Speech Delay

Symptoms of Speech Defects

Speech delay refers to a common developmental issue where toddlers do not meet typical speech milestones. Around 10% of preschool children experience speech delays. It’s essential to know the distinct characteristics of speech delay and language delays.

Speech Delay vs. Language Delay

Speech Delay

1. Involves difficulty producing sounds and forming intelligible words

2. Toddlers may form phrases and sentences but are hard to understand due to speech sound error

3. Maynotnecessarily have a language dela

Language Delay:

1. Correctly produces sounds but struggles with phrases and sentences

2. Mayhavechallenges understanding what is heard or read

3. Difficulties in putting words together to form meaningful communication

4. Mayusesign language, gestures, and writing to communicate

Some children experience either speech or language delay, while others have both. Speech and language therapists can help address these challenges.

Common Causes of Speech Delays

Underlying Factors:

1. Physical and Intellectual Development: Speech delays can signal broader developmental issues.

2. Articulation Disorder: Difficulty producing age-appropriate speech sounds

3. Motor coordination problems: difficulties producing sounds due to inability to correctly move and place muscles required for speech

4. Expressive Speech Delay: A condition in which a child exhibits a lower than typical ability in vocabulary, word combinations, sentence formation, and repetition.

5. Mixed Expressive and Receptive Language Delays: Challenges in oral language production and comprehension of heard or read words

Treatment and Support

1. Early Intervention: Research shows that early treatment leads to better outcomes and prevents long-lasting negative effects on overall communication.

2. Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs): Certified professionals assess and provide tailored therapy plans in creative ways to facilitate learning.

3. At-HomeStrategies:

   1. Everyday Tips: Keep talking! Narrate and echo what you and your child does in normal everyday tasks like mealtimes, bathtime, car rides, etc.

   2. Helpful Exercises: Engage in pretend and imaginative play! A child learns most as they play and interact with others. Be creative in playing, adding dialogues and scripts to activities in short and simple ways, inserting sounds in interactions, and avoiding correcting your child but instead, modeling the correct words and phrases they can use to communicate