Speech and language
The first years of life are very important for learning speech and language. From the time they are born, children start communicating. Very early in their lives, they learn to understand what you are saying and to make sounds of their own. They are beginning to develop speech and language skills. Communication skills are critical to a child’s future success.
What is speech?
Speech is the physical act of oral sound production. Speech involves parameters such as articulation, clarity of speech, voice, resonance and fluency. A child with a speech disorder may have trouble producing sounds, present with voice (i.e. hoarse voice) or resonance problems (i.e. hypernasality) or may present with hesitations or a stuttering.
What is language?
Language involves two components: receptive language and expressive language.
- Receptive language refers to how we comprehend or understand language (includes understanding gestures, words, grammatical words, sentences, stories).
- Expressive language is how we express ourselves; it’s the ability of communicating ideas though various means (using sounds, words, gestures, sentences, discourse)
Language also has parameters such as form (phonology, morphology syntax), content (vocabulary and concepts) and pragmatics (social use of language) . A child with a language disorder has difficulty understanding or putting words together to express ideas.
What causes speech and language disorders?
There are many kinds of speech and language disorders and there are many reasons why they happen. If you think that a child is having problems developing speech and/or language, it’s important to get help right away. Early therapy can:
- Improve a child’s readiness for school.
- Improve a child’s self-esteem and confidence.
- Prevent problems from getting worse.
- Help a child get along with others.
- Decrease frustration.
- Reduce behaviour problems.