of language are inter-woven seamlessly though various activities. The play activities are carefully chosen to develop the areas that need attention. A variety of strategies are used to help the child expand their abilities.
For children, play is serious learning! It is their brain's favourite way to learn new skills. Play provides ample opputurnities for the child to learn in a comfortable and conducive surrounding. It is the most important as well as the only way to bridge the "gap" between their abilities and inabilities. For a lay person, the therapy sessions may seem only play with little work. Contrary to that, every session involves systematic planning with approaches that are backed with scientific knowledge on early brain development. Research and treatment protocols across the world emphasize the use of play for children with developmental lags.
If your child has not developed speech and language skills like other children of the same age, a visit to the Audiologist-Speech Language Pathologist is needed. Whether your child needs speech and language therapy will depend on the initial evaluation and the recommendation made by your therapist. It is important to consult a professional because inadequate communication skills may interfere with your child’s school readiness / school performance. Remember, early intervention is extremely important for best results.
- Appreciate and reinforce your child’s babbling, even if it does not make sense.
- Talk to your child a lot. Tell them what you are doing as you do it. Play with your child and talk about the toys and games you are playing.
- Read age-appropriate books on a daily basis. For those children who do not like reading, just talk about the pictures in the book.
- Sing to your child (avoid devices to play songs/rhymes). Learning new songs helps your child learn new words, and uses memory skills, listening skills, and expression of ideas with words.
- Expand on what your child says. (For example, if your child says, “water,” you can say, “You want water!”)
Yes, absolutely. The child needs language skills to communicate and learn. Reading, writing, gesturing, listening, and speaking are all forms of language. Research has shown that good speech and language skills have a high co-relation with good academic performance. Inadequate speech and language skills hamper the child’s academic potential and also negatively impacts the child’s school readiness. Hence, starting treatment early helps the child in learning and coping with the academic demands.
Specific Conditions
Chris Fox. CEO at Mighty Schools.
John Doe saved us from a web disaster.
Rebecca Flex. CEO at Company.
No one is better than John Doe.
Chris Fox. CEO at Mighty Schools.
John Doe saved us from a web disaster.
Rebecca Flex. CEO at Company.
No one is better than John Doe.
Chris Fox. CEO at Mighty Schools.
John Doe saved us from a web disaster.
Rebecca Flex. CEO at Company.
No one is better than John Doe.