Delayed speech development in children: causes, diagnosis and correction

Article:

Delayed speech development is said to occur when a child masters oral speech later than the age norm.
According to statistics, it is diagnosed in 3–10% of children; boys suffer from it 4 times more often than girls. Speech development delays will not go away on their own; comprehensive treatment is required. Otherwise, this threatens with general mental retardation and social problems. In this article we will look at what SRD is, its degrees and how to treat speech delay.

What is IRR syndrome?

Children with this diagnosis have a poor vocabulary, their own speech is not formed, it is illiterate and incoherent. Retarded speech development can be noticed from the age of 2: such a child does not speak in simple phrases. Signs of RRD depend on the degree of the disorder.

Several classifications of forms of developmental disorders in children have been accepted.

Neurological. The disorder is associated with damage to the central nervous system and brain - as a result of traumatic brain injuries, neuroinfections. The classification includes aphasia, alalia and dysarthria. As well as disorders that are associated with stuttering, deaf-muteness or muteness, structural defects of the articulatory apparatus, and RRR syndrome, which developed as a result of difficult childbirth, prematurity, and social factors.

Speech therapy. Includes sound pronunciation disorders (dysphonia, bradyllalia, tachylalia, stuttering, dyslalia, rhinolalia, dysarthria) and speech structure disorders (alalia and aphasia).

Psychological and pedagogical. Delayed speech development is divided into 2 types - violation of means of communication (distorted listening comprehension of the native language and general underdevelopment of speech) and improper use of means of communication.

ZRR: levels of violations

There are 4 degrees of severity of speech development delay in childhood.

The first is the most severe form of RRD in children. Symptoms: the baby hardly speaks or does not speak at all.

The second is that the active dictionary contains commonly used words, but it pronounces sounds incorrectly, “swallows” or swaps syllables.

Third, he does not always pronounce sounds correctly; he often replaces them with others that sound similar. Speaks only in simple sentences.

The fourth one speaks indistinctly, there are mistakes, articulation is unclear, sounds are not always pronounced correctly, sometimes the baby makes mistakes in word formation. But thinking is critical.

Symptoms

By what signs can you determine that your baby is lagging behind in speech development? The first symptoms may appear up to a year, but most parents rarely pay attention to minor delays in the baby’s verbal development. Precursors of RRD in infancy may be:

• inexpressive cry or its absence;
• late period of humming, insufficient intonation of sounds;
• late appearance of babbling or its absence, the baby cannot pronounce the same sounds for a long time;
• babbling is not an independent type of verbal activity, that is, the baby does not use it to communicate with others;
• long period of use of “babbling” words;
• lack of imitative actions of adults.

The main symptom of RDD is the late appearance of the first words and simple phrases. For such children, the first words may appear only by the age of 2, and a simple phrase by the age of 3. But they speak unclearly, and those around them have difficulty understanding them. At three years old, a child cannot construct sentences and use them to communicate with others. To communicate, the baby mostly uses facial expressions and gestures.

In addition to speech symptoms, children with mental retardation may also have neurological symptoms:

• hyperactivity or, conversely, the child is too slow;
• the baby has difficulty adapting to new conditions;
• does not make contact with others;
• subject selectivity in play and selectivity in communication;
• motor lag;
• unstable attention.

If the described symptoms occur, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive diagnosis, which will help determine the exact cause of the defect. And then choose effective ways of correction.

Age norms for speech development

A delay in speech development is evidenced by non-compliance with age standards for its acquisition. They are divided into several stages.

The first is the first minute after birth. During this short period, the newborn cries. A loud and modulated cry is a sign of a intact central nervous system.

The second is the pre-speech period. Lasts during the first year of the baby's life. It includes several stages: at 1.5 - 2 months the baby gurgles, at 4 - 5 months he babbles, from 7 - 8 months he pronounces the first babbling words, and at 9 - 10 months (girls) and 11 - 12 months (boys) he speaks first words.

The third is the stage of lexical explosion. Until a child is one and a half years old, the active vocabulary predominates - by the age of one year it includes about 10 words, and the passive vocabulary consists of 200 words. But by the age of 1.5 years, words from the passive vocabulary sharply move into the active one. For some children this happens later - by the age of 2.

The fourth is the transition to phrasal speech. It is possible if the active dictionary contains from 40 to 60 words. This is enough to start speaking in simple two-word sentences. A two-year-old child's active vocabulary ranges from 50 to 100 words.

Fifth - transition to detailed sentences. Children at 2.5 years old can already speak in phrases of 3 to 4 words.

Sixth - transition to coherent speech. Adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs appear in it. This stage begins at 3–4 years of age. At 3 years old, children already know about 1200 words.

If a child develops normally physically and mentally, but his speech does not fit within the normal range, this does not mean that he has SDD syndrome. Children develop differently, so it may simply be the individual pace of development of a particular baby. But it is still better to consult a pediatrician.

Types of speech disorders (classification from a medical point of view)

Speech problems in preschool children can be classified according to clinical-pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical indicators. The two classifications should be considered together: together they help to understand the cause of the violation and determine ways to eliminate it.

The clinical and pedagogical classification is closer to the medical one, and we’ll talk about it now. She divides speech deviations into oral and written. The first can be phonational or systemic.

With phonation, the source of the problem can be improper voice formation, sound pronunciation, tempo, and intonation. That is, the child understands speech directed to him 100%, but cannot reproduce it. The following phonation disorders are classified (in alphabetical order):

• Bradylalia is a slow rate of speech.
• Dysarthria is a disorder due to insufficient innervation of the articulatory apparatus.
• Dysglosia - difficulties with pronunciation due to palatal, jaw, and other clefts.
• Dyslalia is a deviation with full hearing and intact speech apparatus.
• Dysphonia is a complete or fragmented disorder of phonation due to an abnormality of the vocal apparatus.
• Stuttering is a disruption in tempo due to spasms of the jaw muscles.
• Rhinolalia is a specificity of voice timbre and sound pronunciation due to articulatory features.
• Tahilalia - the child is frequent with words.

Systemic deviations are more severe. They are formed due to lesions in the cerebral cortex. The child partially loses the ability to correctly repeat words and phrases and understand their meaning. There are two types of violations:

• Alalia is the inability to speak or underdevelopment due to damage to the speech areas of the cerebral cortex formed during fetal development or after birth.
• Aphasia is a complete or partial loss of speech due to brain damage (stroke, etc.). More often, the diagnosis is made explicitly after the 3rd birthday.

Among the above, severe speech disorders can be identified - persistent deviations of the speech system with preserved hearing and intelligence. These include sensory and motor alalia, severe variants of dysarthria, rhinolalia, stuttering, aphasia and other deviations. Such problems can influence the formation of the psyche.

Impairments in written speech can be noticed in older kindergarten or in the first grades of school. This is dyslexia (the child incorrectly identifies letters and forms words from them, difficulties arise with reading), dysgraphia (when writing, letter signs are mixed, rearranged or omitted).

Main signs of ZRR

Parents may notice the first symptoms of RDD when their baby is not yet 2 years old. Unless he speaks in two-word phrases (for example, “Mom, give me”). If your son or daughter is 3 years old, pay attention to whether he speaks coherently, whether he speaks all the syllables of words, whether he uses a lot of words and whether they are enough for him to express his thoughts and desires.

If you see that your baby clearly lacks words, this may indicate a delay in speech development. If there really are problems, then at 4 years old they are obvious.

Speech disorders (psychological classification)

To determine how much the defect can be influenced and corrected, a psychological and pedagogical classification was invented. Correction occurs during speech therapy sessions.

Deviations from the point of view of psychology and pedagogy are:

• Phonetic-phonemic - the child pronounces phonemes incorrectly because he also perceives them incorrectly.
• General speech underdevelopment - there are problems with all components of the articular system. The child develops speech late, it is poor, and it is difficult for him to pronounce some sounds.
• Stuttering – communication means are developed correctly, the problem is only in their use.

According to this classification, children can be divided into 3 conditional groups:

1. They don’t pronounce individual sounds, there are no other problems.
2. There are problems in the perception of sounds and their reproduction. Children do not distinguish some sounds, do not see articulatory and acoustic differences. They rearrange syllables when speaking, write and read poorly, and “swallow” the endings of words.
3. They have general speech underdevelopment. They do not put sounds into syllables, have a small vocabulary, and do not speak coherently. If a speech therapist does not begin to treat such children on time, they may have huge communication problems.

Speech disorders affect the mental functions of a preschooler. The attention of such children is often characterized by instability. They have difficulty generalizing, comparing and analyzing, and perceiving verbal instructions. Such children are characterized by poor coordination, they are slow and awkward, and have underdeveloped fine motor skills. A child with severe disabilities lacks self-confidence, is touchy, and has difficulty establishing contacts.

Symptoms of speech delay

Non-compliance with standards can be noticed at different stages of development. Among them are:

1. Deviations in the pre-speech period. The baby does not gurgle or babble, or does so rarely, and utters the same type of sounds;
2. At the age of 12 months. Does not respond to verbal communication;
3. At the age of 1.5 years. Does not try to repeat words heard;
4. At the age of 1.5 - 2 years. Does not fulfill requests;
5. At the age of 24 months. Does not speak isolated words;
6. At the age of 2.5 - 3 years. Does not speak coherently, does not connect words into simple sentences;
7. At the age of 3 years. The child does not have his own speech. He speaks only in phrases he has learned or heard somewhere.

Children with signs of delay use gestures and facial expressions instead of words. And they do it consciously and appropriately.

What to do if a child speaks poorly?

First, take the situation for granted. Don't be offended by facts. The faster help is provided, the higher the child’s chances of catching up with his peers at school. Secondly, get tested. The child must be examined:

• ENT;
• speech pathologist;
• neurologist;
• psychologist.

Some specialists may recommend undergoing additional examinations. This must be done in order to understand what exactly is preventing the child from developing in accordance with the norms, and to prescribe the correct treatment.

Causes of FGR: factors for the development of the disease

There are 2 factors that provoke delayed speech development. These are biological, or organic and socio-psychological.

Organic factors of FGR syndrome

Perinatal brain lesions lead to brain dysfunction. Children with retarded speech development during intrauterine development often suffer from hypoxia or infection, asphyxia or trauma at birth, and are born prematurely or late.

Disorders can also be caused by traumatic brain injuries, meningitis, encephalitis, weakened immunity, and complications after vaccination.

Delayed speech development is often diagnosed in children with hearing loss.

The individual rate of maturation of the nervous system and heredity are another factor. If a father or mother speaks later than the age norm, then the son or daughter is also more likely to develop mental retardation.

Social and psychological factors

If parents talk to their child, do not work with him, do not explain, this leads to delayed speech development. In this case, they talk about pedagogical neglect. The process is also complicated by the situation when parents lisp, distort words, speak in “childish” language, and use diminutive forms (“little blue”, “plate”).

If the family has an unfavorable speech environment and general atmosphere, family members swear, use profanity, the child is in a state of tension and stress, this slows down his development - and not only speech.

But in prosperous families this problem can also arise. For example, if mom and dad speak different languages, bilingual children often suffer from mental retardation.

Diagnostic features

In the case of mental retardation, the examination is carried out not only by a speech therapist, because this pathology is often accompanied by mental retardation. First, you go to an appointment with a pediatrician, who will look at the baby’s general condition and refer you to the right specialists.

A neurological examination is then performed. This will help determine the state of the speech centers and the presence or absence of minimal brain dysfunction. An otolaryngologist will check your hearing to rule out deafness or hearing loss.

A speech therapist conducts a speech examination. He studies the medical history and looks at the test results of other specialists. The speech therapist examines the condition of the articulatory apparatus. Pays attention to whether the baby has a need for communication, how he communicates with other people. If the diagnosis is carried out before the age of one year, the speech therapist looks at the baby’s speech behavior both in a natural setting and in an artificially organized one; pays special attention to the state of his verbal development.

If the examination is carried out after a year, the speech therapist records the appearance of the first words and phrasal speech; evaluates the sound pronunciation aspect. Checks vocabulary: whether it corresponds to the norm, whether the baby understands the speech addressed to him. To assess psychological and speech development, speech therapists use special techniques: the Denver Test of Psychomotor Development and other techniques for checking the condition at an early age.

Diagnosis of speech delay

Diagnosis is approached in a comprehensive manner. First, the little patient is examined by a pediatrician. He assesses the general state of health and makes a conclusion about the suspected cause of delayed speech development. Then the pediatrician refers the little patient to specialists.

A neurologist examines him and prescribes hardware diagnostics - EEG, EchoEg, duplex scanning of the arteries of the head. This will reveal whether the brain is affected and rule out autism, mental retardation and other diseases.

The otolaryngologist excludes hearing loss and chronic diseases - adenoids, otitis media.

The speech therapist evaluates the speech apparatus, motor skills, communication features, general speech activity, the nature and quality of speech (phrasal, coherent), and the volume of the vocabulary. Based on the conclusions of colleagues, information received from parents and examination of a small patient, the speech therapist draws up a correction program.

conclusions

Speech development is a complex process, and it occurs differently for each child. If the baby is healthy, speech development occurs naturally when you communicate with him and talk about the world around him. Your child watches you and tries to copy your speech, so it is important to monitor the correctness of your own speech. It is necessary to create a favorable environment for the child in which he can fulfill the needs characteristic of his age. You can offer your child games to develop fine motor skills, as well as introduce them to articulation and finger gymnastics. If you feel that your baby is experiencing difficulties and the development of his speech is far behind the conventional boundaries of the norm, you must definitely consult with specialists to rule out health problems and delayed speech development.

Help for children with speech delays

The treatment regimen is selected depending on the causes of the disease.

If socio-psychological factors have led to a delay in speech development, then first they work with the baby’s environment, including speech. To stimulate speech development, material for classes is selected that matches the skills and age of the little student. They give recommendations to parents - without their participation it is impossible to achieve success.

Be sure to show him examples of correct speech and pronounce all the baby’s actions - this helps to accumulate new words in the dictionary.

If the delay is caused by brain dysfunction, then the treatment of mental retardation disorders is approached in a comprehensive manner - correctional and pedagogical classes are combined with neurological treatment. The pediatric neurologist prescribes drug therapy. Peptide preparations are effective - they promote normal mental development, improve brain function, and restore cortical-subcortical connections. It is easier for a student to learn due to the stimulation of intellectual activity. This is why drug treatment is indicated for delayed speech development in preschoolers.

Physiotherapy, massages, exercise therapy are very useful - all this contributes to mental development, including speech.

Regardless of the cause, treatment for delayed speech development also includes sessions with a speech therapist. Family upbringing also plays a big role.

How to deal with “unruly” tongue?

Often a child does not pronounce all sounds due to the fact that his articulatory apparatus is simply not mature. You can do corrective games and exercises at home or with a speech therapist, gymnastics for the tongue and fingers, and breathing exercises. By the way, whistles and soap bubbles are not just fun, they also help develop articulation.

There are various exercises for pronouncing whistling, hissing sounds, and the letter “r”. You must first try them yourself and make sure that the child sees the articulation of an adult - how exactly this or that phoneme is pronounced.

If a child is unable to pronounce a sound, he often comes up with a simpler substitute. And the adults begin to lisp along with him. There is no way to do this. “Incorrect” words and sounds are remembered for a long time, and it is very difficult to eradicate them later. The most important stage in the development of speaking is preschool, namely 3-6 years. You should talk to your child at this time:

• no baby talk;
• clearly, in order and legibly;
• short simple sentences;
• periodically repeating new words so that the little person remembers them;
• with different intonation and tempo, emotionally.

Areas of speech therapy assistance for mental retardation

The speech therapist sets himself a number of tasks.

Firstly, develop speech attention in a young patient, teach him to understand what other people are saying.

Secondly, teach him to express his desires, needs, thoughts verbally and conduct a dialogue. That is, a speech therapist works on the child’s development of his own speech.

Thirdly, draw the baby’s attention to words - their sound and syllable structure.

Fourthly, consolidate and improve the verbal communication skills of preschool children during play and study.

When working with young patients, a speech therapist relies on the developmental features of their cognitive processes, emotional sphere, general and fine motor skills. Classes develop not only verbal skills, but also imagination, perception, memory and thinking.

Methods of speech therapy assistance for mental retardation disorders

Since children with this diagnosis lack communication skills, a speech therapist works with them individually and not in groups.

When correcting delayed speech development, logorhythmic and relaxation exercises, chanting, finger games, articulatory gymnastics, speech understanding and classification tasks are effective. All classes are held in the form of a game.

Psychotherapy techniques - music and games - have also proven themselves well.

Parents also play an important role. They must create a rich language environment for the child. Literally pronounce every action - yours and his, name surrounding objects, read books, voice games with toys - in every possible way encourage the child to speak.

Forecast and prevention of speech delay

The effectiveness of treatment for cerebral cancer depends on how timely it is started. If there is no severe delay in speech development, then dynamics are noticeable in the correction process. Children's speech skills improve from stage to stage. However, parents should be prepared for the fact that even despite these improvements, their child may still lag behind their peers. You also need to be prepared for problems at school - it is often more difficult for such children to learn to read and write.

However, with timely help for children with delayed speech development, success can be achieved, and quite quickly - by the age of 5.5 - 6.5 years, your daughter or son can catch up with their peers. The main thing is to competently organize correctional work and act together - specialists and parents. Only in this case can you expect good results.

To prevent the disease, create an active speech environment for your child, talk to him, visit the pediatrician - this will help to promptly identify problem areas and correct them.

It is worth practicing with children for any speech problems!

Speech disorders are said to occur if a child's speech skills do not correspond to his age. Many disadvantages are difficult to overcome on your own. Pedagogical science - speech therapy - helps to cope with them.

It’s worth remembering: no matter what childhood speech disorders are, they definitely need to be dealt with and not left to chance. Mild speech problems may disappear completely. With reasonable effort and practice, this will happen faster. Moderate and severe violations are subject to partial correction.

Hopeless cases occur only with complex defects of the articulatory apparatus, psyche or brain structures, but there are options here too.

The child will have to adapt to life in society, and our task is to help him do this as painlessly as possible. Intelligible, clear speech and the ability to formulate thoughts influence socialization. Although we try to fight it, children with speech disorders are often teased, we must try to avoid this. It is important that the child is understood by his peers and others, this affects his self-esteem and desire to adapt to society.

Forecasts and consequences: what to expect?

The effectiveness of treatment depends on many factors. The main ones are the age of the small patient, the severity of the delay in the child’s mental speech development and primary diseases.

Unfortunately, with deep-seated disorders or therapy started in 5-6 year old children, one cannot expect great results. Only in 0.2% of cases out of 100% is it possible that he will start talking. If a child has not mastered speech at the age of 7, he will never speak again.

If the parents turned for help when the baby was 2–3 years old, then there is every chance of a full recovery. In this case, everything depends on the degree of underdevelopment, the participation of parents and the methods used for treatment.

If parents expect that the child will speak on his own sooner or later, they are only wasting time. If this is not the individual pace of development of a particular baby, but really a problem, it will not go away on its own. Against the background of mental and speech underdevelopment, children suffer from poor memory and thinking, perceive and process information distortedly, and cannot concentrate attention. In the future, this leads to changes in personality - the child becomes irritable, closed, uncommunicative, and develops a feeling of inferiority.