Children with Language Difficulties

It is common among infants that they speak slowly word by the word usually in jumbled forms and as parents, we enjoy those moments too. However, when the same comes to the language skill development level we have to start paying attention early and this article will answer How’s of it.

Typically by the time children are about 24months old, they would have picked up many things in speech even though in small pieces of words that they usually cant very clearly pronounce in most cases. What is common among infants is the usage of loads of Jumbled words and trying hard to make certain sounds within pronunciations.

Most of this will fade away on its own without needing any intervention from your end. Stay away from correcting your child or having her practice the sound. It’s certainly not helpful to make her feel self-conscious about the way she speaks.

Many parents also worried about delayed speech. If you suspect your child has a problem, consult a Speech & Language Pathologist to be addressed right away so that appropriate therapy can be started.

Below listed could be the possible cause of delayed speech among children.

·        The most regular is temporary hearing loss due to repeated ear infections.

·        Cognitive or other developmental delays

·        Weak oral muscles

·        Birth defects with lips etc

·        Autism Spectrum Disorder

·        Articulation problems

·        Fluency disorders

·        Attention problems

·        Feeding and swallowing disorders

·        Traumatic brain injury

There could be two scenarios here. First is a decent amount of continuous and quality time and effort by the parents over-communicating with their children, they may improve at home itself. The second scenario requires may call for medical assistance. In spite of the fact that children are smart, Language Therapy may be needed for the best results.

Stammering: Typically observed among children aged in and around 3years which involves repeating words or phrases. Interestingly 5% of all preschoolers face this problem and it is more than twice observed among the boys. This happens because the speed of word-formation doesn’t match the pace at which the mind is working, but nothing to worry since this problem in usual cases disappears within a couple of weeks.

Your attempt to correct a child’s stuttering issue if tried too intensively will lead to a tensed child and aggravate the problem further, as observed by the experts. The best thing here to do as parents is to let your child know that you aren’t worried about the stuttering issue by appreciating the good works they have done all day and never replace words by labels etc. Now that may lead to a feeling of insecurity in the child’s mind and naturally more stammering follows. Most importantly visit a Language Therapist for further assistance.

Also, another critical factor that could be contributing to the challenges with language skills is any atmosphere at home that encourages very minimum conversation among parents and children! Yes, you heard it right! That may result in huge challenges for the child expressing themselves in words in school and degrade their performance in the school including in writing.

It’s best to seek medical advice since the actions taken or not taken are going to have a long-lasting effect on the child’s future. Especially those you missed.

Always feel free to consult us with regards to your child’s health.

To know more, visit: www.capaar4autism.com