Speech Delays and Conditions

Child`s development must be seen holistically as each area of development are connected with and affects every other area of development.

In the initial few months babies will recognise familiar voices and faces, they will try to 'people please' and bay for attention by performing for their audience through laughter and giggles. They will enjoy playing games with others such as peek a boo.

Speech is way of communicating to people it means speaking, verbal communication or to express thoughts, feelings and ideas. Children may learn through copying other children or adults which helps them to produce sounds which will then help to say words that other people can understand. In my setting I have non-verbal children so there speech is usually babbling or making a gesture through pointing.

It is believed that babies develop language when they are in the utero and it continues throughout their lifetime. By twelve weeks old, babies may register the sounds they can hear and at the same time make basic visual, auditory and tactile mind maps (Karen Kearns, 2013, P.105). This allows the infant to turn towards any familiar sounds and noises. Babies begin to communicate with people around them quite quickly. By two months old, babies begin to make ‘cooing’ and other noises; this indicates the phonological component of language development. By six to nine months babies begin to experience with a mixture of sounds, and often you will hear a baby babbling. Babbling development is similar across many different languages and even hearing impaired babies will go through this stage. They may copy the sounds they are introduced too or beginning to recognize familiar

Cries when basic needs require attention. Vocalises when spoken to and when alone. Watches primary carers face. Coos and smiles. Enjoys cuddles and being handled.

Next, his language is still developing at this point. I showed him a stuffed animal dog and asked him if he could identify it and tell me what it is. The infant gazed at it and responded “woof,woof,woof!” He responded by what the dog sounds like. Secondly, I asked him to point out his body parts. For example, his ears, eyes and belly button. That moment I said belly button he pointed at it. He was able to repeat names and his toys that he owned. As I began to speak in long-complex sentences he stared at me for a second and then looked away and started doing something else.

There may be a recognised syndrome or disorder that causes language difficulty for the child and is not able to communicate with others. The child may have a lack of stimulation and support to provide the rich language experience necessary to develop speech, language and communication skills. For example at school, the setting may not have an enabling environment to stimulate the child’s different interests necessary for acquiring language. The books, music, songs and so on may not stimulate and interest the child.

From this case study we understand it is important to act quickly to support children who have speech and language or communication needs, as language is crucial to learning and enables one to express thoughts in an organised way. Children with language delay may also find it harder to communicate and form relationships with others. They may become frustrated, leading to possible behaviour problems. Very young children in particular do not have the experience to recognise the reason for their

1.1 Speech means vocally expressing your thoughts and feelings out loud, “verbal communication; the act of speaking, the articulation of words to express thoughts, feelings or ideas” – Meggitt (2011. 327). Language means using both speech and body language to convey your emotions. “A recognised, structured system of gestures, signs and symbol used to communicate”– Megitt (2011.327). Communication means exchanging information through speech, facial expressions and body language. “The transmission of thoughts, feelings or information via body language, signals, speech or writing” – Meggitt (2011.327). Speech, language and communication needs means an issue that impairs one’s ability to be able to communicate. “A problem that affects a person’s ability to express their thoughts, feelings and ideas” – Meggitt (2011.327).

The word speech when used in relation to children and young people’s development literally means the act of speaking, verbal communication, or to express thoughts, feelings, or ideas.

Not being able to speak or having a speech impediment can be very difficult for some people. If there was a way to reverse these sorts of problems, we could greatly improve the lives of those affected by speech disabilities. There is now a pill that may be able to help. The University of Iowa has done a study on this pill that researchers say will temporarily stimulate part of the brain to treat people with speech deficiencies. The study was done on two groups of people, both with speech impediments. One group, the treatment group, received the pill while the placebo group received a sugar pill.

To that end a learners who has a language disorder has difficulty with oral development for example “limited, pronunciation, grammar, and comprehension to be less well-develop than their peers who speak only English. In addition there communication is impaired in interactions with family members and others who speak the same language.

At the age of 3 months we see early signs of phonology; children will turn their heads, and stop crying once hearing parent’s voices. They indicate contentment and amusement by smiling, and repeating sounds (e.g. cooing). (Berk, 2003). In addition babies 4-7 months notice new sounds such as the telephone. They also respond to “no” and changes in tone of voice. Early sound discrimination skills are beginning to emerge. At 6 months of age, long before they are ready to talk, babies start to organise speech into the phonemic categories of their own language. (Berk, 2003). Semantics develops at the age from 8months-1 year old as they respond to sounds such as doorbells and telephones. And begin to babble repeated consonants and vowels. The Nativist theory states that language acquisition is a biological phenomenon such as the child’s ‘inner clock’ theory and any role play between child and carer and by the environment is something less important, which theoretically means that nature will take its course and the child will develop its own

The biological maturation theory of language presupposes that the origin of a language problem is because certain regions of the brain are impaired at processing information for the use of language. This is based upon the belief that these macrostructures and microstructures of the brain are influenced by the genetic code and the environmental factors. If one of these influences is limiting the brain’s functioning during specific windows of opportunity, then these areas of the brain intended for language may not develop functionally. While the interaction of these factors (i.e., genes and the environment) can strengthen the brain processes, it can also limit these fundamental processes that are being developed according to the timing outline. Therefore, the child is presenting with a language problem due to the fact that specific regions, as well as more general cognitive areas, of the brain are not processing information needed for the acquisition of language.

Classification infant/toddler as we have been learning in class is the ability to group objects base on similarities such as cars and animals or having a touch sequence that shows a pattern. I observed 18-month-old boy named Henry. A child around his age shows knowledge when objects are connected to one another, match two objects as a pair, and separate a pile objects base on their features (Mandler and McDonough, 1998)