Speech Therapy Treatment For Speech or Language Delay/Development

What Is Speech And Language Development Delay?

The speech delay and language delay are both different terms. But both of these can give a huge impact on a child’s life if left untreated. In short, these delay’s can be explained as when a child is not being able to develop speech or language just like a normal child.

If you need any assistance or have a question about Speech Delay & Development, you can consult our HearingSol experts with your problem, feel free to call us on +91-9327901950. We are always here to help you.

Now, let’s first know the difference between Speech delay and Language delay:

• Speech Delay – Speech delay refers to a condition in which the development of the mechanism that is used to produce speech is delayed. It is the verbal expression of language which includes Articulation. In speech delay, a child can use words and phrases to express what he wants to say but it can be difficult to understand.
• Language Delay – Language is the complete system to give and get information in a meaningful and understandable way. A child who is having a language delay can pronounce words well but will have the difficulty in putting those words together.

What Are The Causes of Speech & Language Delay?

Following are some factors that cause speech and language development delay in children:

1. Learning Disabilities

It is a common reason for language or speech problems in kids. These disorders are caused due to brain working differently. In this, a child can have a problem in producing speech sounds, understanding what other people are saying or using spoken language to communicate.

2. Physical Impairment – Cleft palate is the perfect example of physical impairment that causes speech or language delay. Another example is unusually short “Frenulum” which is the fold that helps in holding the tongue to the lower mouth.

3. Childhood Apraxia of Speech – Due to the apraxia of speech some kids got a problem with communication in the areas of the brain responsible for speech production. In this, the child can have a problem in controlling the muscles of his body that is used in speaking.

4. General Development Delay – A speech delay might be related to other developmental delays or developmental disorders like Autism. If you think or notice that along with slowness in speech, your child is also developing other skills and abilities more slowly than usual, contact your pediatrician and ask to have an assessment of your child.

5. Hearing Problems – Problem in hearing can also lead a child to speech or language delay. A child who has hearing loss can have trouble in understanding speech around him as well as his own vocalization which also makes it difficult to understand and master specific words preventing him from using language correctly and fluently.

6. Prematurity – Prematurity in a baby can easily lead him to many development disorders including speech and language development disorder too.

7. Auditory Processing Disorder – This disorder is related to decoding sounds of the speech. Kids having this disorder can improve their speech through speech and language development delay therapy.

8. Neurological Problems – Some neurological muscles like Muscular Dystrophy, Cerebral Palsy, and Traumatic Brain Injury can affect the muscles that we need for speaking thus causing speech or language disorder.

9. Selective Mutism – It is a condition in which a child will not talk at all in some certain situations, most often in school.

Signs of Speech And Language Delay In A Baby

Sometimes it becomes difficult for parents to find out if their child is taking just a little much longer to reach out the language or speech milestone or if there is another problem that may need medical attention.

Following are some points to take in mind, concern a doctor if your child:

• Has not started to use gestures, such as pointing or waving bye-bye by the age of 12 months.
• Has not started to use gestures instead of vocalization for communicating by the age of 18 months.
• Got difficulty in imitating sounds by the age of 18 months.
• Got trouble in understanding the simple verbal requests.
• Is not able to produce words or phrases spontaneously but can imitate speech or actions by the age of 2 years.
• Cannot use oral language to communicate and says only a few sounds or words repeatedly by the age of 2 years.
• Cannot follow simple directions by the age of 2 years.
• Has an unusual tone in the voice like nasal sounding or raspy by the age of two years.
• Is more difficult to understand in comparison with other children of his age.

Therapies & Treatment For Speech And Language Development Delay

There are many different types of therapies available for children that are diagnosed with speech or language delay. And you may not know this but for every child, the therapies and treatment needed changes with the degree, cause, and severity of the delay. In all of these, speech therapy is the most useful and many children can also get benefit from physical and occupational therapies.

Physical and occupational therapy is useful for those children who are suffering from speech delay because of physical malformation and also for children who are suffering from developmental disorders like Autism. Music therapy also has impressive results in the basic of speech development, including sentence understanding, sentence memory, phonological memory, etc.

Speech Development

Involvement of parents is a crucial part of helping toddlers who have a speech or language problem. So here are some ways you can try to encourage speech development of your child:

• Frequently Communicate with Your Baby – Spend extra and a lot of time with your child even during sing, infancy talk and encourage his imitation of gestures and sounds.
• Read to Your Child – Find age-appropriate board or picture books to read to your baby which motivates him to look while you name the picture. You can also start with a classic book or books with textures that kids can touch and feel. After this, change to nursery rhymes, which has rhythmic appeal.
• Use Everyday Situations – To build your child’s language and speech talk your way through the day. For instance, at the grocery store name the foods, explain what you are doing while cooking or cleaning the room, point out objects in the house. Acknowledge your child responses by asking questions.

The early you recognize and treat speech and language development delays, the better results and improvement you will get. With proper treatment, your child will better communicate with you and with the rest of the world.

Concern about your child speech or language development? Call our toll-free number +91-9327901950 or Schedule a visit at HearingSol to get the best advice by our speech pathologists for speech therapy. We are always ready and happy to help you.