What is it about ?
Some children experience slower speech and language development than the norm for their age. This slowness can come from a problem in speaking, articulating (speech problem), but also, for example, a problem in hearing (hearing impairment), an intellectual deficit, motor problems, relationship problems in family or a developmental disorder associated with contact problems such as autism.
How to recognize it?
Each child learns at their own pace. But if you have the impression that your child is not learning certain skills “on time”, it is important to write it down so that action can be taken.
During their first year of life, children learn to use their voice: they babble. They learn to suck, swallow, and eat the fruit and vegetable mix. Be vigilant and consider a problem in the following cases:
- your child uses his voice little or babbles a little;
- your child has little ‘contact’ with adults;
- you suspect your baby is hearing poorly;
- your child is having difficulty eating;
- your child’s tongue frenulum is short.
Between the ages of 1 and 2 years, children learn to express themselves and form their first words. Be vigilant and consider a problem in the following cases:
- your child does not try to pronounce words or express himself by gestures;
- your child seems to misunderstand or does not seem to understand what you are telling him or her;
- your child is not awake;
- your child has difficulty in contact with other children;
- your child speaks little around the age of two.
The children aged 3 to 4 learn more and more words. They build more difficult sentences. Be vigilant and consider a problem with speech and language development in the following cases:
- your child does not speak clearly (moves sounds or syllables or shortens long words);
- your child knows few words, has trouble finding his words, or speaks ‘his own language’;
- your child still makes serious grammatical errors;
- your child has limited speech: he or she speaks few sentences or even none at all;
- your child does not stop to listen to what you ask, has ‘bad contact’ and / or has difficulty following brief instructions;
- It’s still normal to ‘stutter’ or ‘stutter’ at age 3, but if your child starts or continues to stutter or stutter after that age, it may indicate a problem.
Between the ages of 5 and 6, children are reaching school age and communicating better and better. It is advisable to consult a speech therapist for a check-up and possible correction if a child aged 5 to 6 is still having difficulty:
- pronounce r, s, l, k and other sounds;
- speak: he does not speak clearly or he stutters;
- understand spoken language.
How is the diagnosis made and what can healthcare professionals do?
The doctor and speech therapist will examine, with the parents and the child, the situations in which speech and language problems occur. They will assess what does not seem normal. Parents can also go to the ONE consultation.
If hearing problems are suspected, an ear check and a hearing test will be carried out. ONE checks the hearing of all babies one month after birth.
Based on the contact established with the child and the discussion with the parents, the doctor checks whether the child is interacting and how he interacts, what stage of development (emotional) he seems to be, how he feels about himself. , what are the social factors that slow down or promote communication, etc. He can thus, in cooperation with a speech therapist, distinguish between different types of problems: verbal problem (dysphasia), hearing impairment, intellectual deficit, developmental disorder associated with contact problems, motor disorder (dyspraxia), neglect, problems psychosocial, etc.
The doctor will closely monitor the development of your child’s language and communication skills, especially if there are language or attention difficulties in the family. The speech therapist ‘trains’ the child to improve his communication skills and language development and also gives advice to parents.
There are several specific centers of expertise in Belgium for language development disorders. Language development is monitored in kindergarten in collaboration with the psycho-medico-social center (PMS).
Want to know more?
- Language (videos) – ONE – Office for Birth and Childhood
- Reading and language – To be born and to grow
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