Hello – It’s Darcy!
Here are some answers to some commonly asked questions by you! Feel free to keep the questions coming in the comments below and I’ll be happy to answer them in upcoming posts 🙂
Q 1 – What kinds of speech disorders affect children?
This seems like one of those open-ended questions that can get me in lots of trouble…! Its like asking “what are all the possible things that can go wrong!” which is never a good idea to ask when you have a little one. To better understand what disorders exist, it’s important to remember that speech therapists classify “speech” into a lot of different skills. First, there is a difference between “speech” and “language.” Speech refers to a child’s ability to accurately produce sounds to make intelligible words that others can understand; it refers to verbal production. Language refers to both receptive abilities (what a child understands about what is being said, how well they follow directions, what they understand from a story) and expressive abilities (how they put their thoughts together into phrases or sentences).
A child may struggle with speech production, for example they may have articulation errors, muscle weakness that results in slurring, or speak excessively fast. They may struggle with understanding language, and therefore not be able to understand your directions, have a hard time engaging in play with peers, or become very frustrated with transitions between activities. Or they may struggle with expressive language and putting their thoughts into words, communicating through pointing, grunting or single words instead of developing more robust language skills.
A speech-language pathologist (get it? speech AND language!) can help determine what types of difficulties your child is having, and why they might be having them. There are many specific disorders that can impact a child’s speech and language development, but it’s never a good idea to try and self-diagnose from a single description (or website!). Each child’s abilities are unique and varied, and each child will demonstrate different strengths and weaknesses at various points in their development. Be aware that kids can demonstrate a variety of difficulties with these skills, and seek professional input if you think its needed.
Q 2 – My child is having difficulty enunciating words clearly. What are some things I can do at home to improve my child’s pronunciation?
Children learn language (and accurate sounds) from watching everyone else speak! Its normal for children to make sound production (or “articulation”) errors while learning to speak, especially between one and two years of age. Between two and three, their sound accuracy begins to improves, and we expect to see certain sounds produced with greater precision resulting in increased intelligibility. Sounds emerge in a predictable manner according to the child’s age and overall language development. For example, the sounds /m/ and /g/ are early developing sounds, whereas /s/ and /r/ typically emerge much later. To help a child improve their articulation accuracy, we have to be sure they are first hearing the sound correctly (e.g. a child who pronounces “duck” as “guck” may not hear the difference between those two words). Then we need to help him produce the sound correctly.
With little children (two and under) the best thing to do is provide a clear, slow model of speech. Read out loud to your child, keeping your faces close together. When you talk to your child, make sure he can see your face in order to receive visual input regarding how your lips and jaw move while speaking. Isolate words he is struggling with in order to over-emphasize the sounds – for example, if he yells “mommy guck!” you reply “yes – a DUCK” emphasizing and slowing the rate of your speech to help him see how your mouth moves. Play with sounds, encouraging him to repeat syllables after you – animal sounds work great for this! “baa baa says the sheep, moo moo says the cow.” Encourage speech production (even if not correctly produced) and don’t over-emphasis the errors. A child who feels self-conscious or corrected at every turn may lose motivation to communicate verbally.
As the child gets older, the same suggestions apply but now with a few more specific goals in mind. You can repeat the word back to a child after he says it (“you called this a guck – is this a guck?”) and over-emphasize the correct syllable as you repeat it (“its not a guck – it’s a duck!”). Again you want to be careful not to do this all the time, and avoid making the child feel like everything they say is wrong! Its always important to first encourage a child’s effort at communicating, then correct the errors.
If your child is having a hard time articulating sounds by the time they are three years old, or if they are unintelligible, visibly frustrated and unable to communicate needs to you even under the age of three, it’s a good idea to have them evaluated by a speech-language pathologist. The SLP will be able to determine if there is an underlying cause for the difficulty, provide direct intervention with your child, and create suggestions specific for your family to target these errors in an age-appropriate, developmental sequence.
Q 3 – What is a receptive language disorder and what are some early symptoms to look out for?
Receptive language is our ability to understand words that we hear. It not only refers to our ability to process individual words, but also the ability to comprehend a string of words combined into a sentence, and interpret these words into a meaningful message.
A receptive language disorder means that a child is having a difficult time understanding the words they are hearing. They may understand single words and familiar phrases, but they have a difficult time understanding longer, more complex statements. A direction like “sit down” may be easy for them to understand, but “go down the hall and get your shoes” may be too confusing for them. Here’s a very basic analogy – image traveling to a country where you speak very little of the language. You can pick out key words and ideas, but understanding specific directions, lengthy sentences or even stories will be next to impossible. This is a definitely not an exact description, but does give a bit of an idea as to the confusion and frustration children with receptive language impairments experience.
Warning signs vary depending on the age of the child. An important step as a parent is to familiarize yourself with normal language development so you can recognize delayed development. This is true for any speech-language skill! The American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) has tons of information regarding typical language development found here: http://www.asha.org/SLP/schools/prof-consult/norms/
Some warning signs of receptive language impairment include not smiling or interacting with others, poor ability to identify objects or pictures, difficulty following directions, difficulty interacting with peers or with turn taking, poor eye contact or what appears to be “selective listening”, or struggling to answer directions. This may make it seem like your child is willfully ignoring that you say, throwing temper tantrums, or appearing confused. They often struggle in school to participate in familiar routines or absorb the information that is being taught. If you think your child may have a receptive language impairment, have them evaluated by a speech-language pathologist to determine what the problem is, and what you can do to help your child.
Q 4 – I want to know what to expect in my child’s speech development and what should warrant concern. What is the normal progression of speech in children from Birth to 1 year?
Ah there are so many wonderful skills and abilities that will be developing in your child during these months! Honestly the best advice I can give is to point you to the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) Website – if I wrote everything out it would simply be repeating everything they already have outlined! ASHA is the national organization for speech-language pathologists and audiologists, conducting research and providing resources for parents and professionals. Check out their link called Birth to One Year: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01/
As always, I hope this information was helpful and I hope to hear from you soon! Leave your questions and comments below or feel free to email me at thebeansquad@mabohne.com
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