see also Stammering
Stay be due to partial or total Deafness, excitement, or Anxiety, or may be associated with late development generally. Poor language development is also one of the features of Autism.
Until the age of about three months, babies' communications with the outside world are purely expressive - crying expresses hunger, pain, or fear, gurgling, whimpering, and cooing express pleasanter, less distressing emotions. After that their repertoire extends to making sounds which are a reaction to what is going on around them; they begin to babble, experimentally, trying to compare the pitch and rhythm of noises they are making with the sounds they hear and see adults making.
Babies the world over make similar noises, regardless of the language their parents speak. Between the age of seven and nine months, distinct syllables emerge and are joined together - 'boo-boo' may not sound very impressive, but it demonstrates an innate grasp of the basic components of language. After that, as every day passes, there is increasing interest in conversations and attempts to chip in with shouts and 'singing’. By the end of the first year certain sounds are being associated with well known objects.
During the second year the process of attaching words to objects and actions speeds up; simple noun-verb combinations like 'Mummy do' develop. In the third year vocabulary and syntax broaden to the point where simple questions can be asked. At this age most children can understand and hold simple conversations, and communicate their thoughts and needs.
Partial or total deafness can manifest itself at various stages of speech development: under the age of six months the baby may fail to react to the sounds of voices; at around six months there may be a failure to progress beyond the babbling stage; at the age of one year or more the child may fail to develop words or speak very indistinctly.
Late speech development is not unusual, even when there is no deafness and no sign of late development in other areas; as a parent there are a number of things you can do to help (see self-help section).
Where late speech development is associated with late walking, slow growth, physical abnormality or emotional stress, see your medical doctor. In addition to tackling the underlying problem, he or she may recommend speech therapy.
Lisping, Stammering, and other pronunciation difficulties are quite common and children usually grow out of them. Try not to make an issue out of them - you'll only make the child more anxious - but if they are severe enough to embarrass the child or cause unintelligibility, then your medical doctor may refer you to a speech therapist.
If nervousness or stress seems to be the cause of speech difficulties, constitutional treatment would be appropriate.
Self-help: Whether your child has speech difficulties or not, the following strategies are recommended.
For children under one year: look directly at the child's face when you are talking to him or her; read simple books and point out objects as you say their names; as you dress or undress the child, name each item of clothing; talk about things the child is interested in.
For children over one year: talk naturally about objects which are physically present; always name the objects you are talking about ('Where is your hat?' rather than 'Where is it?'); use your face and hands to convey meaning, even you if have to ham it up a bit; don't bore the child by a ways correcting mistakes; try hard to understand what the child is saying the first time he or she says it - asking for things to be repeated is very demoralizing.
It would also be worth checking whether the child is exposed to high levels of lead (see toxic metals) in the atmosphere. |
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