Recognize the signs of slow speech for early intervention

Currently, the rate of children with speech delay tends to increase. A child with a speech delay may be temporary and after a period of development, his or her speaking skills will improve. However, in some children, slow speech is a sign that the child is suffering from a medical condition that requires medical intervention. Regardless of the situation, it is important to understand the signs of delay in your child's speech for timely intervention.

In fact, many parents fall into the same situation as Minh because they cannot assess their child's condition is only temporary and can wait or this is a medical condition that requires early intervention. expert. Therefore, understanding the signs of slow speech in children will help parents make better decisions.

Correct understanding of the concepts of speech delay and language delay

Speaking: is the ability to express a language and pronounce (say sounds and words correctly).

Linguistic ability : is the ability to express and receive information in a meaningful way. This ability includes verbal expression in conjunction with the use of body language.

Thus, a child with a language delay means that he or she can pronounce words well, but can only match 2 words together. A child with slow speech means that he or she can use words and phrases to express his / her wishes but it is difficult to understand what the child wants or likes. Although the two possibilities are different, they contain duplicates, so parents need to differentiate.

The stages children develop speaking skills that parents need to pay attention to

The age at which children develop speech and language skills can vary, but for the most part, there are four basic developmental milestones that parents need to keep in mind to determine if their child has a speech delay or not:

12 months: Children begin to babble consonants and know how to use sounds to interact.

Around 9 months, babies will begin to pronounce proficiently and use different intonation to say “ba ba” or “ma ma” even though they do not understand what that word means.

Near the age of 1, children will begin to notice sounds and recognize the names of some familiar objects such as bottles, candy ...

If you notice that your baby is observing but not responding to sounds, his hearing may be problematic.

From 12 - 15 months: Children have spoken quite a few simple words, can understand and follow the instructions of their parents.

At this age, children can babble to imitate easy-to-pronounce words, even two or more syllable words such as balls, dolls ... Besides, children can also understand and follow the simple requests like "Show mother dog!" or "Where's my ball?" ...

From 18 - 24 months: Children can point to objects and name, say simple meaningful sentences, match single words together, talk while imitating other people's actions.

Most children can speak about 20 words at 18 months, to 2 years old, children can speak about 50 words. This is also an important stage in the development of speech in young children. Children begin to combine 2 words together to form simple sentences, recognizing familiar objects both outside and in pictures. In addition, children can also understand and perform 2-step requests such as "Pick up the ball and give it to mom!".

From 2 years old: This is the time when your child's vocabulary will increase rapidly. Children are very talkative, using benevolent pronouns such as "father, mother, and child" relatively well, knowing how to combine 3 or more words in a sentence. Besides, children can also recognize the difference between objects such as color, size ... At this age, the sentences they say are often very easy to understand.

Signs of slow speech

1. Prefer to use actions over words

In normal children, during speaking practice, children will talk a lot and be active in order to express their desires and preferences. Conversely, with slow speech children, they will prefer to use actions to express their desire, such as pulling an adult's hand to where they want it. Because children do not express their needs with words, sometimes you will have difficulty understanding, not knowing what the child is wanting or needing.

2. Limited vocabulary

The stage of language development in each child can be different, but usually from 18 months or more, a child can already say some simple words. Although children may have difficulty with pronunciation, by 2 years they should have about 200 - 500 words in their vocabulary. If less than parents should consult a pediatric specialist.

3. Inability to imitate sounds

Hearing problems can also be a cause of slow speech. If you are in this situation, your child will not hear what others have to say, so they will have difficulty in speaking, understanding, imitating and using language. Parents need to detect them in time to bring their children to an ear, nose and throat specialist.

4. Don't understand simple requirements

Normally, up to 3 years old, children have relatively good hearing and understanding ability. Children can understand simple to complex requirements such as "Get mom this, that that" or "Turn on the fan for mom". If your child reacts very slowly when you ask very simple questions such as: "Have you eaten?" or: "Are you thirsty?" then the child may have speech delay.

5. Cannot say complete sentences

Children can say short sentences of about 2-3 words, but more cannot say. Children have difficulty putting together single words, unable to say a complete sentence. These are all typical signs of speech delay that parents need to pay attention to for timely intervention.

What should parents do if a child has speech delay?

Parental support plays an important role in improving a child's speech delay. You can encourage your child's speech through the following methods:

Spend plenty of time talking, singing and asking your child to imitate the sounds you say.

Teaching children the simplest words, because at this time, children's vocabulary is not much, need to accumulate vocabulary for children. When teaching, you should have pictures and illustrative actions to make them easier to remember and visualize.

Reading to children is also one of the best ways to improve speaking. Choose books or stories that are suitable for your child's age.

Involve your child in activities with peers of his age or play outdoors to stimulate his interaction and reflexes.

In addition, you can also enroll your child in speech therapy classes to help improve the condition.

In addition to the above measures, the use of more specific brain tonic drugs for children is also essential because the brain plays an important role in language development in children. However, when giving to children, you should give priority to brain tonics that have been clinically studied to ensure safety and effectiveness.

Vuong Nao Khang health food (*) is one of the products that you can consider choosing because the product has been researched at the National Hospital of Pediatrics.

With the main ingredients of polyscias fruticosa combined with highly phyto, ginkgo biloba, taurine, co-enzyme Q10, vitamin B6, folic acid, sodium succinate, Vuong Nao Khang product works to help blood circulation, enhance microbiology. substances and energy for the brain, enhancing the functioning of the nervous system, increasing the ability to receive information, focus, remember and reflexes for children.

Finding and treating speech delay in children as soon as possible is very important because the older the child gets, the harder it will be to treat. Take action early to help your child develop normally and be as healthy as his peers. If you have any questions, you can contact hotline 098 712 6085 for free advice and support.

* The product is not a medicine and has no effect to replace medicine.