The results of a recent Australian study on the emotional outcomes of young children who speak late have made headlines such as: “Those who speak late do well as they grow up”. The Hanen Center warns that these headlines can give false assurances to parents who realize that their child is late to speak. The new study, led by psychologist Andrew Whitehouse from the University of Western Australia in Perth, showed that speaking late did not present lasting behavioral or emotional problems (the study showed that the behavioral problems had disappeared by age 5 and were not seen in any of the follow-up evaluations). However, news headlines such as “Toddlers who speak late are likely to be fine at 5 years old” can be misleading because the study only measured behavioral and emotional outcomes; children were not evaluated for their language outcomes, so we can't assume that they became “fine” in the area of language development.
For more than 35 years, the Hanen Center has taken a leading role in developing programs and resources for parents and professionals to help all preschoolers develop the best possible language, social, and literacy skills, including children with language delays or at risk of language delays and those with developmental problems, such as autism spectrum disorder. In fact, sometimes children outgrow their speech problems when they grow up. Children who start to stutter at 18 months can return to speaking fluently without any intervention. Not all speech impediments are overcome with age, this depends on the severity and type of disorder.
Stuttering is a very common speech disorder, it is also known as disfluency. There are different types of stuttering, and some are more likely to be overcome with age. Those that are more pronounced are harder to overcome and would benefit from speech therapy. It's important to encourage your child to talk to you with gestures or sounds and to spend a lot of time playing, reading, and talking to your baby or toddler.
While children learn speech and language skills at different rates, they must reach age-appropriate milestones. Has a strong interest in items that are not usually of interest to young children (for example, he prefers to carry a flashlight or pen instead of a favorite stuffed animal or blanket). The right help from a speech therapist is all your toddler needs to be able to speak clearly, confidently, and effortlessly. If your child continues to need special education and services, the IEP will be reviewed and revised from time to time.
If your child shows signs of a problem, the SLP may suggest that you talk to an early intervention program. If your child can understand it, but can't speak clearly, it could be a sign of a delay or expressive language disorder. Usually, a child with an expressive language disorder has trouble communicating his feelings and thoughts. The American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and accrediting association with 228,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists, speech-language pathologists, speech, language and hearing scientists, audiology and speech-language pathology support staff, and students.
Early intervention is of utmost importance for the overall well-being of a child with signs of speech and language disorders. When you're a toddler, your child's complex language development must continue at the same time in every language you hear and speak at home. If your child is eligible for services, a team of specialists will work with you to develop an Individual Family Services Plan (IFSP). While older siblings or one of the parents may be in charge of the conversation, this shouldn't have a negative impact on the younger child's speech development.
They can tell you if your child is at high risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder and, if necessary, they can refer you to experts...
