The child swallows the endings of words: why and how to fix it?

The problem of “porridge in the mouth” is often found in young children. Many children, in a hurry to say something, pronounce only the initial syllables, swallow too complex endings, skip them, or shorten long words too much in their opinion. Today we will talk about why this happens, whether it is worth contacting a speech therapist and how you can get rid of this defect.

Norms of speech development

When a child turns one year old, he begins to pronounce his first words. Girls speak earlier - at about 8 months, and boys - at 11-12 months. Between 1 and 2 years, a child's vocabulary expands rapidly. He remembers the names of surrounding objects. Starting at 2.5 years old, children begin to construct their first sentences. At first, the child does not care about their correctness. He simply puts familiar words next to each other. By the age of three, the baby gradually learns to coordinate them with each other.

From 2 to 5 years, a child’s speech develops most actively. At the very beginning, children simplify words, swallow complex endings, skip and change syllables. This is absolutely normal. For example, at two years old a baby may say “kapu” instead of “cabbage.” However, age-related tongue stiffness should disappear by age 5. If a child of 5-6 years old swallows parts of words, then you should pay special attention to him. Many parents don’t know what to do, so they start torturing their child with daily activities. You shouldn't do that. Due to heavy stress, the baby may become withdrawn and stop speaking. If a baby at 5-6 years old does not pronounce the endings when swallowing them, then it is recommended to consult a speech therapist.

Classification of logoneurosis

Experts distinguish three main types of pathology:

1. tonic appearance . The child often pauses in speech. Pronounces sounds or whole syllables for a long time, as if stretching out;
2. clonic _ With this type of logoneurosis, the patient repeats sounds or syllables several times;
3. mixed type It has signs of tonic and clonic, at the same time.

A few important facts about logoneurosis:

• in contrast to stuttering, which is constantly present, repetition or prolongation of syllables and sounds bothers the child only sometimes, as a rule, at a moment of emotional overstrain;
• The peak onset of the disorder occurs between 3 and 8 years of age. In rare cases, adults may also suffer from it;
• If the pathology is not addressed in time, it can worsen many times over. That is, neurosis that occurs during certain periods will become permanent.

Often the disorder is accompanied by the presence of additional symptoms; they are divided into three groups:

1. respiratory disorders: periodic feeling of lack of air, spasms that constrict the throat;
2. neurotic signs. These include: fears, anxiety, low self-esteem, poor sleep and appetite;
3. associated symptoms: tics, tremors, spasms of speech muscles, blinking.

Boys suffer from logoneurosis three times more often than girls.

Why might a child not finish the ending?

What should you do if your baby swallows the endings of words? First of all, it is necessary to understand the cause of the violation. A speech therapist, neurologist and psychologist can help with this. There are several reasons why a child may swallow the endings of words. Only after identifying them will it be clear what to do about it.

Tahilalia. The pathology is characterized by an acceleration of the rate of speech. In this case, the child may speak excitedly, swallow words or parts of them, stammer and repeat himself. Against the background of tachylalia, there is also an acceleration of other psycho-emotional processes, reading and writing disorders.

Causes of tachylalia.

There are many reasons that can provoke speech pathology in a child. The most common include:

• heredity;
• neurological abnormalities (increased excitability, hyperactivity);
• imitating parents with a fast pace of speech;
• brain pathologies (epilepsy, tumors, neuroinfections, etc.);
• mental illnesses (MDP, schizophrenia, etc.);
• lack of competent speech development (parents for a long time do not pay attention to the fact that the baby swallows parts of words and this becomes a habit).

The physiological nature of tachylalia is that the process of excitation dominates over inhibition. Because of this, the rhythm of speech is disrupted.

Violation of syllable structure. With normal development, children at 3 years old begin to reproduce words according to the laws of euphony. At the age of 5, this ability is completely ingrained. But if the baby swallows parts of words, this may indicate a violation of the syllable structure. In one of its forms, elision, children shorten and skip syllables. With a severe degree of impairment, the child can pronounce only the first syllable (“vo” - “water”, “ko” - “cat”).

Reasons for violation of the syllabic structure of a word.

The pathology that causes children to swallow endings can occur due to:

• severe infections suffered at an early age;
• minimal brain dysfunction;
• diseases of the central nervous system;
• injuries during childbirth;
• problems of intrauterine development;
• Rh conflict between mother and child;
• traumatic brain injuries;
• mental disorder;
• unfavorable family situation.

In some cases, a violation of syllable structure occurs due to a combination of a number of factors.

Reasons for violation of the syllabic structure of a word

According to experts, the syllable structure of a word is disrupted for various reasons. For example, a lot depends on the factors that influenced the development of the baby during pregnancy, infancy, and the individual characteristics of his health:

• hereditary mental and nervous diseases;
• hyperactivity, increased excitability;
• damage to brain structures - epilepsy, infections, neoplasms;
• severe infections suffered in early childhood or during fetal development;
• presence of brain dysfunction;
• CNS diseases;
• birth injuries, oxygen deprivation during childbirth;
• Rh conflict between mother and child;
• poorly treated traumatic brain injuries.

Of great importance is the conditions in which the child lives and grows, what kind of speech he hears every day. Unfavorable factors are:

• nervous situation in the family;
• severe stress;
• illiterate or too fast speech of adults living with the child;
• lack of full verbal communication with parents.

In most cases, a violation of the syllabic structure of a word occurs due to a combination of several reasons. Before visiting children's specialists, think about what exactly from the list above could affect your baby's speech development.

Corrective work

What to do if a child swallows the endings of words? At 3-4 years old you don’t have to worry. If the child has not corrected his speech by the age of 5, then it is worth contacting specialists. First of all, you need to visit a neurologist. He will help identify the cause, tell you what to do and what medications you need to take. MRI and EEG may also be prescribed. If a child swallows the endings of words due to any disease, then it must be eliminated.

After a neurologist, the child needs to see a speech therapist. If necessary, he will advise you to consult with a psychologist, assess the child’s speech condition, prescribe group or individual classes, and also tell him in detail what parents should do. Family activities are an important part of correcting speech disorders. Therefore, parents should pay special attention to their child.

How can you help your child?

Create a favorable environment for speech development and reward your child even for small achievements, so that the exercises bring him only positive emotions. We recommend including the following activities in your daily routine:

• finger games;
• articulation gymnastics;
• exercises for fine motor skills;
• dancing;
• games aimed at developing a sense of rhythm;
• playing musical instruments - drum, pipe, xylophone.

Here are a few games that will be useful for correcting the syllabic structure of words and will really appeal to your child.

Drummer

Show your baby a simple rhythmic pattern: clap your hands several times, observing a certain rhythm, and ask them to repeat.

Parrot

Ask your child to repeat after you first the vowels (AO-OA-AU-UA), open syllables (BA-BA-BA, BO-BO-BO, etc.), back syllables (AB-AB-AB, OB-OB -OB, etc.), syllables with consonant clusters (such as KVA-KVA-KVA), combinations of syllables. Choose only those sounds that are good for the child. If he completes the task without difficulty, then you can give simple words of two syllables such as uncle, melon, fox, kitty, Masha, etc.

Catch the ball

Throw the ball to the child and say the first syllable of a word he knows well, he must repeat it, throwing the toy back. Then you say the second syllable, throwing the ball again, the child repeats. Then you say the whole word. For example, KO-KO, ZA-ZA, GOAT-GOAT. This game can be complicated by including words of three open syllables, such as cubes, ducklings, head, raspberries, car, coin, milk, cow, road, Natasha, Marina, etc.

What was Natasha doing?

Instead of a doll named Natasha, you can take any toy. Pass it with your child to each other and list, one by one, what she did today. For example, she walked, ran, sat, flew, sculpted, cooked, bought, drove, bathed, wore, etc. Identical endings will help the baby not get confused and answer confidently.

What else can you do? Try to talk to your child at eye level. Learn simple poems and songs. Pronounce your words clearly, slowly and correctly. Encourage them to speak loudly and clearly, for example, to buy a bun or a treat in a store on their own (for this you need to contact the saleswoman).

Is the prognosis good? In most cases, yes, but it all depends on the cause that caused the speech disorder, how timely the correction was started, and how accurately the parents adhere to the recommendations of specialists.

Publication date: 12/19/2019. Last modified: 01/13/2020.

Forecast

If the baby does not pronounce parts of words and endings, then in most cases the prognosis is favorable. However, it is difficult to say anything for sure. The prognosis depends on the cause of the speech pathology. One thing is certain - timely measures to diagnose and correct violations are important.

It is important to remember that the child must be surrounded by attention and care during speech correction. This will allow him not only to speed up the process of normalizing speech, but also to get rid of psychological complexes.

Where to start the correction?

First, you need to show the baby to a neurologist to rule out central nervous system pathology. In addition, the doctor can prescribe medications that improve blood supply to the brain and the activity of nerve cells, which will have a positive effect on speech development.

Secondly, you need to visit a speech therapist. He will listen to the baby’s speech and tell you exactly what caused the swallowing of syllables, whether it is necessary to contact a psychologist, and will select a correction program.

Thirdly, a lot depends on homework, because it is the parents who spend most of the time with the child. It is important to surround him with attention and care while speech correction is underway.

Why does a child talk with all his might, but speak only in endings?

If a baby is 3-4 years old and has been speaking for a long time, but only pronounces the last syllables, then you should definitely show him to a speech therapist and a pediatric neurologist.

The causes of these violations can be divided into two large groups – internal and external.

The first group includes factors that negatively affected the intrauterine development of the child:

• severe infectious diseases, allergies suffered by a woman during pregnancy;
• taking certain medications, smoking, using drugs and alcohol;
• severe stress during pregnancy;
• severe prolonged toxicosis;
• Rh conflict between mother and fetus;
• woman’s age (too young or mature);
• pregnancy as a result of long-term infertility treatment;
• abortions, miscarriages in history;
• complex long labor;
• oxygen starvation (hypoxia) of the fetus;
• birth injuries;
• severe heredity (presence of diabetes, mental hereditary diseases in the child’s closest relatives).

Should we sound the alarm?

If the child has just started talking and is completely healthy (that is, there are no other obvious developmental disorders), then this phenomenon is normal. While children are mastering speech, they can pronounce only part of the word, usually these are stressed syllables, since they are clearly heard by the baby, and therefore it is easier for him to reproduce them.

In this case, experts advise talking to the child very SLOWLY AND CLEARLY. The fact is that with fast speech, words are perceived by the auditory analyzer of the brain in full, but in a distorted form. That is why adults, when communicating with a baby, need to:

• pronounce words loudly, clearly, slowly;
• avoid “childish words” in speech such as “bo-bo” (it hurts), “kisya” (cat), etc.;
• read aloud, pronouncing each syllable;
• patiently and gently correct the child: if he again only said the ending, repeat the same word in full, it would be better if you use it in a sentence, for example: “Le” (street) - “Yes, now let’s go outside”;
• provoke the baby to talk.

The child must hear only correct, clear speech around him, and only in this case will he learn to fully pronounce words. If these recommendations are followed, pronunciation is normal and should improve on its own by the age of three. If this does not happen, you must urgently contact a specialist.

What to do?

If a child repeats the endings of words, this should not be treated as pampering. Scolding and considering this a deliberate antics is wrong. It is necessary to visit a specialist who will help you understand the causes of the current condition and also find ways to solve the problem.

Which doctor you contact depends on what caused the pathology, usually it is:

1. speech therapist It will help the child in the formation of clear and competent articulation of all sounds, mastering the technique of proper breathing and control of his own voice, as well as the speech apparatus in general;
2. psychotherapist _ If there is a traumatic situation, or the child has suffered some kind of stress previously, the doctor, using modern techniques, will help get rid of the consequences of such an event;
3. neurologist _ The task of this specialist is to select medications. The most commonly prescribed drugs are sedatives and antispasmodics, as well as drugs that improve cerebral circulation.

In addition, it is necessary to: normalize the child’s work and rest schedule, reduce the overall level of stress, master physical therapy and special breathing exercises, take soothing decoctions and herbal infusions.

Sometimes, in order to understand the situation in the family, not only the person suffering from a speech disorder, but also his relatives have to turn to a psychologist.

How to help a child with a speech disorder?

Good results are obtained from individual lessons with a speech pathologist-speech pathologist, direction on mastering sounds, the syllabic structure of words, expanding vocabulary, mastering coherent speech, correcting the construction of phrases and pronunciation.

A neurologist usually prescribes medications that improve blood flow to the brain and neuronal activity. You need to do a lot of exercise at home, doing exercises, strictly follow the recommendations of specialists. With persistent study, the child soon catches up with his peers.

Publication date: 12/24/2019. Last modified: 12/24/2020.