The development and formation of speech in each child occurs individually, depending on many factors. You should not compare one baby with another, but you need to clearly understand the difference between the norm and pathology in development. When alarms appear in a child’s speech delay, you may need the help of specialists if you can’t cope with the problem on your own.
What are the signs of delayed speech development in children under 3 years of age? And when should you be concerned? This will be discussed in the article.
Norms for the development of speech in a child
Initially, every he althy baby is born unable to speak. All communication with his parents takes place through different intonations of crying. And only with time and with proper care does the formation and development of speech occur, which consists in a number of stages. Each of them is important, and without completing one, the child will not be able to master the next. The main task of parents is to recognize and help in time if the child hasdifficulties.
Normal speech development is considered, if at the age of 2 to 5 months the child begins to coo. From three to five, he learns to pronounce individual syllables, entering into a period of babbling. From 11 months, the first words appear. At the age of 2-3 years, the child is able to build the first simple sentences. From the age of three, a child is able to build his thoughts into a coherent small text, memorize and retell short poems.
The formation of speech in the first year of life
The first year of life is very important for the proper development of a child's speech. During this period, his brain, hearing, and speech organs are actively developing. The harmonious combination of these components allows us to talk about the he alth of the baby. Hearing someone else's speech, he tries to copy the speaker's intonation first, and then make similar sounds and syllables.
In the first months of life, the child makes sounds unconsciously, gradually training his speech apparatus. Then he begins to chant these sounds, moving into the stage of humming. From the age of three months, the baby responds, imitating an adult, with separate syllables, and by half a year he clearly pronounces separate sound combinations. By 9 months the baby is babbling. During this period, he develops articulation, he tries to repeat certain words after an adult. Speech hearing, perception of objects, understanding of an adult's appeal to him are improving.
By the end of the first year of life, the baby is already able to repeat individual words. He has a vocabulary of approximately 10 words,consisting of the same type of syllables. The circle of recognizable objects has expanded. He recognizes by the names of close people, is able to distinguish who is depicted in the picture.
Speech development from one to three years
From the year the child begins to actively move in space, interact with a large number of objects. This cannot but affect the development of his speech. The first words denoting actions appear, while in a generalized form. The passive vocabulary is getting wider, gradually the words from it become active. A child, with the help of an adult, learns to generalize them when interacting with various objects.
After a year and a half, the first simple sentences appear in the child's speech, often consisting of two or three words. Then the baby learns the plural, and by the age of two he uses the case forms. Speech development delay in children 3 years old is diagnosed if the child does not know how to do this. But should you immediately panic? First, it is important to find out the reason.
Reason for rejection
Why is there a delay in speech development in children? The reasons may be different. To effectively correct problems in a child’s speech, it is necessary to clearly define the problem and contact the right specialist. Scientists identify the main reasons:
- Problems in development in utero.
- Birth trauma.
- Head injuries at an early age.
- Psychological trauma, neurodevelopmental delays.
- Hearing problems.
- Limited communication between adult and child.
It's no secret that a child's he alth is laid down during a woman's pregnancy, when all organs are formed, the brain develops, which is responsible for the formation and development of speech in the future. Infectious diseases, injuries, antibiotic treatment, unhe althy lifestyle of the expectant mother can adversely affect not only the he alth of the baby, but the development of his psyche. Numerous studies also prove the negative impact on the child's speech that occurs during birth injuries. That's when there may be a delay in speech development in children 3 years and older.
Head injuries at an early age, concussion, severe infectious diseases with complications, stress, neurosis - all this can affect both the development of the child's body in general and speech in particular.
Hearing problems have a very detrimental effect on the development and formation of speech. In this case, there is a delay in speech development in children of 3 years. It is impossible to teach a child to reproduce sounds if he does not hear and understand them. Perhaps this is just a temporary phenomenon associated with a disease, inflammation of the ear, or the presence of a sulfur plug. Or is it a serious illness, such as hearing loss. Depending on the degree of the disease, the correct treatment is prescribed by an otolaryngologist.
It is known that the delay in speech development in children of 3 years old is eliminated with his constant contact with adults. Parents talk to their child long before he learns to answer them. These are theystimulate the brain, positive emotions, and hence speech. It has been observed that those children who for some reason are deprived of the opportunity to communicate, begin to talk much later.
Speech development of children 3-4 years old: norm and delay
Until the age of three, the diagnosis of "delayed speech development" (SRR) is very rare, in most cases with concomitant various diseases. If there are reasons for concern, then a timely appeal to a specialist can completely solve the problem. Special attention should be paid if the baby does not want to interact with other children. He is not accepted into the game because his speech is incomprehensible to others. The child is in too much of a hurry and swallows some of the words. He cannot answer simple questions. Does not recognize or name simple objects. If these symptoms are present, the child needs help. It is likely that these problems can disappear after simple exercises with parents. If there is no result from the classes after a short time, you should contact a specialist.
Speech delay in babies under five
After 4 years, there is a high probability of a transition from a delay in speech development to a delay in psychoverbal development (SPRR). This is explained by the fact that underdevelopment of speech inhibits the development of thinking, and vice versa, problems in mental development inhibit the normal development of speech in a child. FromThe chosen methods for the treatment and correction of ZPRR depend on the success in the development of speech. However, it was noted that after the age of five, the chance for the complete eradication of shortcomings in speech drops sharply. And after 6 years, it is only 0.2%.
Signs of a problem
How do you know if a child really has a speech delay? How to recognize deviations? Scientists and experts identify 10 main features:
- No "revive response" in an adult under 4 months.
- No babble until 9 months.
- Problems with chewing and swallowing up to a year and a half.
- Lack of simple words and misunderstanding of elementary commands until a year and a half.
- Vocabulary doesn't expand by age two.
- Unable to make simple two-word sentences by 2.5 years.
- Unintelligible, hurried or too slow speech by age 3.
- Not being able to make up your own sentences at age 3 or using adult mirror phrases.
- Not understanding simple adult explanations after three years.
- Permanently open mouth and excessive drooling not related to teething.
Speech delay - when to sound the alarm?
The development of speech has rather blurred boundaries. You should not constantly compare your child with other children. The process of speech formation is purely individual. Scientists have also recorded that boys start talking a little later than girls. However, the percentage of delays in the development of speech inboys above.
If a child at the age of three perfectly understands an adult, fulfills his requests, and he has no delays in mental development, then you should not panic. If only speech suffers in a baby, then the reason lies in the individual readiness for the formation of speech. If the child does not speak at all or very little after three years, or his speech is incomprehensible, then this is a serious reason to contact a specialist.
Methods of therapy and correction
Treatments for speech delay:
- Medicated.
- Classes with specialists.
If during the examination by specialists, for example, a pediatric neurologist, the child is diagnosed with a brain lesion, then, as a rule, medication is prescribed. It goes in parallel with classes with a speech therapist, massage therapist, child psychologist, if the situation requires it.
Specialists helping children with speech delays
Parents should not panic, as speech delay and speech development in a child is treated. This is done by a number of specialists:
- Speech therapist.
- Defectologist.
- Neurologist.
- Audiologist.
- Psychologist.
Every parent should know when and why to see a particular doctor. Speech therapists help to put the correct sound pronunciation, massage the speech muscles, improve diction.
Defectologists often work in tandem with a speech therapist, the main task of these specialists is to eliminate developmental problems in children with mental and(or) physical handicap.
A neurologist will diagnose and help identify or rule out brain damage. Psychologists help to develop memory, attention, fine motor skills of hands, to cope with psychological traumas that caused delays in the development of speech.
An audiologist is a doctor who helps treat hearing problems.
Prevention
Delayed speech development in a child of 3-5 years old is extremely unpleasant for the whole family. The most effective work to prevent the described problem is constant communication with mother, adults, creating good conditions for the development of the baby as a whole, constant communication with your child, reading books to him, memorizing poems. An important role in the development of speech is played by fine motor skills of the hands - drawing, modeling from plasticine, finger and didactic games. All of these methods are available for implementation at home. Even if there are no signs of delayed speech development in children under 3 years old, maximum communication is still needed to avoid problems in the future.
