Although children all learn at different rates,
typically developing children tend to follow the same developmental patterns
of acquiring speech and language skills. Basically, we are born with certain
innate capabilities. This would include skills like learning to coo or crawl.
For different reasons, some children don’t learn these skills naturally.
These children may need just a little extra help or guidance although some
may need more.
Communication skills address a child’s language comprehension (receptive
language) as well as expression (expressive language) skills. In looking at
receptive language, or language comprehension, we consider a child’s
ability to identify objects and pictures, understand basic concepts, follow
directions, and sequence play activities.
In looking at language expression, we consider a child’s ability to communicate thoughts and needs through gestures or words, answer questions, and relate experiences. An important part of communication skills is how they are used in play and communicating intent. Communication skills include sound production, fluency, and voice quality.
If a parent has a suspicion that communication skills are suspect in their child, they should talk with a speech/language pathologist who is intimately familiar with language development. There is a developmental order in which children acquire language skills and this person can assist in determining if your child is within developmental norms. This holds true for a 2 year old and this holds equally true for an 8 year old child. A speech/language pathologist is the person who is uniquely qualified to determine whether or not your child is babbling on time, pointing on time, or developing his or her phonics skills on time.
Often, we hear that a parent is told to “wait,” particularly by their pediatrician or nursery school teacher. This may in fact be a good idea as these individual’s are typically familiar with developmental norms. However, if YOU are concerned about your child’s language development, then we urge you to speak with a specialist who can tell, often from just a brief conversation with a parent, whether or not a child should be seen for a screening or evaluation. Too often, we see a child at five or six years of age who presents with learning problems that might have been remediated or at least set on the right path before the problems were gargantuan! Don’t let that happen to your child.
If you are concerned about your child’s speech or language development, please contact a speech/language pathologist today.
Please note that our offices are located in
Bethesda, Maryland. If you live outside this area, we suggest that you contact
American Speech/Language Hearing Association for a referral in your area.