— How often do children in Russia encounter speech disorders?
– Estimates in the literature indicate that 5-10% of preschool children experience some form of speech pathology, with boys being more affected than girls.
What are the most common speech problems in children?
– A leading delay in speech development is alalia, which means a delay or absence of speech due to disruption in the central nervous system. Depending on the affected speech centers, expressive alalia appears when speech is underdeveloped while understanding spoken language remains relatively intact, while sensory alalia involves more pronounced difficulties with understanding language.
Mixed sensorimotor alalia is common. The child may struggle to master sounds, words, and grammar, and may place sounds in the wrong order within a word. Vocabulary tends to expand slowly in children with alalia.
The term “alalia” is widely used by speech therapists, though some doctors refer to these issues as Special Language Developmental Disorders (SLD) or Specific Language Impairment (SLI).
– What typically causes these violations?
– The most frequent causes of speech development delays include hereditary factors, complications during pregnancy and birth, intrauterine infections, prematurity, and birth trauma. Hearing loss and limited parent-child interaction also contribute. Some parents and even professionals mistakenly emphasize cervical spine issues or “neck instability” as a primary cause, but these are not the main drivers of speech pathology in most cases.
– If a child is not speaking, how can one distinguish a neurological disorder from hearing loss or another issue?
To determine this, other potential factors must be ruled out. A child is considered to have speech underdevelopment when intelligence is age-appropriate, hearing is normal, conditions for learning speech are normal, yet speech violations occur without an earlier period of normal development.
It should be noted that speech development starts well before words appear.
At 2-3 months, babies begin cooing, with vowels appearing first and consonants following. Cooing is remarkably similar across cultures. By about 6 months, babbling emerges—consonants and vowels forming simple sequences such as “ma-ma-ma” or “ba-ba-ba.” The first syllables take shape during this phase.
Doctors often ask how the child communicated in the first year.
By 10-12 months, meaningful words begin to surface from repeated syllables, such as “father” or “mother.” By the end of the first year, vocabulary typically reaches 5-10 words.
“But development varies, and speech milestones are no exception. How can parents tell if their child has a speech delay?
– Notably, babbling may be absent or limited in early life, and the first words and phrases may appear later than expected. Parents may notice the child is quiet, appears understanding, but reluctant to speak.
Instead of speech, facial expressions and gestures may lead early on. Later, speech can emerge with delay and a still-poor vocabulary. In such cases, errors in grammar and word forms are common, and prefixes or suffixes may be missing or used incorrectly.
– What other deviations can occur in children with speech delay?
– Speech disorders often co-occur with general clumsiness, hyperactivity, or, conversely, drowsiness. Children with early speech disorders may also struggle with reading and presenting material they have read.
– When is the best time to introduce a second language to a child?
– A healthy child in a multilingual setting can acquire multiple languages from early childhood. Generally, teaching a second language is beneficial, especially when the child already communicates well in the first language. If there are speech issues, it may be advisable to focus on one language during preschool years to reduce cognitive load and support clearer articulation.
– Is there a prevention for speech disorders? How can parents reduce risk?
– Daily, meaningful communication with the child is key. Speak often, smile, listen, and read aloud. Regular conversation is more effective than screen time. When occupying a child, use audio recordings that alternate songs and stories, such as fairy tales.
– Is professional help always necessary for speech disorders, or can parents do things on their own?
– If a speech disorder is suspected, a pediatric neurologist should be consulted to assess severity and, if needed, to plan treatment. Treatment often begins around age two and can be lengthy, addressing both current speech issues and later consequences in school-age communication.
In clinical practice, treatment for speech development delays may involve medicines that support learning and memory or enhance higher brain functions, prescribed by a neurologist, along with long-term speech therapy. Some clinics have developed specialized methods, such as neuromodulation approaches, to stimulate brain activity and support faster development of neural networks involved in speech.
– What are the risks of delaying treatment for speech disorders? Will a child still master speech as an adult?
The challenge is not limited to early words. Later reading and expressing ideas can be affected. A limited vocabulary, misused parts of speech, and difficulty describing events in time are common issues. Adults with a history of speech disorders may also experience lower self-efficacy and reduced confidence in achieving goals.