Ask a Speech Language Pathologist:  Is it true that your baby can learn to read?

Yes, a bright baby can learn to sight read (memorize words by how they look) and perhaps even to sound out new words, but it is rare. Most likely the baby would be memorizing words by their shape.

Pronunciation Q&A: I have always believed that children develop at their own pace. Why should I be concerned when my child has a speech delay?

Question:

I have always believed that children develop at their own pace. Why should I be concerned when my child has a speech delay?

Answer:

While it is true that children develop at their own pace, they do so within a normal range. For example, a child will learn to say his first word sometime between 9 months and 18 months. This is a wide range. Children who talk much earlier might end up being gifted, and children who talk much later might end up having learning disabilities.

Late to talk: For any child who is late to talk, there is a chance that this lateness is a sign of another problem. Most learning difficulties are much easier to treat if they are diagnosed earlier. For example, a 2 year old child might not be talking because she is a little shy, and she will learn to talk a bit later than her peers and catch up. Her parents may learn some skills to get her talking a bit sooner than she might have, and therefore avoid some behavior problems.

However, other 2 year olds might not be talking because they have autism, or severe oral motor dyspraxia, or learning disabilities, or a hearing loss, or other difficulties. For each case, it is better to get an early diagnosis and treatment.

Pronunciation delays: For children who have delayed pronunciation, social interaction is a challenge. Improving pronunciation through speech therapy can help them interact successfully with their peers. Children who start school with pronunciation delays often have difficulty learning to read and write compared to their peers – especially if they try to write based on how they say the sounds. Early identification and intervention can prevent reading problems and the social and self esteem problems that are associated with school failure

Question:

My 12 month old daughter is not talking at all, only babbling. But some of her friends are only a few months older and they have dozens of words. Should I be concerned?

I don’t work outside the home, but I’m wondering if should put my baby daycare to help her speech development?

What about educational TV?

Answer:

She sounds fine! There aren’t many milestones for 12 month olds for speech, except they should be babbling, demonstrating that they can hear speech, and at least interested in communicating with other people.

Babies do not need daycare to help their speech and language development. Instead of daycare, she should be exposed to other kids at events like birthday parties and church so they can watch them. But the important goals for this age are bonding and playing with parents.

And she definitely doesn’t need TV. Research shows that those baby Einstein movies decrease children’s language and intelligence scores instead of increasing as advertised. Kids don’t gain any language or cognitive skills from educational TV until their language skills are at or above a FOUR year old level. TV or computers are not needed until age four, even then books and interaction with people are more beneficial.

If you do want to encourage faster speech development with your baby, I suggest using Baby Sign. I recommend Joseph Garcia’s Sign with your Baby book and DVD.

Early Language Q&A: My two year old child is not speaking yet

Question:

My two year old child is not speaking yet. Should I be concerned? My mother in law says that she knows many children who didn’t speak at all until they were three years old, and then they spoke in complete sentences. Does this mean that I should just wait and see if my child will talk on his own? Or should I get help?

Answer:

You should try to get him evaluated by a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP). Children usually have at least 50 words in their vocabulary by 24 months of age. Those who don’t are at risk for further language delays, pronunciation problems and even learning problems. Your SLP can let you know if your child has any other risk factors that might make him at higher risk for language related delays. For example, if his father was late to talk, and went on to need speech therapy or learning assistance, then the child is at higher risk for language and learning problems than a child whose father was a late talker who went on to do very well in school.

As for the children who don’t talk until three years – in my experience it is rare that a child can make it to three without talking and have no ongoing effects (But it does happen). If you dig deeper you often find that there are social, self esteem and learning problems associated with these late talkers. Also, many SLPs in our province have long waitlists so it is best to get your child’s name on the list early if possible.

Examples of communication disorders:

• autism — a developmental defect that affects understanding of emotional communication
• aphasia — loss of the ability to produce or comprehend language
• Learning disability – Both speaking and listening components of the definition
• Dysnomia - Deficit involving word retrieval
• Asperger syndrome – Areas of social and pragmatic language
• Semantic Pragmatic Disorder – Challenges with the semantic and pragmatic aspects of language
• blindness – a defect of the eye or visual system
• deafness – a defect of the ear or auditory system
• dyslexia – a defect of the systems used in reading
• dyscalculia – a defect of the systems used in communicating numbers
• expressive language disorder — affects speaking and understanding where there is no delay in non-verbal intelligence.
• mixed receptive-expressive language disorder — affects speaking, understanding, reading and writing where there is no delay in non-verbal intelligence.
• speech disorders such as
• cluttering, a speech organization disorder
• stuttering
• oesophageal voice
• speech sound disorder
• specific language impairment
• dysarthria

source: wikipedia

Speech-language pathology is the study of disorders that affect a person’s speech, language, cognition, voice, swallowing (dysphagia) and the rehabilitative or corrective treatment of physical and/or cognitive deficits/disorders resulting in difficulty with communication and/or swallowing. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) or Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) address people’s speech production, vocal production, swallowing difficulties and language needs through speech therapy in a variety of different contexts including schools, hospitals, and through private practice.

Communication includes speech (articulation, intonation, rate, intensity, voice, resonance, fluency), language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics), both receptive and expressive language (including reading and writing), and non-verbal communication such as facial expression and gesture. Swallowing problems managed under speech therapy are problems in the oral and pharyngeal stages of swallowing (not oesophageal).

Depending on the nature and severity of the disorder, common treatments may range from physical strengthening exercises, instructive or repetitive practice and drilling, to the use of audio-visual aids and introduction of strategies to facilitate functional communication. Speech therapy may also include sign language and the use of picture symbols or Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) (Diehl 2003).

The practice is called:

* Speech-language pathology (SLP) in the United States and Canada
* Speech and language therapy (SLTs) in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. Within the United Kingdom a Speech and Language Therapy team is often referred to by clinicians as the “SALT” team.
* Speech pathology in Australia
* Speech-language therapy in New Zealand

Other terms in use include speech therapy, logopaedics and phoniatrics.

from: wikipedia

photo: flickr: 42dreams