Family, Toddler

 

Let me set the scene with a few common scenarios that are shared by parents that work with a Speech Pathologist:

1. Your pre-schooler is super excited to tell you all about something special in their world, but they can’t seem to get past the first word without repeating the first sound over and over again, and it’s been happening pretty consistently for the past 6 months. Your heart sinks and you feel helpless and uncertain about how to respond. You talk to your partner about it later that night and you both agree that he would probably be too young to see a Speech Pathologist.

2. You pick your 3 ½ year old up from their new kindy and the educator tells you she is having trouble understanding your child and adds that fellow friends are also having a tough time. You can understand most of what is said so you decide to wait and see if it gets better after they’ve been at the kindy for a bit longer.

3. You decide to take your toddler to a play group, most of the children are of a similar age. You notice that whilst your toddler is happily playing and having a fun time, she is not saying nearly as many words as the other toddlers. You wonder if the 20 words that she is currently using is enough for her age. You chat to you parents about it, but they assure you that its nothing and she’ll grow out of it. They remind you that children all develop at their own pace. Children follow a typical pattern in how they generally develop and master new skills, such as speech and language skills.

It is true that children develop at their own pace. Some children walk or talk early, whilst others take a little longer. We know however, that most children learn skills within an age range, for example most children will use their first words between the age range of 12 to 18 months. When a child takes longer than this age range, we need to look a little deeper. The scenarios above are all too common and parents are often advised by caring friends or relatives that their child is either too young for a speech pathology assessment, or that they’ll simply grow out of it. But this is not always the best advice, and in fact, the research does not support the “wait and see” approach. We know that being proactive with early intervention helps to minimise the many risks involved in letting a child “grow out of it”. We also know that early intervention (between 0-5 years old) often takes less time and has better outcomes than intervention during the school-age years.

So, when should a child see a Speech Pathologist?

If you can relate to any of the above scenarios, you should consider having your child assessed by a qualified Speech Pathologist. If you as a parent are worried or concerned about any part of your child’s communication abilities, you should consider a speech pathology assessment. Parents instinctively know their child, and often know when something just doesn’t feel right. For some parents just going off a ‘feeling’ might not be enough, and they need to look at the situation a little more black and white. If this is you then here are some things to consider when deciding if your child may benefit from Speech Pathology:

Language abilities

Language is what we say, our vocabulary, our sentence structure, how we share our ideas and express our needs and wants. It’s also what we understand, knowing the meaning of words, follow 1 or 2+ step instructions. Signs of language difficulties in young children may include:

Birth–3 months:  Not smiling or playing with others.

4–7 months: Not starting to babble and experiment with making new sounds.

7–12 months: Making only a few sounds. Not using gestures, like waving or pointing.

7 months–2 years: Not understanding what others say.

12–18 months: Saying only a few words, i.e., less than 10.

1½–2 years: Not putting two words together, e.g., “bye car”.

2 years:  Saying less than 50 words.

2–3 years: Having trouble playing and talking with other children. Unable to answer simple questions.

Speech abilities

Speech is how we say sounds and words. It’s normal for young children to say some sounds the wrong way. Some sounds don’t develop until a child is 4, 5, or 6 years old. Signs of speech difficulties in young children include:

1–2 years: Not saying p, b, m, h, and w the right way in words most of the time

2–3 years:  Not saying k, g, f, t, d, and n the right way in words most of the time.

4+ years:  Not saying l, sh, ch, j, s and z the right way in words most of the time.

Not using consonant clusters, which are combinations of two sounds. (e.g., tw, sp, gl) the right way in words most of the time.

Stuttering

Stuttering is a speech disorder that causes interruptions in the rhythm or flow of speech. Stuttering usually starts during the preschool years, commonly at around 3 years of age. Signs that a child may be presenting with a stutter include:

2½–3½ years

Having a lot of trouble getting sounds or words out.

Repeating the first sounds of words, like & b-b-b-ball for ‘ball’

Pausing a lot while talking

Stretching sounds out, like ‘fffffarm’ for ‘farm’

Don’t use the “wait and see” approach

If you are concerned about any aspect of your child’s communication abilities let an expert in communication, a Speech Pathologist, meet and assess your child. If someone close to you, or in fact, even a stranger at the playground shares concerns about their child’s speech, language or stutter remember that the “wait and see”, or the “they’ll grow out of it” approach is outdated, unhelpful and not proactive. Validate their concerns are encourage them to see a Speech Pathologist.

Shona Eagle

Speech Pathologist

It Takes a Village Speech and Feeding Therapy

www.ittakesavillagetherapy.com.au

 

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