Table of contents:
- 1. Disorders of speech development
- 2. Hearing loss
- 3. Intellectual disabilities
- 4. Auditory processing disorder
- 5. Cerebral palsy
- 6. Autism
- 7. Apraxia talk
- Tips to train and stimulate your little one to talk
Talking late in children is a major complaint that parents often worry about with their doctors. Basically, every child has the development of speaking skills and abilities at different times.
However, at some point, some children did learn to speak and communicate effectively first. This creates feelings of worry and anxiety when parents realize that their child's development is not the same as other children.
The following are various possible causes of a child to speak late:
1. Disorders of speech development
Speech development disorders are a common problem that causes children to speak late. This condition is caused because children have difficulty learning to speak compared to other children. These children may have difficulty learning how to produce what sounds to say, the spoken language used to communicate, or understanding what other people are saying.
2. Hearing loss
Hearing loss is a condition that occurs in the ear, which blocks the passage of sound into the auditory system to get to the brain. A person with hearing loss will have difficulty hearing sounds, or can only hear a little sound, and even not at all - depending on the level of hearing loss they have and the type of impairment. A child with hearing problems will have difficulty pronouncing, understanding, imitating, and using language.
3. Intellectual disabilities
Intellectual disability is a condition in which the child's intellectual development experiences obstacles, so that it does not reach an optimal stage of development. This is indicated by the weak thinking ability which causes children to have intellectual abilities below average and the inability to interact socially.
4. Auditory processing disorder
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) or what is commonly called a sound processing disorder in the central nervous system, where it is difficult to discriminate between sounds (between background and what must be heard). This makes children experience an inability to interpret, organize or analyze what they hear.
According to the American Speech Language and Hearing Association, the condition auditory processing disorder this often overlaps with many behavioral disorders, such as in the case of ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and also children with autism syndrome.
5. Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is a disorder of movement, muscle, and posture caused by scratching or abnormal development in the brain. This disease starts from the early stages of life, namely from birth. People with cerebral palsy often have other conditions, such as; slow development of walking and speech, brain development, such as intellectual disabilities, vision and hearing problems, and even seizures.
Apart from cerebral palsy, other neurological problems such as muscular dystrophy and traumatic brain injury can affect the muscles needed to speak.
6. Autism
Autism can also cause children to talk late. Autism is a neurolic disorder that develops in childhood and lasts a lifetime. Autism can affect sufferers' interactions with other people, communicating, and learning. Generally, autistic children have difficulty interacting, problems in verbal and non-verbal communication.
7. Apraxia talk
Another cause of late speech for children can be due to speech apraxia. This is because children who experience speech apraxia have problems making sounds, syllables, and words due to problems in the brain. So that makes them have problems moving the parts of the body that are needed for speech, such as lips, tongue, and jaw.
Children with apraxia know what to say, it's just that their brain has trouble coordinating the muscle movements needed to speak.
Tips to train and stimulate your little one to talk
Here are some ways you can help and stimulate children to speak:
- You must be active to invite the child to interact and talk anywhere and anytime. Often inviting children to chat will help your little one be more communicative.
- Train children's speech in fun ways such as playing, storytelling, and singing with the help of children's toys, dolls, or any object that can be an educational medium that is easily absorbed by children.
- Try to reinforce what your child is saying by asking the child more questions. For example, if your child says, "Maam!" - eat, you can emphasize with, "Brother want to eat? What do you want to eat?" This aims to stimulate your little one to speak and release more vocabulary.
- Encourage the child to tell stories and various information about anything about their daily life. Don't forget to always listen and listen to your little one every time he talks while looking at them.
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