Many children with speech delays have oral-motor problems, meaning there's inefficient communication in the areas of the brain responsible for speech production. The child encounters difficulty using the lips, tongue, and jaw to produce speech sounds. Speech may be the only problem or may be accompanied by other oral-motor problems such as feeding difficulties. A speech delay may also indicate a more "global" (or general) developmental delay.
Hearing problems are also commonly related to delayed speech, which is why a child's hearing should be tested whenever there's a speech concern. A child who has trouble hearing may have trouble understanding, imitating, and using language.
Ear infections, especially chronic infections, can affect hearing ability. Simple ear infections that have been adequately treated, though, should have no effect on speech.
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What Speech-Language Pathologists Do
If you or your doctor suspects that your child has
a problem, early evaluation by a speech-language
pathologist is crucial. Of course, if there turns out to
be no problem after all, an evaluation can ease your fears.
Although you can seek out a speech-language pathologist
on your own, your doctor can refer you to one.
In conducting an evaluation, a speech-language pathologist will look at a child's speech and language skills within the context of total development. Besides observing your child, the speech-language pathologist will conduct standardised tests and scales, and look for milestones in speech and language development.
The speech-language pathologist will also assess:
> what your child understands (called receptive language)
> what your child can say (called expressive language)
> if your child is attempting to communicate in other ways,
such as pointing, head shaking, gesturing, etc.
> your child's oral-motor status (how a child's mouth, tongue, palate, etc., work together for speech as well as eating and swallowing)
If the speech-language pathologist finds that your child needs speech therapy, your involvement will be very important. You can observe therapy sessions and learn to participate in the process.
The speech therapist will show you how you can work with your child at home to improve speech and language
skills.
Evaluation by a speech-language pathologist
may find that your expectations are simply too
high. Educational materials that outline
developmental stages and milestones may
help you look at your child more realistically.
What Parents Can Do
Like so many other things, speech
development
is a mixture of nature and nurture. Genetic
makeup will, in part, determine intelligence and
speech and language development. However, a
lot of it depends on environment. Is a child
adequately stimulated at home or at child
care? Are there opportunities for
communication exchange and participation?
What kind of feedback does the child get?
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