Language problems in children: alarm signals
Language is a characteristic characteristic of the human species. For its development a series of skills and abilities are necessary that are linked to psychomotor, psychological and social development. However, in some children they may appear Language problems that directly affect the ability to communicate and speak
When children are born they make noises, they cry and scream
At 3 months the gurgles appear, which are guttural sounds; at 6 months the babblings, which are rhythmic sounds of vowels and consonants; at 9 months the proto-words, which are phonetically stable forms that are used with the combination of gestures; Y at 12 months the first words.
Between 12 and 18 months, the child has around 50 words and in this stage the simplifications ("pacifier-tete"), reduplications ("tete", "poop"), assimilations ("sí-ti") are normal. After 18 months substitutions of some sounds are given by others ("house-hunting"), assimilation of a sound by another sound ("natilla-matilla"), simplification of the syllable ("ten" by "train") .
These would be some of the characteristics of the speech acquisition process. However, there are children who may begin to have gaps in their speech or language, both in form and content and use.
Language problems: alarm signals
Although each child has his own maturational rhythm and speech development, there are some signs that can alert us to Language problems, that is, that something is failing in the process, such as:
- At 15 months he does not look at or point at people or objects.
- At 18 months, he does not follow simple instructions.
- At 24 months does not indicate an image or a body part when you name it.
- At 30 months he does not respond strongly, shaking his head or asking questions.
- At 36 months, he does not follow two-step instructions or words in action.
Also, there are cases in which the child understands the language but has difficulty expressing it, we must be aware if:
- At 15 months does not use 3 words.
- At 18 months does not say "mom", dad "...
- At 30 months he does not use phrases of 2 words that include a noun and a verb.
- At 36 months does not request elements by name; if it does not imitate repeating the questions said by others; the language has gotten worse and does not use complete sentences.
- At 48 months, use words incorrectly or use a similar or related word instead of the correct one.
Favor the correct development of the language
In order to help our children to have a correct development of the language it is important to bear in mind that not all the children present the same rhythm in the development. The following can help us:
- For the child to learn to speak, it is necessary to interact with the environment.
- A communicative, positive and stimulating attitude is essential.
- Make the game the basis of communication to maintain the child's motivation.
- Encourage child interventions.
- Adjust our language when we communicate with the child (size and difficulty of the message, use simple but well structured sentences, etc.)
- In the case of seeing that our child has difficulties such as those mentioned above, the pediatrician or the speech therapist can be told to intervene, if necessary, as soon as possible.
The moments of fun and play are ideal to help our children make correct use of the language. In addition, we will establish a good communication based on love, fun and trust.
María Jorge Moreno. Teacher of hearing and language. Expert in speech therapy intervention. Match Institute
It may interest you:
- Stages of baby language
- The first words of the baby
- Difficulties in the development of children's language
- The development of speech in children
