Learning to talk is obviously one of the big things any toddler learns to do and every parent worries that their little one isn't doing it quickly enough
Most children learn to talk withoout problems, but there are certain conditions that affect a small number of kids. Read on to find out more...
One child in 20 will stammer, usually between the ages of two and five, according to the British Stammering Association. Often it's part of learning to speak. The cause is unknown, though a stammer may signal underlying problems.
If your child stammers for more than just a few weeks, ask your doctor to refer you to a speech and language therapist. If the waiting list is longer than three months, complain.
'It's probably quite normal if your child leaves short gaps in sentences, such as: 'Can I?watch television?' So are words like 'um', as in the sentence: 'Can um Sam come to play?' advises Frances Cook, senior therapist at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering.
The centre, one of a handful of NHS centres in the UK, was set up by Monty Python star Michael Palin, whose own father stammered. Frances adds: 'A child may repeat a word two or three times, such as: 'Can can can I have an ice-cream?' That's also fine, as long as the word doesn't continue to be repeated over several months.'
However, Frances urges parents to watch out if kids repeat the first sound of a word, such as 'B-b-but.'
Don't wait, says the British Stammering Association. The sooner treatment starts, the more effective it is. Your health visitor can refer you to a centre or speech therapist who will assess your child and help you with techniques to use at home.
'Your child might have problems paying attention or listening, which in turn can affect their ability to understand and therefore develop their speech,' says Sarah Hulme, principal speech and language therapist for Early Years at Camden and Islington Community Health Services. 'It might also be caused by something simple such as glue ear, or more serious, such as autism.'
If children around the age of two are babbling instead of making whole words, ask your doctor to refer you to a speech and language therapist. Don't ask your child loads of questions to try and prompt her to talk, it will only frustrate a child who can't. Instead, let her babble and try to understand her.
This is usually caused by a difficulty in understanding. See your GP or speech and language therapist if your child is still muddled after the age of two. The treatment will involve intense one-to-one sessions to help your child understand through the use of repetition and games.
This affects how your child sounds words. The words will tend to be confused and will sound unrecognisable. It's not really known why a child may suffer from dyspraxia but, if your child has problems after the age of two, see your GP, speech therapist or specialist dyspraxic centre. The sooner it can be treated, the faster the rate of recovery. Therapists usually practise a particular sound such as 'p' again and again and then add a vowel such as 'po', followed by a consonant such as ' pop', gradually building up sounds.
Sometimes referred to as receptive language difficulties, your child may find it difficult to understand you when you talk to him. This could be because of glue ear, with this complaint, children tune out the outside world because they don't hear it properly. Or it could be because of a general language problem or an unexplained difficulty. If your child is still finding it hard understanding language after the age of two, see your GP, health visitor or speech or language therapist.
'A therapist will help improve understanding by using play-based treatment where words are associated with objects, pictures and visual clues,' explains Louisa Reeves, service development officer and speech and language therapist for I CAN, the educational charity for children suffering from speech and language problems.
It's easier for a young child to pronounce sounds using the front of the mouth, like 't', than sounds from the back, like 'c'. That's why little ones might say 'tar' instead of 'car'. It's also normal for a child to have problems with two consonants together, such as 'sp' in spoon which might come out as ' poon', or 'th' in ' thank you' which might sound like 'fank you'. 'S', 'f' and 'ch' are also the latest sounds to develop.
This is very common in small children.
Only think about getting advice from your GP if your child is still mixing some sounds by four or five. At that age you might be referred to a therapist who will check that your child can actually hear the sound correctly when someone else says it to her. At home, don't criticise your child's pronunciation. Instead, just repeat the word correctly.
Whatever kind of speech problem your child has, ask for his hearing to be checked even if he passed his previous check. Your doctor can then refer you to the audiology department of your local hospital for more advanced tests than those usually offered by health visitors.