5 Frequently Asked Questions about Late Talkers

Parents walk into my office with so many questions and often, many preconceived ideas about the cause of their child's speech and language difficulties.  Here are a few of the questions that I frequently hear and my answers:   

1.  Is my child just stubborn?  

No!  You child may well be stubborn and head strong but this has not contributed in any way to his/her speech and language difficulties.  Late talking or speech that is unclear has nothing at all to do with your child's temperament or personality.  Your child may 'appear' to be stubborn if you attempt to force him/her to say words or to correct sounds in words but this just means that you need to learn a new approach to helping your child so that your child enjoys your help and responds well.  This is what a Speech Pathologist can help you with.    

2.  Perhaps my child is lazy?  

Aaah!  This would have to be the most common question or comment that I hear from parents, other health professionals and preschool teachers and it almost makes me scream every time!  Children with speech and language difficulties are not lazy.  Just because a child can imitate/copy a word after you does not mean that this word will then pop effortlessly and accurately into conversation.  When a child imitates, they do not have to think very much about the content or meaning of their message.  In conversation, the complexity of our language increases and we focus much more on what we are saying rather than how we are saying it.  It takes lots of practice with imitation before new words and sounds are stored in your child's own mind.  Only then will your child be able to recall words on his / her own and use these in conversation effortlessly.      

3.  Is my child a late talker because his big sister does everything for him?

Once again, another myth that needs to be dispelled.  Younger children have the advantage of sibling playmates who constantly stimulate their language development.  Having older siblings does not make children more likely to be late talkers.  In fact, the opposite can be true.  

4.  I have heard that Einstein didn't talk until he was 3.  Does this mean that my child will be fine?

Well, okay...the Einstein comment may be true but let's look at the more common scenario for late talkers.  Late talkers at 2 often do catch up by 3 but we don't know who will and who won't catch up without an extra little nudge in the correct direction.  The gap between late talkers who do not catch up and their peers tends to widen as children get older.  Once children start school, this can translate into social and academic difficulties (particularly with reading and spelling) so it is always best to err on the side of caution and see a Speech Pathologist for late talkers who are 2 years old.     

5.  Have I caused this because I went back to work too early after my child was born?

It never helps the situation if parents are blaming themselves and feel guilt about their child's speech and language delay.  The truth is, the causes of communication difficulties vary greatly. Genetics, illnesses, hearing and ear health all play a part as does environment.  In most cases, we will never know what caused a child to have difficulties with speech and language.  Antoerh way to look at this is that we are all different and have various strengths and weaknesses.  Some of us are artistic and good with our hands whilst others have have good language skills.  Speech Pathology can help your child to develop his/her weaker area of development so that this does not impede their success in any area of life.  

Remember, if you have any concerns about your child's speech and/or language development, call your local Speech Pathologist for a chat or become familiar with the developmental milestones at various stages for communication development at Learn2Communicate !

Karen Trengove - Speech Pathologist

info@learn2communicate.com.au 

Using Visuals to Teach Play and Conversation

I have had a terrific day today using my new Aided Language Displays with little preschoolers who have minimal language.  Visuals are great for so many reasons:  to help children understand, for following routines and schedules, to help children request items and actions...the list goes on!  I love visuals most of all for their ability to help children learn how to play and interact successfully  with others.  All too often I see visuals limited in their use to helping children learn how to request items.  There is so much more to communication than learning how to request!  Visuals can help us to teach children how to become a successful communicator.

Today we played with Mr Potato Head.  Our visuals were used to depict 'head' 'hat' 'eyes' 'shoes' and 'arms'.  Once my little 4 year old client with Downs Syndrome had mastered picture exchange to request these items from me, we added some more visuals to spice things up a little and make this activity fun, real and playful.

This time we added visuals for 'uh oh' 'funny' 'red' 'blue' 'more' 'my turn' 'I want' 'again'. What programme did we use to create these visuals?  Google Images and a printer!  For those lucky Speech Pathologists and Educators out there with Boardmaker, this also lends itself easily to the creation of Chat Boards for Aided Language Display.  Before long we were interacting beautifully about our Mr Potato Head.

The possibilities are endless.  Bubbles, musical instrument play, building a train track, dolls and dress ups are all play activities that lend themselves to modelling of simple, functional language using visual supports.  The clue to making this all a success is not to limit yourself to the use of pictorial items for the child to request items from you.  Add visuals for the other words and phrases that are commonly used in each activity and you will start to see communication skills flourish.  
   

Identifying Speech and Language Difficulties

Week 1 Term 1 of the school year is a great time for educators to sit back and start to observe the children in their care.  Who are the good communicators in the group?  These will be the children who are able to listen, understand and follow oral and written directions without difficulty.  They will interact successfully, not only with their peers but also with their teachers.  Although all of the good communicators will vary greatly in terms of their personalities, they will all have one thing in common....the ability to form and maintain relationships and access the academic curriculum / the language of  learning.  

The children who struggle with aspects of their communication skills will be more difficult for teachers to identify as many of these children may choose to limit their verbal communication with others.  These children may not be the ones to raise their hands and answer a question in class.  Watch out for the following red flags to help to identify children with speech, language and communication difficulties:

*  Children who are more difficult to understand than their peers (possible speech sound disorders)
*  Children whose speech is dysfluent e.g. "I I I I want a drink please" "M M M May I go to the toilet?"
*  Children who struggle to understand and follow directions
*  Children who respond to questions and comments inappropriately or on tangents
*  Children with difficulty in formulating oral and written sentences

*  Children who appear to be
slow to recall/find words to coherently express themselves e.g. "The ....um....um....thingy.....was over there"
*  Children who have difficulty in Show and Tell and Story Telling tasks

Speech and Language Disorders are highly correlated with Learning Difficulties so it is highly likely that these same children will struggle to acquire early reading and spelling skills if we do not identify them early and support the families of these children to seek intervention.  

Let me know if you have any questions about identifying speech and language difficulties or check out a simple screening tool to help you get started with young children 0-6 years.

Until next time!!

Karen Trengove - Speech Pathologist
www.learn2communicate.com.au