Often language and speech delay are confused as one. But there is a difference.
According to , a speech disorder is when children have difficulty pronouncing the sounds in words. This can make their speech difficult to understand. Children with a speech disorder might have language skills that are otherwise good. That is, they understand words and sentences well and can form sentences correctly.
If a child has a language delay that doesn’t go away, it might be a sign of a language disorder. A language disorder is characterised by significant delays in learning to talk and understand language.
Children with speech disorders do not necessarily have a language delay, but they can have both.
Children develop language and speech at different rates. But following are some signs that should raise a red flag in the area:
By 12 months
Your child is not trying to communicate with you (using sounds, gestures and/or words), particularly when needing help or wanting something.
By 2 years
Your child:
- isn’t saying about 50 different words
- isn’t combining two or more words together – for example, ‘More drink’, ‘Mum up’
- isn’t producing words spontaneously – that is, your child only copies words or phrases from others
- doesn’t seem to understand simple instructions or questions – for example, ‘Get your shoes’, ‘Want a drink?’, ‘Where’s Daddy?’
Note: at the age of two, about one in five children shows signs of having a language delay. Many of these children will catch up as they get older. Some will continue to have trouble with language.
At about 3 years
Your child:
- isn’t combining words into longer phrases or sentences – for example, ‘Help me Mummy’, ‘Want more drink’
- doesn’t seem to understand longer instructions or questions – for example, ‘Get your shoes and put them in the box’, ‘What do you want to eat for lunch today?’
- takes little or no interest in books
- isn’t asking questions.
Source: AAP
Your child:
- has been diagnosed with a hearing loss, developmental delay or syndrome in which language might be affected – for example, autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome, or other less known syndromes like Fragile X , Landau-Kleffner and Klinefelter
- stops doing things she used to do – for example, she stops talking.
According to Dr Khillan, if a parent is concerned about the child’s speech or language development, they should seek professional help immediately. This help can come from a speech pathologist, GP or paediatrician, a child and family health nurse, or a psychologist.
Dr Khillan also talks about how people often ignore the signs by believing that it is normal for boys to have delayed speech than girls or that if the family speaks more than one language at home, kids often get confused and develop speech later than normal.
He explains further in the interview within this article.
Some language delays are associated with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder or down syndrome. These will be discussed in the next segment.
Source: Supplied by Danyal Syed
