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How do speech and language develop? What are the milestones for speech and language development? What is the difference between a speech disorder and a language disorder? What are voice, speech, and language? What types of speech and language disorders affect school-age children? How may a speech-language disorder affect school performance? How do parents and school personnel work together to insure that children get the speech-language support they need? How do speech and language develop? The first 3 years of life, when the brain is developing and maturing, is the most intensive period for acquiring speech and language skills. These skills develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others. There appear to be critical periods for speech and language development in infants and young children when the brain is best able to absorb language. If these critical periods are allowed to pass without exposure to language, it will be more difficult to learn. What are the milestones for speech and language development? The first signs of communication occur when an infant learns that a cry will bring food, comfort, and companionship. Newborns also begin to recognize important sounds in their environment, such as the voice of their mother or primary caretaker. As they grow, babies begin to sort out the speech sounds that compose the words of their language. By 6 months of age, most babies recognize the basic sounds of their native language. Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. However, they follow a natural progression or timetable for mastering the skills of language. A checklist of milestones for the normal development of speech and language skills in children from birth to 5 years of age is included on the following pages. These milestones help doctors and other health professionals determine if a child is on track or if he or she may need extra help. Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss, while other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder. What is the difference between a speech disorder and a language disorder? Children who have trouble understanding what others say (receptive language) or difficulty sharing their thoughts (expressive language) may have a language disorder. Specific language impairment (SLI) is a language disorder that delays the mastery of language skills. Some children with SLI may not begin to talk until their third or fourth year. Children who have trouble producing speech sounds correctly or who hesitate or stutter when talking may have a speech disorder. Apraxia of speech is a speech disorder that makes it difficult to put sounds and syllables together in the correct order to form words. What are voice, speech, and language? Voice, speech, and language are the tools we use to communicate with each other. Voice is the sound we make as air from our lungs is pushed between vocal folds in our larynx, causing them to vibrate. Speech is talking, which is one way to express language. It involves the precisely coordinated muscle actions of the tongue, lips, jaw, and vocal tract to produce the recognizable sounds that make up language. Language is a set of shared rules that allow people to express their ideas in a meaningful way. Language may be expressed verbally or by writing, signing, or making other gestures, such as eye blinking or mouth movements. What types of speech and language disorders affect school-age children? Children may experience one or more of the following disorders: 吁peech sound disorders - (difficulty pronouncing sounds) 印anguage disorders - (difficulty understanding what they hear as well as expressing themselves with words) 列ognitive-communication disorders - (difficulty with thinking skills including perception, memory, awareness, reasoning, judgment, intellect and imagination) 吁tuttering (fluency) disorders - (interruption of the flow of speech that may include hesitations, repetitions, prolongations of sounds or words) 向oice disorders - (quality of voice that may include hoarseness, nasality, volume (too loud or soft) Do speech-language disorders affect learning? Speech and language skills are essential to academic success and learning. Language is the basis of communication. Reading, writing, gesturing, listening, and speaking are all forms of language. Learning takes place through the process of communication. The ability to communicate with peers and adults in the educational setting is essential for a student to succeed in school. How may a speech-language disorder affect school performance? Children with communication disorders frequently do not perform at grade level. They may struggle with reading, have difficulty understanding and expressing language, misunderstand social cues, avoid attending school, show poor judgment, and have difficulty with tests. Difficulty in learning to listen, speak, read, or write can result from problems in language development. Problems can occur in the production, comprehension, and awareness of language sounds, syllables, words, sentences, and conversation. Individuals with reading and writing problems also may have trouble using language to communicate, think, and learn. How do parents and school personnel work together to insure that children get the speech-language support they need? Parents and teachers should refer any student who shows signs of a speech-language disorder or delay to the school-based child study team. Screening, assessment, and treatment of communication problems may involve cooperative efforts with: 如arents, 存peech-language pathologists (SLPs), 地udiologists, 如sychologists, 存ocial workers, 圭lassroom teachers, 存pecial education teachers, 夙uidance counselors, 如hysicians, 圬entists, and 好urses. |