Speech Language Disorder - Part 1

I love to watch children play, they are so original and innocent. Their transparency makes them such adorable play writers. Speech is an important part of play. Without the fluency of speech, children will struggle to fit in and become loners as a result. 

The number of children who struggle with speech disorders, nowadays are on the rise. My first born spoke when he was one, but Ivan only spoke when he turned five. So if you are in a situation, wondering if your child has a challenge in the area of speech, read this entry, I hope it helps you.

"With a typical child, receptive abilities (understanding language) and expressive skills (vocabulary, the production of complex sentences, and recall of words) usually develop at the same pace. However, when there is board disparity between the two and when a child's communication is noticeably lagging behind his or her peers in the attainment of these skills, a serious disorder is indicated  and red flags go up.

When a child's ability to understand language is in the normal range but his or her expressive ability, speech, is critically inadequate- it might be completely absent, somewhat impaired, or just difficult to understand- then they have a speech or language disorder." Here we are talking about children under the age of three.

You may think that your child is a "late bloomer". Like Peter did with Ivan, he kept telling me that we should just wait it out. Neither of us knew better. In time, I came to realize that even if Ivan was a "late bloomer", a weekly visit to the therapist would have helped speed along the process. Either way, it would have only helped the boy. So I encourage you, if you see fit, do make an appointment with a Speech Therapist to see your concerns through. At the most, if you are not comfortable, at least you took step one.

Here are three types of speech language disorders:

1. Agrammatism - telegrahic speech (Me, you, uh, watch television)

2. Anomia - difficulty in retrieving or recalling a specific word

3. Aphasia - problem with language caused by brain damage. 

The thing to remember here is that, should your child be affected by these three above mentioned, do know that this only affects his speech not his intellect.

As, there are many to cover, I will pause here and continue in the next article. Stay tuned.

credit for picture
Book: Alphabet Kids: From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome by Robbie Woliver