You can fix your child's speech disorder if you catch it at the right age.
For most children, learning to communicate, listen, understand and respond is a natural and easy process. Most children will quickly develop comprehension and language skills that will last for the rest of their lives. However, some children find language learning difficult or get stuck along the way. This may be a case of speech disorder induced by a lack of hearing or reduced hearing ability. Speech and language disorders not only affect talking, but the following too:
They can impair understanding, concentration and memory
They can damage the child's ability to socialise and build relationships
Children may not be able to find the words to put in sequence even if they know what they want to say
These problems are not simple or not easy to understand. Over 90 per cent of the general public is unaware of these aspects of speech and language disorders, and the condition is often misinterpreted as a stutter.
As children get older, their needs and challenges grow and without communication, they have a slim chance of developing into normal adults. Speech disorders often set in due to genetic transfer and can manifest at birth. This is more likely to be present in children with other learning disabilities.
Depending on the severity of the problem and other factors, a therapy plan should be drawn up for your child and you. This would contain details about the therapy techniques to be adopted and the course of the therapy.
If your child has a speech disorder, you will probably need the help of a professional. But how do you know when there's a problem? Here's how you can determine speech disorder in your child:
nIf your child can speak in complete words or sentences, but consistently leaves out letters or sounds from words
nIf your child replaces a word or letter in a sentence, it is a major sign of speech problem
nIf your child replaces a sound or letter for one that is more difficult to say, such as substituting a 'w' sound for an 'r' or a 'w' for an 'l'
Within the first 2-3 months of birth, if your child does not make vowel sounds, if the child does not get startled or jump when there is a very loud sound, like a cough, or a dog barking
Within the first year of birth, if your child is not using gestures such as pointing, shaking his/her head, waving
If your child is making sounds that are garbled or unclear, immature compared with other children of the same age
Gets frustrated about speaking. For example, he/she gets upset when speech is unclear, isn't understood, and has to repeat sounds
Has hearing loss
Speech pathologists
If your child does have a disorder, a speech pathologist might suggest some therapy sessions. A speech pathologist would spend time with the child for a detailed evaluation in order to find out if there is a problem and if so, what to do next. Audiologists can help with speech disorders if your child has a hearing problem. If his/her hearing is impaired, they will inform you about how this might affect your child's communication skills.