Language Delay In Children – Being Parents
Language delay is a mild difficulty at the time of speech development. In other words, it’s not a long-term problem.
When a child does not speak up appropriately for their age, they are likely to fall behind. The most common causes of these are overprotection and lack of stimulation in the home. For example, if parents always anticipate the child’s wishes, the child will not be motivated to express their wishes out loud.
Although speech expression is affected, this does not imply that comprehension is also affected. On the contrary, the mere delay in language indicates that a child understands more than he speaks.
How does the language delay manifest itself?
In these cases, the child’s first words begin to appear at the age of 2, instead of a year. On the other hand, the union of the two words manifests itself after 3 years. For example: “yellow flower”, when it should be around 18 months old.
It should be noted that, as the language is rarer, the formation of sentences becomes more difficult. This causes that when the child is asked something, he responds with very short sentences. In the same sense, it is evident that they adopt a passive attitude towards language.
There are contexts in which the child understands specific sentences, especially in which his family intervenes, for example: give me the ball.
However, in more abstract or unfamiliar sentences, for example: going on a trip. It is something common that he does not understand very young.
Language delay is its causes
- Family history of language delay
- Certain environmental factors: poor or deficient vocabulary in the family environment, lack of stimulation, overprotection
- Conflict and violence in the home
What are the differences between Plain Language Delay and other language disorders?
Researchers consider the specific language disorder to be a much more complex and severe condition than simple language delay. In this case, the language is also acquired late. With the difference that it does so without respecting the evolutionary models of a normal situation. In particular, the comprehension of the language is generally more affected than in the simple delay.
However, expert professionals when starting to treat a child with simple learning disabilities find it difficult to differentiate one disorder from another.
Therefore, it is essential to visit with the urgency of the matter and as soon as possible a professional specialist in the field. The reason is that the evolution and the solutions to the problem are effective when the child is treated early.
Aspects to take into account
Some believe that this disorder does not have a major impact on the development of children’s learning, it is estimated that after six years the situation will start to improve.
Plain language delay in children may be associated in some cases with specific motor awkwardness as well as fine motor coordination, laterality coordination. The difficult learning of colors and shapes can also be linked to what we have mentioned above.
The most appropriate suggestions for dealing with these cases of plain language delay in children are to vocalize adequately while avoiding overly infantile language. Likewise, we recommend going to a daycare center to create conversations between your child and other people. Try to respect his independent discussions with others.
You should establish a practical and pleasant conversation and above all adapted to his ability to understand. Finally, we recommend reading stories with pictures, this serves as a support in his vocabulary. In addition to this, we recommend using children’s songs. Thus, children will be able to improve their verbal repetition skills and train to improve their speaking skills.