<strong>Is your kid struggling with speech? Here’s how to help</strong>
Speech delay is a developmental disorder which makes it difficult for children to speak. They are unable to develop this crucial life skill at the medically accepted pace. According to paediatricians, humans start speaking basic words and form proper sentences by the age of 6. However, the level of articulation may vary. At this stage, they also start to comprehend the meanings of elementary words like ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ However, some children exhibit signs of long-delayed speech and experience trouble in interpretating basic words. It can lead to learning difficulties too at a later stage. But the good news is, speech delay is a common condition and can be fixed depending on its causes. Here are the common causes behind speech delay and their fixes.
Minimal conversational opportunities
When a child is mostly isolated or isn’t exposed to the outside world or frequent adult conversations, chances are their speech can often be delayed. This is because a child first learns words by mimicking people in his or her surroundings. Therefore, lack of exposure to regular real-life conversations can lead to difficulty in communication.
The fix: Refer to an expert or a specialist to first figure out the root cause. If it’s due to the lack of exposure, make sure that you involve the child in your day-to-day conversations, and monitor whether they’re able to retain and use whatever they hear. The more they listen, the more they learn and eventually their speech issues will naturally fade away.
Cerebral conditions
If a child suffers from an underlying cerebral issue that has been left undetected and undiagnosed, it can result in delayed speech. Few instances of intellectual disabilities like autism and cerebral palsy can be the reasons behind a child’s speech delay.
The fix: If a child exhibits symptoms of the above-mentioned health problems, the goal is to first try and diagnose those ailments and help her manage them well. This will also reduce speech difficulties with time. Special schools and workshops dedicated to helping youngsters with cerebral challenges may help. Parents can also try out linking written and verbal words to help their kids cope with speech difficulty.
Physical challenges
Bodily defects such as impaired hearing can be a leading cause behind speech delay. If a child is unable to properly listen to words, it will automatically delay in their capacity to speak as he won’t be able to imitate.
The fix: The goal here is to watch out for symptoms related to hearing difficulties. If that is properly diagnosed, and treated, the child’s speech delay will also get resolved. Consulting a speech therapist will also help.