When should I start worrying about my child's speech?
Children are programmed to develop certain sounds at a certain age according to norms. However, there are some children who become proficient at these sounds earlier or later than these norms. If you are concerned about your child’s pronunciation or the errors interfere with the child’s ability to be understood by others (even the parents) an assessment is warranted.
Should I read to my child and why?
Learn to read is probably one of the most important aspects of language development. Parents play an important role in the development of reading in young children, even before they go to school. For your child to perform well at school it is recommended that a love of books be developed from a young age. Even babies of 9 months old can learn to appreciate and enjoy books.
What effect can untreated, chronic ear infections have on my child's performance at school?
Ear infections may cause a mild hearing loss when the ear is infected. This may fluctuate in severity during the course of the infection. This fluctuating hearing loss may influence language use and –understanding. If untreated it may result in inappropriate listening- and language skills and influence your child’s ability to follow instructions, understand and learn about new or advanced language to be able to perform their academic tasks. Also, frequent ear infections (especially in young children) may cause inappropriate development of speech sounds and cause communication difficulties as they will not be able to be understood by others, as well as adding to their communication frustration.
How can I prevent middle ear infections?
The most important thing is for parents not to wait too long before treatment is obtained for a child with ear infection. Ear infections are not always marked by discharge from the ears. Take note when your child may not be reacting appropriately to you when you are speaking to him or her (this is not the same as being naughty). Look out for your child scratching or fiddling with his her ears excessively in case they may be experiencing pain. If your child is not developing speech sounds correctly one of the causes may be recurrent ear infections and/or mild hearing loss. It is recommended when you see these signs to consult your doctor as soon as possible and if needed be referred to an Ear-, Nose- and Throat Specialist. A speech therapist can also be consulted if speech development appears to be affected.
What is the earliest that a child can be referred for Speech Therapy?
A child can be referred for Speech Therapy at any age, even a premature baby can receive speech therapy. The earlier a child is referred, the better. Then if a problem exists it can be dealt with quickly and be preventative rather than curative. The younger a child is, the more receptive they are to therapy and the more condusive it will be. Early intervention is the key. The longer the wait, the longer the therapy will most likely be depending on the problem.Drop-down content goes here.
If my child is not using sentences by 3 years old, should I be worried?
Yes, if you have a look at the developmental checklists on the link available you will see that a child should start to use sentences around the age of 2 to 2 years, 6 months. These sentences may cionsist of words like “mommy go”, “daddy look”. Also remember, in order for a child to be able to combine words to form sentences, they need a big enough one-word vocabulary. Therefore, stimulate the child with language as much as possible to enrich their vocabulary. A speech therapy assessment is advised to get more guidelines.
What can a speech therapist do for a child who is not speaking yet e.g. premature babies?
A speech Therapist is skilled in feeding therapy and oral motor stimulation for babies. In order for a child to become an able speaker and communicator, one of the key factors is adequate movement of the oral muscles (mouth and throat muscles). This can be achieved from an early age through sucking on a bottle or breast while feeding as well as the transfer from fluids to solids and other textures in the mouth. This will enable the muscles to grow and become stronger. When a baby has feeding difficulties, sometimes the muscles are not yet well developed, Like in prematurity or the baby has a muscular condition which inhibits him/her to feed well. This can affect later speech and feeding ability. Therefore, a speech therapist can become involved and give the necessary guidelines and therapy to improve this. For further information on premature feeding. Please see the link concerning premature babies.
Why do people stutter?
Stuttering is a neurological condition which is caused by many factors. The two most common factors are (1) if the child has a familiy member with the same communication disorder which predisposes the child to become a stutterer or (2) if the child has a very sensitive temperament and is affected by traumatic events in his/her life. Traumatic events include death in the family, moving house or divorce or even a new baby. If these risk factors exist and the child shows signs of dysfluency, please consult a speech Therapist.
If my child stutters and is only three years old, should I be worried?
Some children go through a period of rapid language growth. This is usually also the age when most parents start sending them to nursery schools to start preparing them for the social expectancies of later academic education. The demand of the environment is of such a nature that the child wants to speak like an adult, but is developmentally not ready for that. Then a dysfluency may occur. It is suggested that It be monitored and not focused on. It is important that the child not be aware of the dysfluency. Some children will use this as a form of seeking attention and it may cause the stuttering to develop more. If the child reaches the age of 5 and still stutters, consultation with a speech therapist is advised.
Is it okay for a 3 year old child to lisp?
A lisp usually occurs when the /s/ sound is not pronounced correctly. However, this sound only develops appropriately by the age of 4 years, 6 months. Therefore, as such, it is not necessary to be too worried at the age of three. Allot of children are not proficient in this sound at that age. However, it would be advisable to see a speech therapist and assess general speech and language ability to ensure that there is no other sign of delay.
How can I help my baby with reflux?
“Heartburn” and “reflux” are often confused. Reflux refers to the regurgitation of gastric acid due to a number of conditions, whereas heartburn refers to the burning feeling just behind the breastbone. In adults reflux is often associated with hiatus hernias and upper- or lower oesophageal sphincter dysfunctions which is normally manged through surgery. Similarly, this may also occur in babies as they have premature digestive systems and may often have oesphogaeal sphycnter dysfunctions because of this, resulting in reflux. There are some similarities between the management of reflux in both populations. In babies these are:
- Feeding the baby in a more elevated position
- Keeping the baby elevated for 15-20 minutes following a feed. Remember that because babies only have liquids for a very long time before moving onto solids, they are even more prone to reflux as liquid will be regurgitated more easily than solids, because it is light and thin in consistency.
- Not shaking the baby up and down when winding or soothing, but rather a firm upward stroke of the back.
- Allowing the baby to sleep in a slightly elevated position using a wedge under his/her mattress.
- Using an anti-reflux milk or thickening expressed breast milk and/or formula is a possible option as the weight of the milk will assist in reflux happening to a lesser degree.
- Reflux can also be managed by medication which will have to be described by your paediatrician or general practitioner.
- Changing nappy changing routine to before feeds instead of after feeds and when needed after feeds to wait, where possible, so as to not promote reflux happening.
Why do word finding difficulties happen after a stroke or head injury?
During a stroke or head injury, if the left side (hemisphere) of the brain is damaged, the language centre in the brain is affected and word finding difficulties may occur. This is called aphasia or dysphasia. Symptoms of this can be found on the Aphasia links of this website.