What is a speech disorder?
Various forms of developmental disorder: A speech or language disorder includes any atypicalities in speech fluency and auditory perception (how sounds are processed), as well as the development of the voice and language comprehension, pronunciation and grammatical development.
Developmental delay: Speech and language therapists view language development in the wider context of a child's overall development. The child's individual development pace is of course taken into account. They generally diagnose a language disorder only when the developmental delay is at least 6-12 months compared with children of the same age and/or when communication is strongly restricted by the child's speech behaviour.
Causes of disrupted language development
The causes of developmental language disorder are diverse and not always straightforward to identify. In some cases there are several causes.
Hearing problems: Relatively often, hearing impairments or frequent middle‑ear infections are the cause of a speech disorder – if a child does not hear well, it is hard for them to learn to speak.
Predisposition: Some speech disorders, such as stammering, are at least partly hereditary.
Malformations in the oral area such as a cleft lip and palate can lead to delays in language development.
Lack of stimulation: If parents do not communicate enough with their child, this can hinder language acquisition and development.
Psychological causes: Psychological conditions such as ADHD or autism can be responsible for speech disorders.
Neurological damage: Early childhood brain injuries, even when minor, can affect language development.
The fact is that milder speech disorders are recognised and treated far more often today than in the past. Hence the number of known speech disorders in children seems to have increased: an estimated eight per cent of all preschool children have a developmental language disorder.
How should I react if my child has a speech disorder?
Speech therapy: With early speech and language therapy, most speech disorders can be managed or eliminated. There are now language-support programmes available within kindergartens or at schools.
Build confidence: Help your child to cope confidently with the speech disorder – for example by focusing on the content of what is said rather than on form, or by highlighting your child's communicative strengths.
Be patient: Almost all children need a few years to pronounce all sounds and words correctly. Many developmental language disorders improve by themselves over time.
Openness: Parents should neither keep the problem silent nor blow it out of proportion: be open about the speech disorder and encourage your child to speak freely and often.
Advice from the paediatrician: If uncertain, the paediatrician can advise whether a developmental language disorder is present and whether a referral to a speech and language therapist is advisable.
Image credits
Therapist doing speech exercises with a child © Prostock-studio – stock.adobe.com
Mother reads her child a story and kisses the child on the head © Elena Kratovich – stock.adobe.com
