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Watching and listening for those first few recognizable words from your child is an exciting time. You may feel anxious that your child has not started talking or is difficult to understand. You may even wonder if you need to get your child into speech therapy in Riverview, MI. In many cases all you need to do is wait. All children develop at their own pace. In some cases, however, you may want to watch for signs to know when you should contact a speech therapist. There are many different reasons that a child might need to see a speech therapist. This article will explore signs to watch out for, what might be causing a speech problem, and how a speech therapist can help. Warning Signs While children all develop at their own pace, there are certain milestones that mark normal development. Forming words and responding to heard speech are two of these important milestones. By age 2 most children should be at least forming single words and perhaps even stringing simple sentences together. If your child is still hard to understand a lot of the time at age 2 don't be too concerned. If your child is not showing signs of speaking at all, that may be a concern. The first thing you should do is make sure that your child's hearing is not the issue. By age 3, you should be able to understand much of what your child is saying. Here are some other warning signs you should look for: - Your child talks mostly in vowels, leaving consonants out at the beginning and end of words.
- No real change in language acquisition is happening from month to month
- Your child repeats part of your questions "echoing" what you say instead of responding
- Your child does not react normally or is not consistent in responses to sounds. For example your child might seem sensitive to some noises like vacuums or blenders but not respond to their name.
Causes of Speech Problems There are many different causes of speech problems. Common causes may be a hearing problem. Children who have delayed speech should always be tested by an audiologist. Oral-motor problems are another common problem. Oral-motor problems are caused by a problem in the brain which communicates the necessary signals to the tongue, lips, and jaw. An oral impediment like a problem with the palate or a short frenulum (often called tongue-tie) can also cause speech problems. Speech delay may also be a sign of a larger developmental delay or a disorder like autism. It is important to investigate all possible reasons for a delay. If the problem is physical, it can often be corrected. A tongue-tie can easily be clipped, but the longer the issue is unresolved, the more compensations the child will develop and a lot of relearning will have to take place. What Does a Speech Therapist Do? When a speech-language pathologist first starts to evaluate a child, he or she will look at language development in the context of the child's development as a whole. The therapist may perform tests and examinations to evaluate your child's speech development. The therapist will evaluate what your child can understand, which is called receptive language; what your child is able to say, called expressive language; what other forms of communication your child might be using, like pointing and gesturing; your child's clarity and ability to form correct language sounds; and your child's oral-motor abilities. Depending on the resulting diagnosis, your child may be in need of speech therapy in Riverview, MI, and possibly some physical corrections like a tongue release.
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