The Signs of a Speech Disorder: What to Watch Out for In Children
Every developmental psychologist or professional who has learned how to become a speech therapist likely spends much of their time reassuring concerned parents that all children develop at different rates; some begin building their vocabulary before turning one, while others are barely babbling by their first birthday.
Unfortunately, some children do experience chronic difficulty with speech. While not all speech disorders are characterized by a lack of ability to speak or understand speech, there are a few common signs to watch for that can indicate early speech development issues.
Stuttering
Stuttering manifests as disruptions in the flow of speech resulting from unintentional pauses, repetition, or prolonging of individual sounds, syllables, or words.
While it’s not uncommon for children under the age of 5 to stutter or experience other forms of disfluency, it’s usually just a phase and disappears shortly.
However, if stuttering lasts for more than 6 months or gets progressively worse over time, it may require professional attention.
Other signs of a potential chronic stuttering issue include unusual physical tension in the face, signs of physical discomfort when speaking, or consistent avoidance of speaking when doing so would otherwise be normal.
In many cases, a hearing evaluation is recommended to rule out auditory issues that might be affecting speech patterns.
Stuttering does occasionally run in families, so if you, your spouse, or any of your in-laws have had trouble with stuttering, and your child shows any of the above issues, it’s a safe bet that they could use professional help.
Inconsistency in Speech
When a child is persistently inconsistent in the pronunciation of words, it may be a sign of a speech disorder.
An inconsistent speech disorder, known medically as an inconsistent phonological disorder, is rooted in a child’s difficulty organizing the sounds that create speech.
They may replace one particular sound with a variety of other sounds or even develop varying patterns of mispronouncing certain letters or syllables. They are known to be comorbid with dyslexia, of which phonological disorder is the most common cause.
Inconsistent speech may also be a sign of an articulation disorder. This condition arises from a child’s inability to physically create certain sounds. Common examples include trouble getting lips or tongue to make hard consonant sounds like “t,” “r,” or “s.”
Typically, most children learn how to make all of the common sounds of speech correctly by age 4 or 5. If your child is having trouble consistently pronouncing certain letters or syllables after this age, it may be time to consult a speech therapist.
Not Using Gestures
Gestures are a normal and important part of human communication. While some of us are prone to “talking with our hands” and others may make gestures sparsely or when feeling strong emotions, it’s an important and natural skill for kids to master in the course of learning how to communicate clearly.
Failure to master this skill can lead to difficulty in expressing emotion, communicating in noisy environments, or using gestures naturally to communicate location, greetings, and other things most people naturally use gestures for.
Failure to learn gestures by the age of 18 months may be a cause for concern. While it is sometimes a sign of a developmental disorder like autism, it can also be a sign of anxiety, serious trauma, or troubles with vision.
Trouble Interacting with Others
Interacting normally and comfortably with other people is a vital skill that nobody can live a normal life without.
Children who show signs of trouble communicating their thoughts and emotions with others may have a hard time growing up to become productive members of society, and frequently have worse prospects for mental health, academic, and financial outcomes.
Difficulty interacting normally can take a variety of forms, all of which can have vastly different causes. Some children who exhibit a significant delay in their ability to acquire language skills may be diagnosed with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).
This is a broad diagnosis for children who show no physical or neurological problems resulting in impaired hearing, articulation, or comprehension of speech.
Kids with SLI often avoid speaking, and when they do speak, they demonstrate reduced vocabulary, a tendency to use shorter sentences or sounds, and an increased likelihood of making basic grammatical errors.
Unfortunately, sometimes a deficit in interactive ability is a sign of a serious physical deficit.
Statistics collected by the CDC show that roughly 1.7 in 1000 babies suffer from hearing loss, and 3 in 1000 are diagnosed with chronic moderate to profound hearing loss between the ages of 3 and 17.
A further 15% of children between the ages of 12 and 19 are found to have a hearing loss of at least 16 decibels in low or high frequencies in at least one ear.
Difficulty Forming Complete Sentences
Some children can speak and interact normally but have trouble forming coherent and complete sentences.
While this is often a normal part of speech development early on, children age 4 and older are normally capable of completing sentences, and an inability to do so may be a sign of a developmental disorder or expressive language delay.
Early intervention is vital for addressing potentially serious or chronic speech disorders. If your child shows any signs of any of these conditions, contact their pediatrician, explain what you are witnessing, and be prepared to support your child through the process of receiving treatment.
