When a child has speech delay it’s a symptom that something has not yet developed. Children need to be able to hear sounds to reproduce sounds. Checking hearing is important. Can you see your own mouth? Only in the mirror. Your mouth is covered in skin and by feeling your mouth you can move it. The mouth is a muscle and feeling it you learn to move it in a sequence to create sounds, letters, words and sentences. Speech requires movement planning to develop words and sentences. Can you say ‘P’ ‘K’ ‘T’ in sequence? It’s a motor plan and becomes a language plan. This language plan translates to writing on a page. The highest form of language expression is the written word.
It’s important to fill your child’s ears with words from stories, songs, poems through play and fun. Thousands of words have to go in before they overflow and spill out in speech. What you say to a child they will repeat so talk and play with them don’t try to teach or test them. Continually asking ‘what’s this’ is all they will hear and that’s what they will repeat. Children want your approval and it’s a powerful survival reflex. When you test your children they may withdraw and avoid due to fear of failure and they may stop speaking.
Four senses are important for the development of speech in a child. The skin, vestibular, auditory and proprioceptors. These sensory receptors are there and need to be developed to produce speech. The ear and mouth are covered in skin and the skin plays an important role in listening, eating and talking. The mouth is a muscle and this is controlled from the vestibular system in the inner ear beside the auditory nerve. The proprioceptors are in the muscle tendons and joints and are the foundation of movement. The development of these 4 systems are critical for speech development.
