Speech therapists in Bangalore | Dr. P. Sumitha Hemavathy | CAPAAR
Are you worried that your child is finding it difficult to communicate? Maybe she does not use a certain number of words that she should at her age, or maybe others are not able to understand what she is trying to say. If your child seems to be showing these signs, your child might have a speech disorder.
Among Indian children ages 3-17, 5 percent have a speech disorder that lasted for a week or longer and 4 percent have a language disorder that occurred for a week or more during the past year.
Speech and language problems are different but it is found that they are often similar. Speech involves verbally expressing oneself and forming sounds and words. Language involves understanding other people and being understood verbally and non-verbally.
In a toddler with a speech disorder, you might notice that she may have difficulty making certain sounds while a child with a language disorder is capable of pronouncing correctly but may have trouble forming sentences to express ideas.
It is important for parents to be informed about both speech and language development age-appropriately, and watch out for signs, particularly during their child’s first few years.
Here are a few signs you may watch out for that could indicate your child is having trouble communicating.
- Making sounds at age 4-7 months. A baby who is unusually quiet and is not trying out sounds could be showing signs of a language disorder.
- Absence of signaling, pointing or waving. If your child does not make gestures such as pointing and waving at the age of 8-12 months, that could be another indication.
- Unable to understand verbal requests. Children between 6 months and 2 years old should be able to understand simple spoken requests. If your child seems to have trouble understanding your instructions, she could have an issue.
- Unable to speak in sentences. When your kid is 1.5 to 2 years, she or he should be able to put words together to form sentences. If your child is struggling to make sentences, that might be a good reason to get her screened for early intervention.
- Struggle to make certain sounds. Children with speech disorders might have issues making p, w, h, m sounds in words from 1 to 2 years old. When they are between 2 to 3 years, they should be able to pronounce k, f, g, t, d, and n. Also, it is frequently seen that their speech might also seem unclear and hard to understand when they are 2 to 3 years old.
If your child shows any of the above signs or you have noticed other issues that you are concerned about, it’s best to seek help as soon as possible. Paediatric speech therapists in Bangalore can help children with various speech and language disorders that include fluency, articulation, and other communication issues.
If you’d like to learn more about speech disorder issues, get in touch today @ www.capaar4autism.com