Speech and Language Development
By Dandrea Santana
How is it speech and language develop?
The first three years of a child’s life, is when the brain begins to develop and mature. It is the most intensive time for developing speech and language skills. These skills develop in an environment with lots of sounds, visuals, and a constant exposure to the speech and language of others. There appear to be critical periods for speech and language development in infants and young children when the brain is best able to absorb language. These critical periods are able and allowed to pass without any exposure to language, it will be harder to learn.
What are milestones for speech and language development, and what is their purpose?
The first signs of communication happen when an infant learns that when crying they will get fed, be comforted, and have a companion. Newborn babies also begin to recognize sounds the sounds that they hear in their environment, things like the voice of their mom or babysitter. As they begin to mature, babies begin to organize the speech sounds that make the words of their language. By the age of six months, most babies can recognize basic sounds in their native language.Children’s development varies in regards to speech and language skills. Although, a natural progression or timetable for mastering the skills of language. In the links below I have attached a checklist of milestones for the normal development of speech and language skills in children from birth to five years of age. By having these milestones doctors and other health professionals can determine if a child is on track or if he or she may need extra help. There are cases where a delay may be caused by hearing loss, and in other cases it may be due to a speech or language disorder.
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What are the differences between a speech disorder and a language disorder?
When a child has trouble understanding what others say which is considered their receptive language or has trouble sharing their thoughts, which is known as expressive language they might have a language disorder. When children have trouble creating speech sounds correctly or they hesitate or even stutter when talking they might have a speech disorder.
What should I do if a child’s speech or language appears to be delayed?
First speak to the child’s pediatrician about any concerns. The pediatrician might refer you for an evaluation with a speech-language pathologist, who is a health professional trained to evaluate and treat people with speech or language disorders. The speech-language pathologist will explain to you about your child’s communication skills and their general development. They will also use special spoken tests to evaluate your child. A hearing test is often done in the evaluation because a hearing problem can impact speech and language development. With the results, the speech-language pathologist may recommend activities you can do at home to stimulate your child’s development. A recommendation for therapy or may suggest other evaluation by an audiologist (a health care professional trained to identify and measure hearing loss), or a developmental psychologist (a health care professional with special expertise in the psychological development of infants and children).
What are voice, language, and speech?
Voice, language, and speech are the tools we use to communicate with each other.
- Voice is the sound we make as air from our lungs is pushed between vocal folds in our larynx, causing them to vibrate.
- Speech is talking, which is one way to express language. It involves the precisely coordinated muscle actions of the tongue, lips, jaw, and vocal tract to produce the recognizable sounds that make up language.
- Language is a set of shared rules that allow people to express their ideas in a meaningful way. Language may be expressed verbally or by writing, signing, or making other gestures, such as eye blinking or mouth movements.
Programs
Early Steps can help you if: Your child’s age must be between birth- 3 years old
If your child has a developmental delay (i.e. is slow to begin crawling, walking or talking), vision, hearing, feeding, or other established condition that place him/her at risk for developmental delay, and you live in the southern half of Miami Dade County through the Florida Keys of Monroe County, your family may be eligible for services through Early Steps Southernmost Coast. If you live outside of the area, we can assist in finding the right Early Steps location for you.
http://www.mch.com/medical-services/early-steps-southernmost-coast.aspx
If your child has a developmental delay (i.e. is slow to begin crawling, walking or talking), vision, hearing, feeding, or other established condition that place him/her at risk for developmental delay, and you live in the southern half of Miami Dade County through the Florida Keys of Monroe County, your family may be eligible for services through Early Steps Southernmost Coast. If you live outside of the area, we can assist in finding the right Early Steps location for you.
http://www.mch.com/medical-services/early-steps-southernmost-coast.aspx
Good Links with lots of information
Milestones
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/not_talk.html
American Speech and Hearing Association
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/
Development of communication skills milestones
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm
http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/not_talk.html
American Speech and Hearing Association
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/
Development of communication skills milestones
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart.htm