When parents are told that every child is unique and develops at their own pace, how should they know if their child’s speech is experiencing developmental delays?
One of the most common misconceptions parents encounter regarding their children’s development is that they should let nature take its course. They’re usually told that they shouldn’t worry if they observe their children lagging behind others because they develop at their proper time and pace. But the question is, how would parents identify when this right time is, and how would they ensure that their child is developing as necessary?
How do parents identify a child’s speech delay?
Children may develop in their own time. However, it’s also crucial for parents to be sensitive to certain developmental milestones children are expected to achieve at specific ages.
For instance, at 18 months, children are expected to be able to use at least 20 words and combine any two words to form a somewhat cohesive command. Paying attention to whether their child can do such helps parents distinguish if they need to proactively assist their children with their development rather than simply letting them do so independently.
If children fail to babble, or if they can come up and say fewer words than the expected amount, this can indicate that they are late talkers. This might manifest the child’s speech delay if such an issue persists over the next couple of months – considering children’s possible individual differences in development.
Another way to identify speech delay is by actively testing children’s abilities concerning their speech.
Speech development is closely related to cognitive development in that parents may identify speech problems by testing their children’s cognitive skills. Suppose they can perform well in cognitive activities, such as puzzles and matching similar shapes and pictures but have significantly delayed verbal communication ability. In that case, this may indicate possible language problems.
How should parents intervene?
Delay in speech development can be a sign of neurodivergence, and parents’ diligence about the child’s speech can help with interventions as early as possible.
There are four common factors to account for speech delay. This delay can result from oral-motor problems, hearing problems, autism, or intellectual disability. It’s essential that once parents observe and suspect their child’s speech development, consulting a doctor should be at the top of their priorities. Since the causes for this problem differ from child to child, doctors must help identify the cause and provide parents with suitable interventions for their specific case.
If the cause is psychological, interventions can include visits from psychologists to account for the child’s possible mental and psychological therapy. Additionally, if this speech problem is brought about due to physical issues, children may need guidance from speech-language pathologists or therapists. However, if children suffer from hearing issues causing them to have problems with talking, doctors may require them to have hearing aids to assist with their initial problem.
Besides these more common causes, sometimes children may develop a delay in their speech due to their environment and the lack of opportunities for speech stimulation. There are materials that can help parents proactively help their children develop communication skills. For instance, author and speech-language pathologist Jo Ann Gramlich published books containing interactive activities to enhance children’s language development.
While speech delay is a possible symptom of graver development issues, its presence isn’t an automatic indicator that your child suffers from communication disorders. Sometimes this difficulty is only caused by the lack of engagement in the children’s environment. Therefore, parents must observe both the child and his environment to ensure effective speech development.
