Tempo delay of speech development. Tempo delay in speech development: when to start worrying

Hello dear readers! Today we will talk with you about such a problem as a delay in the development of speech in a child. Many of the parents enjoy the achievements of their baby with pleasure and do not attach importance to the emerging problems. This happens until such time as urgent intervention is required. Just don't be late...

About tempo delay speech development in children, you can talk if the baby babbles and his first words do not appear at the right time (at 6 months and a year), but much later. And if a child in a year and a half does not build the simplest phrase. If after 3 years the problem persists, then it is necessary to carry out a special diagnosis of speech functions and the psyche of the baby.

But, despite the fact that there is a delay in the development of speech, subject and play activity formed in a timely manner. And the problems with speech that have arisen can subsequently manifest themselves in the form of non-gross speech errors, which can persist almost until school. For example, the use of the plural of any words: chairs, plates, books, and so on.

Speech development delay is more typical for boys, who mature a little later than girls. But the diagnosis is only based on repeated examination of the baby, based on the dynamics of speech development.


Influence of external factors on delayed speech development

Speech delay may be due to external causes. First of all, miscalculations in education, an unfavorable environment for the baby, and a lack of communication are to blame for this.

Many mothers literally "scan" their child for his desires. They don’t even let you say a word - they guess by the eyes: the child looked at the pear - at you a pear, looked at the typewriter - take it quickly, play!

Naturally, this will greatly hinder the development of speech. Why strain, try to pronounce something, work with your tongue, when you just need to expressively look at your mom!

In general, parents are divided into two types: some talk very little with the child, either because they are very busy, or because of something else. The kid does not even have anyone to talk to, he is always busy with himself. Another option is a mother who tirelessly “bursts”, knows the baby about everything she sees and thinks about.

With such a mother in a conversation, the child literally cannot even insert a word. And if he is asked about something, then the phrase is constructed in such a way that it can be answered with one word or a nod of the head: “Will you drink compote?”, “Let's go for a walk?”, “Shall we read a fairy tale?”

In such conditions, the baby does not want to develop his speech skills at all.

Prevention of speech delay in children

Prevention is already help in solving problems. Teach children to express their emotions, express their opinions, their desires. The dominant role here belongs, of course, to parents. Be sure to establish full contact with your child, to encourage the development of his speech.

And you need to start such “work” even before birth - from the first moments after conception, in the very first days, weeks.

Tell your child about your experiences, about everything that happens to you. Tell us what you bought for him, how beautiful and bright it is.

Begin each day with: Good morning! During the day, communicate with the belly: “Now we will go for a walk in the park”, “I love you very much!”. End the day with a good night.

These conversations strengthen the relationship between mother and baby, serve the development of intelligence and stimulate the development of speech.

Turn on pleasant (preferably classical) music more often. It affects both hemispheres of the brain at the same time. Read poems, jokes, stories - all this will develop your little man's literary taste and create a solid foundation that will help you master your native language in the future.

He understands everything, but he cannot say ...

If you did not manage to do this during pregnancy, then there is no need to worry. All this can be caught up later. For this, special rules have been developed, which parents should be guided by.

At a tender age, in response to an appeal to himself, the baby makes any sounds. Then, from about six months, the partying begins. At this moment, you can help the baby. Talk to him more often, pay his attention to your lips, face, pronounce drawn out certain sounds.

Up to a year, the baby babbles a little, he has an understanding of speech. Continue classes in the same vein, pronounce all regime moments: “Now we will go ho-o-ly”, “We will ku-u-pat”. The baby will look at your lips and try to repeat after you.

When playing with a child, do not forget to ask: “Where is the tumbler?”, “Where is the pyramid?”.

The baby will turn his head and look for the named object with his eyes.

If he does not do this, bring him or the toy to him and say: "Here is a tumbler" or "This is a pyramid."

Teach your child simple actions: “Give me a leg”, “Wave your hand”, “Raise your pen”.

Try singing lullabies at night,. Listen to music, children's songs together.

Somewhere by the year the baby can already pronounce some lightweight designation words: “bi-bi” - a typewriter, “me” - a cat, “la-la” - a doll, and so on. At the age of one, a child can be given simple tasks: bring the ball, put the bunny down. The little man hardly speaks, but he understands everything!

The appearance of verbs and pronouns in speech

By the age of one and a half years, a huge leap is observed in the child's speech, namely, a phrase appears. When the baby is playing, he can comment on his actions in simple words and sentences: “Beep-beep car”, “Bang doll”.

Here are the books for kids:

  • Eric Karl " ten rubber ducks". By listening and looking at this book, the baby will be able to find out how toys are born and how they get into stores; get acquainted with the inhabitants of the deep sea and learn to count up to 10. Also, the child will be able to develop basic spatial orientation skills, name the cardinal points.
  • Eric Karl " Very hungry caterpillar". This wonderful book has approximately 30 pages and no more than 200 words. 200 words that parents have been reading to their babies in twenty-four languages ​​for forty years.
  • Best books for toddlers- bedtime stories, cartoon stories, first verses

At the age of 2, sentences of three words begin to appear in speech. In everyday life there is a pronoun and an adjective. The child already says “I” to himself.

In a conversation, ask such questions, answering which the baby will have to give a detailed answer: “Will you eat porridge or stew? “I will eat stew.” At this time, children are very actively enriching their vocabulary.

Three-year "why"

Aged three years the child uses extended sentences. Try to answer all his questions in detail and as accurately as possible. Constantly read with your child, ask him to retell a fairy tale, a story, try it. Be sure to do articulation exercises with your baby.

Examples of it can be found in various textbooks on speech therapy. Work with the baby's palms, develop fine motor skills of the hand.

In this regard, modeling or modeling is very good.

Older children can already assemble mosaics, puzzles, construction kits. The lacing and button fastening are also good.

Summing up

There are parents who complain that they do not have enough time to work with their baby. But, let me! Everyone has exactly as much time as the great people had, for example, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Beethoven ...

I suggest you download Olga Bogdanova's e-book
« Learn to speak correctly in 20 minutes a day».
This is a unique speech therapy technique for working with children at home and in kindergarten.

After all, it is possible to solve problems with speech delay in children both on a walk, and during a trip in transport from a kindergarten, while shopping in a store.

Let the kid tell you stories about his favorite hero or fairy tales, and you listen carefully, ask questions, tell your story!

This will be the surest and shortest way to correct speech delay in your baby. Think about your style of communication with your child, remember what and how you tell him. This is extremely important!

look video "Causes of speech delay. What to do if the child does not speak? :

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A delay in the pace of motor development or a delay in the development of motor skills in a child under one year old is quite common. Is it dangerous for a child? What are the consequences of lagging behind in mastering skills?

Reasons for delayed motor development in children

In such situations, do not sound the alarm and start to panic. It is important to understand that the timing of motor skill acquisition is not absolute and may vary from child to child.

There are special indicators of age norms for mastering complex movements (turning over from the stomach to the back and back, crawling, walking, etc.), which help parents navigate in this area. Moreover, if the lag is really observed, it is always necessary to contact a pediatrician in connection with possible unpleasant and even disabling consequences.

The appearance of a lag in the development of motor skills can be associated with a number of factors - both genetic characteristics and environmental factors, diseases of the baby, etc. Of particular note are the following most common causes of delayed motor development in children at 8 months and at any other age:

  • Various types of congenital encephalopathies associated with the adverse effects of the environment or the mother's body on the developing brain in the fetus.
  • Infectious pathology, both for the mother during pregnancy and for the child in the first months of life.
  • Congenital malformations of the heart, lungs, musculoskeletal system, etc.

If a developmental lag really takes place, it is always necessary to seek qualified medical help, primarily aimed at identifying the causative factors of such a delay in motor development in a baby, as well as drawing up an individual program for correcting the development of motor skills.

Manifestations of delayed motor development

The acquisition of motor skills proceeds through well-known age periods. For each month of a child's life, there is a certain motor act that reflects the development of the brain and the musculoskeletal system.

  • At the age of one or two months, the child knows practically nothing. He is only able to fix his gaze for a few seconds and randomly move his arms and legs. It is almost impossible to detect a backlog in the motor sphere at this stage. However, an experienced physician can identify excessive increase or decrease in muscle tone and other characteristic symptoms that may indicate severe brain damage.
  • If the baby does not try to rise when lying on his stomach and does not tilt his head, then most likely there is a delay in motor development, which should be immediately contacted by a medical institution.
  • At the sixth month of life, the baby does not roll over from the back to the side and stomach, as well as back. Similar situation can be associated with a number of factors, many of which are physiological and do not pose a threat.
  • If the child is already eight months old, and he still does not try and does not know how to crawl, then it is worth contacting a pediatrician for advice and additional examinations.
  • By the end of the first year of life, any baby should already take at least a few steps, including with the support of parents. If this does not happen, there may be a delay in motor development that requires a medical examination.

The World Health Organization offers a fairly wide age range for mastering motor skills. Therefore, excessive worries and anxiety of parents should not appear in cases where the baby lags behind in his motor development for a couple of weeks or months. This process is very individual.

Consequences of delayed motor development

With a delay in motor development at any age, the following consequences may develop:

  1. Full recovery is possible with the timely detection of a lag in the development of motor skills by the baby.
  2. A long delay in motor development can lead to the development of a persistent lagging behind the baby from his peers in the motor plan, which can disrupt the process of his adaptation, as well as life.
  3. The formation of a delay in motor development at 3, 5, 6 months and at a different age disrupts the interaction of the child with the outside world, and leads to a slowdown in the pace of development in the field of sensory organs, mental development, etc.
  4. In severe cases, especially when motor development is combined with mental retardation, disability may develop due to the child's inability to learn new motor and mental acts.

In connection with possible consequences delays in motor development in children under one year old, it is necessary to carefully monitor their development of various motor skills, starting with the simplest ones associated with movement towards objects of interest, ending with such complex motor acts as walking. Knowledge of the patterns of development of motor skills is necessary not only for pediatricians and neurologists, but also for the parents themselves.

Anton Yatsenko, pediatrician, specially for the site

Useful video

The personality of the child begins to form from the first months of his life and depends not only on the physical data and living conditions of the baby, but also on such an important form of knowledge of the world as speech and communication.

Speech is not an innate property of a person, but is transmitted from educators (first family members, then friends and teachers) and develops, gradually becoming more complex. Teaching your child speech skills, unlocking his communication potential and helping him master his native language is the responsibility of every parent.

The development of speech is based on three main components: the organs of speech, the characteristics of the psyche and the learning process. And problems can concern each of them.

What is tempo delay in speech development

The normal course of speech formation proceeds with the same stages in all children, individual differences may be in the time of transition from one stage to another. A significant lag in speech becomes clearly noticeable only by 3-4 years, when it becomes difficult to correct the shortcomings, so the sooner you recognize the symptoms, the easier it will be to deal with the problem.

The delay in the speech of the baby can be suspected not only by his mistakes, but also by the unwillingness to communicate, signs of misunderstanding and the lack of a proper reaction to your words. There are milestones for every age.

Symptoms of delayed speech development are considered to be the following:

  • lack of response to the call at the age of 3 months and older;
  • the child does not show interest when he hears noise, music, speech next to him;
  • at 4 months, labial sounds - “b”, “m”, “p” are not mastered;
  • at six months, the baby does not seem to feel the difference in your intonation, does not try to repeat it;
  • a one-year-old child does not try to imitate adult speech, is limited to monosyllabic words, calls his mother only by crying;
  • at 2 years old does not answer a simple question, does not show the word named to him in the picture;
  • at 3 years old, there is no phrasal speech, the baby understands only one-component commands (for example, he does not understand the phrase “Take ... and give ...”);
  • at 4 years old does not communicate with other people, as he understands adult speech with difficulty;
  • at 3-4 years old, only family members understand the child’s speech, as he speaks illegibly or uses words incorrectly.

Thus, with age, a child must master speech skills at a certain pace, a lag of more than three months from which is considered critical.

When Medical Assistance Is Indispensable

Language delay in children can be caused by different reasons. The slowdown in the rate of speech acquisition in some cases is easily corrected by classes with a speech therapist, in others, the intervention of a neuropathologist and even a surgeon is required.

Neuropathy arising from a birth injury or congenital disease should be treated under the supervision of a specialist. The prognosis for early detection of the disease and adequate treatment is generally favorable. However, it is impossible to ignore the problem and delay treatment.

A delay in psycho-speech development can be a sign of autism, in which case the speech therapist will not be able to provide sufficient assistance. Examination (consultation of a pediatric neurologist, psychologist, encephalogram and tomogram of the brain) will provide enough information to identify the defect and take action.

The organs of speech should develop normally. The silence of the child or his inability to master the articulation of simple sounds gives grounds for examination for defects in the oral cavity, soft and hard palate, bone structure of the skull, jaws. If there are no such defects, you can limit yourself to classes in the speech therapist's office or their home version.

How to help a child without a speech therapist

A visit to a speech therapist and a child defectologist is extremely necessary for diagnosis, because only a qualified specialist can detect a delay in mental and speech development. The most attentive mother is not able to give a professional assessment at the level of an experienced doctor.

If you decide on your own to eliminate the speech defect of your baby, you will need some techniques that can speed up the development of the child's speech center.

Board games for children from 1 to 3 years old give excellent results. You will need several sets of children's loto with colorful cards, but it is better to postpone the letters until 4-5 years old. Cubes with a variety of simple shapes will also come in handy.

For development fine motor skills get one or two sets of constructors (according to age, without parts that a child can swallow or put in his nose, ear), small cubes for building “castles”, small toys of real-life animals and objects (hare, fox, mushroom, bucket, car , airplane).

Studying for half an hour twice a day, try to interest the child in the subject, say the name of each, check if the kid understood, if he can correctly point to the subject on your question.

Pictures from the lotto must be added in different sequences, tirelessly pronouncing the names of the objects depicted on them. For example, today fold the loto according to the colors, tomorrow - according to the forms, complicate the task and teach the child to choose only pictures of animals from the cards, of course, with your tips.

Get ready for a lot of talking. Education at this age is not based on the guesswork of the baby, he cannot " figure out" that " teddy bear"And" bunny"- These are" animals». Even if you teach him this word, the level of abstraction of a baby at 2-3 years old is not so high.

Continue to name and talk about objects, but do not force the child to "calculate" difficult questions for him.

Massage technique for better speech of your baby

You can do more than just word games.

You can activate the speech center in the left hemisphere with the help of a special massage for delayed speech development:

  • massage of the palms and fingers should be done daily at the same time, about 10 minutes;
  • rub with light movements of the palm;
  • rub the back of the brush;
  • stretch the carpal joints in a circular motion;
  • quickly rub each finger separately;
  • bend and unbend four fingers of the hand and separately - the opposing thumb;
  • gently stretch your fingers, tilting them towards back side brush about 1 minute;
  • cotton massage on the palms for about 1 minute;
  • play with the child, asking him to catch your finger with all his fingers, which you need to quickly pull away and put back into the child's palm.


You need to continue the massage for a long time - six months to a year. Take breaks, but no more than 2 days. Insist if the child is unwilling to be massaged, but don't force it if there is a strong negative reaction.

Speech development is an important indicator of the development of the child as a whole. This area determines the social level of the child's achievements, his interests, knowledge, skills and abilities. The speech of a young child is a peculiar phenomenon that is very difficult to objectively assess. However, the absence in early age characteristic babbling, muttering and pleasing grandparents “give” without any other signs of disturbance may indicate the occurrence of such a pathology as a tempo delay in speech development.

What is speech delay

Parents begin to think about the problems of speech development at the age of a child of three years, when it is necessary to go to Kindergarten and the baby is not talking. Despite all the recommendations and advice of the district pediatrician regarding monitoring the development of the child, most often the moment when it is worth thinking about the lag in the development of speech is missed.

Speech development delay (SRR) is the phenomenon when children do not have impaired functioning of the ligamentous-muscular apparatus, however, speech activity is characterized by lagging behind their peers.

The diagnosis of "delayed speech development in children" is established at the age of up to 3 years in the absence of a minimum vocabulary. The conclusion should be provided with a joint decision of the commission of a speech therapist, psychologist and child neurologist.

The influence of speech development on the subsequent establishment of the child as a person, on the activity of mental processes, allows us to speak of a complex disorder - a delay in psychoverbal development (SPRR).

Speech delay options

Depending on the degree of damage to the speech apparatus, the following types of lag in speech development in children are distinguished:

  • Organic (biological) associated with damage to the nervous tissue of the brain. Most often occurs due to intrauterine infection, frequent diseases, injuries, post-vaccination complications.
  • Sensory - the appearance of this variant of speech delay is associated with hearing loss: the child cannot speak what he does not hear.
  • Socio-pedagogical (tempo) - the easiest option for lagging behind. Developmental delay occurs due to the fact that the child does not have a need to speak.

In addition, dysarthria is distinguished - a violation of the formation of speech due to the pathology of the articulation apparatus. The absence of a focus of excitation in the brain, a decrease in the conduction of an impulse along the neuromuscular junctions, leads to insufficient contraction of the muscles of the vocal cords and tongue. Most often, pathology occurs with cerebral palsy. Such children hear, understand, try to say everything, but the words are illegible.

Causes of the tempo delay in speech development

The example of parents is an important component normal development child's speech (photo: www.perfectmama.ru)

A child's lack of motivation to speak can be due to several factors:

  • Lack of parental attention. In other words, the child does not have an interlocutor: adults do not listen and do not understand.
  • Parental overprotection. The reverse side of the coin: there is no need for speech when everyone understands anyway, everyone gives, nothing is denied.
  • Lack of example. IN modern world the noise from people talking fades into the background. Increasingly, children are “engaged” in television. Therefore, the vocabulary of such a child is not replenished, he does not understand what is at stake and, if the articulations are formed, he speaks exclusively in phrases from the cartoon.
  • An environment where parents communicate in different languages. It is difficult for a baby to learn the meanings of words in one language, and if you complicate the task of translating into another one, there is a lag.

In addition, psychological negativism and the usual "unwillingness" to talk arise as a result of excessive demands on the child. Such as repeat “aha-aha”, say “bear”, etc.

Diagnosis of violation

It is possible to determine the presence of a tempo delay in speech from the earliest age of the child, relying on the main periods of the formation of speech development:

  • Pre-speech (2-8 months): abnormal cooing, belkoting (repetition of "pa-pa"), soundless antics and monotonous exclamations.
  • At the age of 4 months, there is no emotional reaction to surrounding events: the child does not laugh at the sight of toys, does not cry when the mother leaves.
  • 6 months. Children in this period already distinguish the difference in intonation of the spoken phrases and try to repeat.
  • At 1 year - with a delay in speech, there is no reaction to the sound, the call of the mother by name.
  • At the age of 1.5 years - the child does not pronounce the simplest words, tries to repeat after others (echolalia).
  • 2 years. In this period, children are already trying to make simple sentences, most often from two words. The vocabulary of a child without lagging behind the formation of speech is 50-100 words.
  • At the age of 3 years, children with RDD have a pronunciation disorder to such an extent that even relatives cannot explain the meaning.

These signs are not a key moment in the diagnosis. It is possible to establish the presence of a delay in psychoverbal development in a child only by the conclusion of three specialists in the absence of organic pathology of other organs and systems.

The effectiveness of early diagnosis of pathology is due to the fact that with a significant lag in the speech of a child over the age of 4 years, only 0.5% of patients achieve a positive result from the treatment.

Differential diagnosis of speech development delay

Violation of the formation of vocabulary, speech activity of the child may occur due to various pathologies. For the correct diagnosis and selection of adequate treatment, it is necessary to determine the genesis of disorders.

Possible causes of ZPRR are presented in the table.

Disease

signs

Childhood autism is a disease of uncertain origin, which is characterized by a lack of social activity and communication.

Abrupt onset of the disease after a period of normal development. Most often at the age of 2.5-3 years.

Disorder of speech skills: repetition of the same type of phrases, incorrect use of pronouns (up to the age of 6 they can call themselves in the third person).

Manner of behavior.

Violations of the sphere of sensitivity (the threshold is abnormally increased or decreased)

Down syndrome is a genetic disease caused by a mutation - trisomy of 21 pairs of chromosomes.

External signs: oblique cut of the eyes, flat bridge of the nose, wide flat tongue, short neck.

Congenital pathologies of the cardiovascular system.

Mental retardation in all areas of activity (slow formation of skills, speech, memory, etc.)

Cerebral palsy is a group of congenital diseases characterized by impaired movement, balance and body position.

In history - intrauterine or perinatal infection, birth trauma, maternal diseases during pregnancy.

The presence of violations of the intellectual sphere.

Formation of paralysis and paresis (central spastic or peripheral type).

Delayed speech development

To determine the cause of the lag in speech development, consultation of related specialists is necessary. For example, an audiologist - to exclude the pathology of the auditory analyzer, genetics - to determine the heredity of the pathology.

Methods for correcting speech tempo delay

Art therapy is an alternative treatment for speech delay (photo: www.newmed.dp.ua)

Speech delay requires a combination of several treatment options to achieve maximum effectiveness.

  • Medical. Most often, vitamins and nootropics are used (drugs that improve the activity of the nervous system through an effect on the blood supply to the brain).
  • Physiotherapy. Methods of magnetotherapy are used (the improvement of blood supply to the brain tissue under the influence of a weak alternating magnetic field has been proven) and electroreflexotherapy (with the help of small electrodes, electrical impulses are stimulated with impulses of the brain areas responsible for the development of speech).
  • Alternative methods of treatment: art therapy (drawing, modeling, embroidery), dolphin and hypotherapy (spend time communicating with animals).

Important! The appointment of medications is carried out exclusively by a neurologist

In addition, systematic sessions with a speech therapist and a corrective teacher are of great importance for staging the correct speech and establishing the proper level of development in accordance with the age of the child.

Treatment of delayed speech development is a difficult task, which largely depends on the interest of parents and the willingness to devote time to communicating with the child. However, early diagnosis and adequate treatment allow children under 6 years of age to completely forget about the existing problem.

Usually parents are very sensitive to the way their child speaks. After all, correct speech is one of the most obvious signs of the normal intellectual development of a baby. If the baby begins to speak early, clearly and clearly - the parents are happy and proud. But a child with a speech delay causes concern and anxiety for moms and dads. And this is absolutely correct - after all, speech disorders are effectively treated only at the age of 2.5 to 7 years. Then it might just be too late.

Normal development of speech in children

How should a child's speech develop? What is considered the norm?

  • IN year the baby should be able to speak about ten words. Naturally, these are still “childish” words, understandable only to him and you - “ma”, “ba”, “ki” (pussy). At the same time, the child must know the names of objects and actions familiar to him and respond to them: “give me a cube”, “let's go for a walk”, “bed”, “spoon”, “window”.
  • IN two years the baby begins to speak in short sentences and use simple adjectives and pronouns (“I went”, “white pussy”). The vocabulary of a child, as a rule, consists of 50-100 words.
  • IN 2.5 years the baby should pronounce more or less correctly about 200-300 words, and also know his name and speak, uses adjectives. At this age, the child begins to ask questions, tries to imitate the voices of animals - “meow”, “woof-woof”, etc.
  • TO three years children should be able to coherently compose a story from several sentences. In speech, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives must be used correctly. The kid should be understood by an outsider.

Naturally, the above norms are very relative - after all, all children have a different character, temperament, heredity, and the environment in which they grow up is different. In addition, as a rule, boys begin to speak later than girls by 4-5 months.

However, these guidelines will help attentive parents assess whether the child's speech is appropriate for his age. If the lag is significant, then it may be time to contact a specialist.

Signs of a clear delay in the development of speech in children

Parents should start to worry if a child:

  • IN 4 months does not respond to the appeal of the mother, does not smile at her.
  • IN 9 months does not babble.
  • IN 1.5 years: does not pronounce simple words; does not know the names of the surrounding objects and his own name; unable to follow a simple command such as "give me your hand" or "come to me."
  • IN 2.5 years: knows few words; does not remember the names of objects; cannot speak in sentences, at least two words.
  • IN 3 years: speaks incomprehensibly even to you; cannot make a sentence of three words, but speaks in phrases from fairy tales, rhymes and "cartoons" or repeats the phrases of adults uttered in front of him; does not understand your explanations; speaks very slowly or, conversely, too quickly, swallowing the endings; the baby has difficulty chewing and may choke on even a small piece; walks with a constantly half-open mouth; He has increased salivation for no apparent reason.

If you notice any of these signs in your baby, you should immediately contact your pediatrician. The doctor will prescribe an examination and refer you to the appropriate specialist. The earlier the treatment of delayed speech development in a child is started, the more likely it is that by school he will not be any different from his peers.

What are speech delays in children?

Language Development Delay (SPD)- this is when the baby does not speak the way it should be at his age.

Distinguish:

  • Speech articulation disorder- the child speaks very indistinctly, even relatives cannot understand him, but at the same time he understands everything, does not have any mental disorders and is otherwise completely healthy.
  • Expressive speech delay- the baby's speech is significantly behind his age norm / the child speaks very little or is silent at all.
  • Receptive speech disorder- the child does not understand well what is said to him, although his hearing is all right.
  • Combinations previous disorders.

Causes of speech delay in children

Experts divide the causes of speech disorders into social and physiological, that is, those that are related to health.

TO social factors usually attributed to improper upbringing, depriving children of the desire to speak.

  • This may be insufficient attention to the child - he simply has no one to talk to. Or parents speak so fast that the baby does not have time to isolate individual words and, in the end, stops trying to understand the adult.
  • Sometimes the environment that is not suitable for the baby can lead to problems with speech - the child grows up in an environment where speech loses its value. For example, the TV is constantly on, adults are talking loudly to each other, there are a lot of extraneous sounds. The kid gets used not to listen to the speech and begins to speak with quotes from the "cartoons", not attaching importance to the words.
  • Oddly enough, overprotection can also lead to a delay in the development of speech - in families with over-attentive parents, children can also lose their motivation to develop speech - after all, they are already understood!
  • Very often there are difficulties with speech in children in bilingual families.
  • And, of course, excessive demands on the child can “beat off” any desire to speak. Parents force the baby to repeat the same words and phrases, causing him to have a negative attitude towards speech.

Speech tempo delay associated with a lack of motivation to communicate is the easiest to correct. Of course, with timely treatment to the doctor. The best results are obtained by treatment started before 3–4 years of age. If you start to study with the child on time, then by the age of six he can catch up with his peers and even overtake them.

However, speech correction can be started even later, even at 5 or 7 years old. The main thing is not to ignore the problem.

TO physiological factors Speech developmental delays include:

  • hearing impairment;
  • underdevelopment of the organs of articulation: lips, tongue, facial muscles, soft palate;
  • visual impairment;
  • brain damage, neurological diseases (intrauterine trauma, hypoxia, difficult or premature birth, trauma in the first year of life, serious illnesses in young years);
  • psychological trauma (fear, parental quarrels);
  • alcoholism of parents;
  • heredity (if parents in the family started talking late, then this is a reason for close monitoring of the baby and early contact with a specialist);
  • congenital diseases: cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, hyperactivity syndrome.

The delay in the development of speech in children associated with the listed reasons is treated much more difficult and longer. In these cases, the help of a doctor is required, and sometimes the joint efforts of different specialists.

Which specialists deal with speech disorders

Many parents believe that speech therapists are involved in the treatment of speech disorders. In fact, speech therapists only "set" the correct pronunciation of sounds. They start working with children from the age of four or five. Very few speech therapists work with younger children. But to wait so long, if the child clearly does not speak the way it should be at his age, it is impossible in any case.

Speech delay in a child requires, first of all, finding out the reasons. Only after this, the necessary specialist will be able to correct the development of the baby - a defectologist, psychologist, neuropathologist, speech therapist or even a psychiatrist.

The neurologist can start treatment already one year old baby if he has been diagnosed with a neurological disease. Defectologists and corrective teachers work with 2-year-old children, they are engaged in improving memory, thinking, attention, and motor skills. At the age of 4–5, speech therapists are involved, who teach children to speak clearly and competently, to build a story.

How is RRR treated?

Speech delay in children is treatable - the main thing is to start it on time, be patient and show some perseverance.
Treatment of speech disorders usually consists of the following components.

  • Drug therapy

The attending physician will prescribe you medications, as a rule, these are means for “feeding” the neurons of the brain and for stimulating the speech zones.

  • Magnetotherapy, electroreflexotherapy, dolphin therapy and hippotherapy

These methods of therapy allow you to influence the areas of the brain responsible for diction, memory, and intelligence. Magnetic therapy has no contraindications, but electroreflexotherapy cannot be used to treat children with epilepsy, convulsive syndrome and mental illness.

Dolphin therapy, hippotherapy and similar alternative methods are practiced by some specialists. These treatments are selected individually.

  • Work with the proofreading teacher

No drug therapy, if it is not accompanied by the work of a corrective teacher, psychologist or defectologist, is not able to eliminate the tempo delay of speech. The task of teachers is mental development children, their social adaptation, correction of past mistakes of education, improvement of intellectual abilities, memory and attention. Every child is unique, so every child is treated individually.

  • Daily work with parents

And, of course, parents should not hope that doctors will do all the work. The successful outcome of treatment largely depends on the perseverance, consistency and patience of mothers and fathers. It is very important that parents engage with the baby in a playful environment, without causing negative emotions in him.

What Methods Do Teachers Use?

The main methods for correcting speech delays are:

  • Music and art therapy. Music therapy improves memory and attention. Art therapy improves visual memory.
  • Object-sensory therapy, development of large and fine motor skills of hands, massage. For example, very helpful finger games- modeling from plasticine, drawing with fingers, picking up puzzles, designers, pyramids, playing with cubes, fastening buttons, stringing beads on a thread. This is understandable - in the brain, speech centers are located next to the centers of fine motor skills of the hands, therefore, by developing the motor centers, the child automatically improves his speech.
  • Outdoor games. Teachers can advise outdoor games that form the ability to orientate in space, the ability to move rhythmically or special games with speech accompaniment.

In general, it is quite possible to cope with the problem of speech delay in a child if you approach it seriously and responsibly. Just don't let it take its course, hoping that over time everything will go away on its own. From how well and correctly the baby speaks by the age of six, his future largely depends psychological development, his ability to communicate with peers and adults, his ability to learn at school. The main thing is not to miss the moment - the sooner you start treatment for speech delay, the more likely it will be successful.



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