Speech articulation in a child is known to develop for his first eight years, after which the child is known to master all the sounds. But, there could be instances where a child would have difficulties developing certain sounds and he would experience difficulties in pronouncing them sounds.
Speech therapy for children might be the step in the right direction to improve the articulation.
Speech Therapy for Children: Most children over a period of time overcome their speech articulation problems while a few might be unable to do so. Seeing a speech therapist might help children relieve them of their problems related to speech.
Speech therapy aims at knowing the root causes of the child’s speech deficiencies along with providing a cure to them. Understanding children with speech problems can be a laborious task and it is necessary that such problems are addressed right in the childhood.
Not addressing speech issues at the right time could lead to problems lasting lifetime.
When Would Children Need Speech Therapy?: The problems related to speech disorders can largely be attributed to accidents, developmental details or genetic disorders. Such problems mostly are known to have cure if detected in childhood. How would parents detect the need of a speech therapist for their child or children?
Problems with speech can lead to fluency errors automatically making it difficult for the listener to understand what the child is saying. Also, a child’s decibel levels are likely to be affected making his/her voice less audible. Let us look at a few signs children would show.
- a child does not pay attention to sounds and voices around him/her when 12 months old.
- would not develop speech even 18 months after birth.
- would not understand even simple sentences even after 2 years.
- does not use at least 3-5 word phrases by 3 years.
- inaudible and unclear speech when 3 years and more.
- would stammer while talking.
The above are a few signs that prompt the requirement of speech therapy in such children.
Medical Conditions Involved: Also, a few medical conditions may produce speech related disorders in children. The conditions can be:
- hearing impairment
- breathing disorder
- swallowing disorder
- autism
- weak mouth muscles
- cracked and split lips
Speech therapy for children at a very young age is a must if any speech related disorders are recognised. Not seeing a speech therapist could have drastic consequences in a child’s speech and might impede with his moral growth.
