Speech and Language Disorders in Children
Speech, language and communication are fundamental to any child’s progress. Language development impacts a child’s social interactions, conduct and academic abilities. A speech, language and communication need (SLCN) is a protective term that can depict difficulties in at least one area and an estimated 10% of kids and youngsters have some type of SLCN.
Children achieve a great amount during their first couple of years. In very quick time, they learn to crawl, walk, talk and mingle with others. Most of the skills a child learns come at an expected age range. For example, most infants start to crawl somewhere in the range of 6 and 10 months and a majority of them are refined walkers by 15 months.
Similar achievements exist for speech. A child should say their first word by age 1 and they should be able to tell 20 words by year and a half. If your child is behind these objectives, do not panic. Your child may be a little slow in fostering their language skills and could benefit working with a therapist.
Fostering strong communication skills is critical, yet misinterpretations and myths remain. One is that children will by and large grow out of speech and language disorders. Sadly, this myth sometimes defers treatment. Indeed, a few kids are to be sure slow developers, yet frequent treatment is necessary as well. Great communication skills are pivotal and help with behaviour, learning, reading, social skills and companionships. It is a lot easier, more viable and affordable to treat speech and language difficulties early.
SLCN can define difficulties in one or more areas that include:
• Speech (using speech sounds accurately and in the correct places)
• Receptive language (understanding what others say)
• Voice (quality of voice)
• Expressive language (choosing and joining words together in the right order to convey meaning)
• Fluency (the flow and rhythm of speech)
• Social communication and pragmatics (interacting with other which includes turn-taking and interpreting facial expressions and body language)
Speech therapy can assist a child with fostering their speech and language abilities. Despite the fact that speech and language cross-over, the two are somewhat unique with regards to the details. Kids might experience issues with speaking and not language, language but not speaking, or both.
Speech includes articulation, voice and fluency. Each of the three parts of speech should get together for powerful verbal skills. Articulation manages the way our lips, tongue and mouth move to deliver specific sounds. A child who battles with articulation might experience difficulty with ‘r’ or ‘th’ sounds. Voice is the utilisation of the breath and vocal folds to utter sounds. While a child need not be loud, they should have the option to talk at a reliably justifiable volume. Fluency is the rhythm of speech and kids who battle with fluency may falter or stammer.
Language includes talking, understanding, reading and writing. It alludes to the words we use and how we use them to share thoughts and get what we need. A kid with a language disorder might experience difficulty with at least one of the four skills.
Children might have problems such as:
• How to put words together
• What words mean
• What is to be said at different times
• What words mean
Experiencing difficulty in getting what others say is receptive language disorder. Having issues sharing our contemplations, thoughts and feelings is an expressive language disorder.
SLCN are sometimes an invisible disorder resulting in kids and youngsters being misunderstood by people around them. In the long haul, research has connected SLCN to poorer work possibilities, decreased educational attainment and mental health challenges. Hence, it is essential that kids and youngsters have access to the best specialist support and required resources in order to reach their full potential now and in future.
Chetna Foundation helps children having issues with development. We offer an inviting and comfortable environment for kids that can assist them with fostering the fundamental abilities they need to flourish and lead a satisfying life.