Speech as the basis of perfection: 10 questions for a speech therapist-defectologist
1. What signs in a child’s speech should signal parents about a problem and that it’s time to see a specialist? At what age should this be done?
Such signs of speech impairment in a child exist. Another question: does the parent himself note them? Many simply do not hear impaired sound pronunciation or do not know that at a certain age a child must respond to addressed speech or be able to speak in simple sentences. Difficulties with speech may arise at an early age, but they are very difficult for a non-specialist to identify, so it will be useful to undergo diagnostic testing at an early age.
For example, let’s take the simplest sign: impaired sound pronunciation. If a child is unable to pronounce a sound before a certain age, the sound itself will not appear. The fact is that if the pronunciation is incorrect, the organs of articulation for one reason or another do not move as they should. The tongue does not reach up or does not fall behind the teeth. The reasons for distorted pronunciation may be different. The specialist will collect all the necessary information and use its findings to build an individual plan for working with the client. It is important to note that at the age of 6 all sounds should already be formed, and the child should pronounce them clearly.
At the age of 5.5 years
, parents can safely go to a specialist for sound production if they have difficulties in pronunciation. But remember about the norm for the appearance of sounds: at 4 years old there is no need to go to a specialist and put the sound [r], since it is still physiologically difficult for a child to pronounce it.
2. All children develop differently. Some recite poetry by the age of two, while others can barely connect words into discordant phrases by the age of three. What should a child be able to do at one, two, three and five years old?
This is a very broad question, but since we are talking about sound pronunciation, which a parent can track, we will give an example of the norm for the appearance of sounds for each age and supplement it with norms for the volume of vocabulary.
1-2 years:
sounds [a, o, e, p, m, b], while children replace a number of hard consonants with soft “dyai” instead of “give”. By the age of one year, the vocabulary is 10-15 babbling words.
2-3 years:
sounds [i, s, u, f, v, t, d, n, k, g, x, th] and their soft pairs. Physiologically, it is still difficult for babies to pronounce whistling, hissing sounds and [l, r]. By age 2, the vocabulary has approximately 300 words, phrases become longer and more complex, and word pronunciation improves; by 3 years – 1000-1100 words.
3-4 years:
sounds [s, z, ts], while the sounds [ch, ts] can still be replaced by [t, s, sch], some children experience a general softening of speech. A child’s vocabulary by the age of 4 is 1600 words.
4-5 years:
sounds [sh, zh, ch, sch], some children already pronounce the sounds [ry, l] correctly.
5-5.5 years:
sounds [l, r]. Dictionary – 2200 words.
By the age of five, speech becomes a full-fledged means of communication for a child.
The phrase becomes longer and more complex. Children actively use the stock of words they have, learned in everyday life, learn to correctly name surrounding objects, their qualities, natural phenomena, use words denoting temporal and spatial concepts, easily retell fairy tales, and generalizing words appear.
The first year of a child’s life is very important. It is so intense that the emergence of new skills is determined by five periods. It is worth paying attention to the volume and sonority of the scream. The child should scream as expected. If the cry is muffled, quiet, in small quantities, then you should consult a specialist. For full speech development, humming (uuuuu, aaaa), babbling and its intonation coloring (ba-ba-boo, ma-na, etc.) are important. Pay attention to whether the baby understands your spoken speech and whether he reacts to it. If you see difficulties, contact early development specialists.
3. What developmental defects can result from incorrect speech?
Speech is a complex mental function. This is a way of communicating with others and one of the ways to understand the world. If a child has autism, mental retardation, or some form of mental retardation, speech development or delay will be affected. There will be difficulties in understanding spoken speech, late emergence of words, a slow pace of vocabulary accumulation, difficulties in constructing a coherent statement, and much more. But, of course, the severity of the manifestation may vary, and in each case everything is individual. Children also have a congenital defect in the structure of the articulatory apparatus, for example, a cleft palate. This will also lead to speech difficulties.
4. If there are people in the family with speech impairments, can this affect the child’s speech in the future? How and at what age is it formed?
A child’s speech is formed from the first days of life. Physiological sounds (screaming, sucking, coughing, sneezing) are already manifestations of speech. Speech develops more consciously from 1-3 months - the appearance of intonations, humming, and laughter. A child masters speech, first of all, by imitation. And if an adult often lisps and softens consonants, this can be reflected in the child’s speech. There are often cases when one of the parents does not utter a certain sound - the child also does not utter it. This does not happen with stuttering, because the nature of stuttering is neurological. If the child does not have neurological disorders, then he will not stutter. In extreme cases, he will begin to imitate, but this will not be a true stutter.
5. If a child is studying with a speech therapist, should parents do additional work with the child themselves?
The answer to this question is only unequivocal - yes! In any case, parents should do extra work with their child at home. The speech therapist must give recommendations for homework: be it massage, articulation gymnastics, memorizing rhymes, or exercises to develop the lexical or grammatical aspect of speech. The range of exercises and tasks is very wide. Firstly, the parent is aware of what the specialist is working on and what they should pay attention to in everyday life in order to support the child in acquiring new competencies. Secondly, the child will achieve his goal much faster if he trains not only in classes with a speech therapist, but also in ordinary everyday situations (in the kitchen, on the playground, on the way to the garden or on a visit). Thirdly, you save time and money.
The most relevant and useful information for modern parents is in our newsletter. We already have over 30,000 subscribers!
6. Which sounds are most difficult for a baby to produce? How much time does it take to practice for a child to learn how to pronounce, say, 2-3 sounds correctly?
Each child has individual difficulties. Some pronounce the sound [r] well, but the sound [s] just doesn’t work out, while for others it’s the other way around. No speech therapist will tell you how long it takes to turn on the sound. Speech therapy production of sounds is very individual for everyone. For one child, you can introduce a sound in 2 lessons, then automate it in 2 weeks, and for another - in 2-3 months, and it is not a fact that the sound is automated in their own speech. There are a lot of factors that influence the time of setting and automation: the reasons for the violation, the physiological state of the child (how quickly he gets tired), parental support and implementation of the speech therapist’s recommendations.
We're going, we're riding a horse BUT! BUT! BUT!
Your browser does not support the audio element.
A HIPPOPOTAMUS is walking!
THERE! THERE! Your browser does not support the audio element.
SA-SA-SA is a sly fox!
Your browser does not support the audio element.
RI-KI-TI-KI-TAAAA!
Your browser does not support the audio element.
CHA-CHA-CHA stove is very hot!
Your browser does not support the audio element.
EJ, where do you live?
Your browser does not support the audio element.
LO-LO-LO it's warm outside!
Your browser does not support the audio element.
7. What is a “short bridle”? Does it actually interfere with speech development? Is surgery always necessary?
If you lift the tongue up by your teeth, you will see a thin “thread” underneath it. This is the bridle. If the child's frenulum is short, it will not allow the tongue to reach up behind the teeth. This may cause problems with some sounds. With the help of special exercises it can be stretched. If, after practice, you cannot stretch it, you can trim it. But I recommend always exercising first before going to the doctor. Still, this is stressful for the child.
8. Many parents do not take their child’s problems with incorrect speech seriously, hoping that it will “go away on its own.” Can a late visit to a speech therapist have consequences?
The sooner parents seek help, the easier it is to overcome speech difficulties. If pronunciation problems persist until school age, writing and reading difficulties may arise. The child may skip letters or replace them with others. If the problem is in the other side of speech: the child incorrectly coordinates words (for example, “mom has come”), cannot construct a correct complete phrase, retell the text, etc. - this can also interfere with full-fledged school education. I recommend not to overload your child with classes with a speech therapist, but to work with him in preschool age. Contacting a specialist in a timely manner will help you avoid more serious mistakes in the future.
9. In the 21st century, people are used to learning, communicating, and working remotely, without personal presence. This practice also exists among some speech therapists. Is this method possible?
In my opinion, this method is possible, but in the obligatory presence of the mother in class. I myself practice classes on Skype, give tasks, show how to complete them. And at the same time I advise the parent on what to pay attention to and how to correct it if the child does something wrong. Of course, this method is a little depersonalizing. The child does not fully feel the emotional support of the speech therapist than he would have in person. But I’ll make a reservation that everything is individual. It is very important to understand that this method is suitable for some, but for others only personal presence in classes is indicated.
10. Is it always worth eliminating speech defects in children? What methods does the specialist use?
Does a parent always know who his child will become? What if his life path leads him to acting, or to television, or to lecture? I know that in the acting community there are a lot of young people and girls who simply need to get rid of incorrect sound pronunciation. And it is possible to do this as an adult, but it is much more difficult, and it is more difficult to find a speech therapist who works with adults. Usually this is done by stage speech teachers who have simply mastered the methods of producing sounds, but will not always be able to figure out the cause of the defect. In this case, the methods must be different.
A speech therapist works not only with impaired sound pronunciation, he develops understanding of addressed speech, helps to correctly construct a phrase, coordinate words, develops word formation skills, helps to understand what is read and answer questions about the text, teaches retelling texts, expands vocabulary and knowledge about the world around him, helps overcome difficulties in writing and reading. This is not the entire list of what a speech therapist works on! Each job has its own methods of overcoming difficulties.
If a child does not speak, until what age is this normal?
As for children's silence and reluctance to speak, then, of course, in this matter everything is very individual. But if speech does not appear even at the age of three, it is worth contacting a speech therapist. What can you do at home? I highly recommend reading poetry and singing children's songs without finishing the ending. Naturally, before this, you sing a song or read the entire poem more than once so that the child learns and remembers them, and then you begin to leave them unsaid. This way you disinhibit him from the rhythm, and when you don’t finish the last syllable, the baby has a great need to finish the rhyme. Our brain is designed in such a way that it always strives to complete a melody or poem if it ends on an unstable note. Melodies that end on open syllables are very useful for speech development. For example, a children's song: “Far, far away, in the meadow they are grazing…”, where the parent will sing only the first two syllables of the word “far”, and the child will finish.
