The child won't talk

Should you worry when A 20-month-old baby doesn't talk much, The 1,5-year-old does not say mamma, one year old child or the two-year-old does not speak at all? How does the acquisition of the ability to pronounce sounds, words and sentences look like in practice? It seems obvious that annual or the one and a half year old child does not speak still just like an adult, but what to do when two-year-old does not connect words, but the four-year-old does not speak full sentences? Find out what to look for at different stages of speech development and when you need specialist help.  

The development of a child's speech is a process that follows general biological norms. These standards define the sequence of the stages and their time limits. All children go through the same stages of speech development, despite considerable individual differences. However, this process does not always run according to the adopted schedule. It happens that a toddler does not pronounce individual words yet, although theoretically he should be at the stage of creating entire sentences.

The child does not say: is it developing incorrectly?

When a child does not speak or says very little, parents become anxious and wonder if their child is developing properly. Many mothers are anxiously awaiting the first word dad or mom and when it does not arise, it nervously searches for the cause. You have to remember that a child's lack of speech does not necessarily mean that a toddler is developing incorrectly. However, it is worth getting to know the specifics of this process and the elements that should attract our attention and mobilize to contact a specialist at a given stage.

A baby is not babbling, which is difficult beginnings

Between 3 and 6 months of age, the baby begins to stab, i.e. unconsciously make guttural and backlingual sounds, e.g. aaa, agg, agrr. They are accidental, and the stabbing itself is an unconditional reflex that does not even require an efficient hearing system, therefore it also occurs in deaf children.
At around 6 months of age, it's time to babble. The toddler says syllables, e.g. mom, babathus repeating sounds from around you. He does not understand what he is saying yet, but picks up hitherto unknown auditory impressions and trains his articulation organs. The end of the first year of life is the time when our child usually understands simple commands - such as "give" and responds to his name.

What should draw our attention to this stage of speech development (in the melody period):

• the infant does not turn his head towards the source of the sound;
• despite the age of 6 months, the baby does not stupefy or stupefy, but does not babble;
• until the age of 1, the child does not perform simple gestures, such as bye Bye;
• the child often has an open mouth and does not breathe through the nose (despite the absence of infection);
• the baby is salivating excessively;
• there were problems with the suction.

What difficulties do 1-2-year-olds encounter in developing speech?

Upon reaching the age of 1 the toddler uses not only syllables - simple words begin to appear in his speech, and he understands much more than he is able to pronounce. His dictionary also includes onomatopoeic words, e.g. imitating animal sounds (woooh, meow, wo-wo, bee or muu), although your toddler may not pronounce them completely correctly. It is worth remembering that during this period, the onomatopoeic expression (e.g .: moo, coco), or a conglomerate of sounds describing a given thing (e.g. am - food, chick - candy) is already a word.

What should draw our attention to this stage of speech development (in the period of expression):

• The one and a half year old child does not say: mom, dad, woman;
• A 20-month-old baby does not speak much, and his vocabulary does not increase;
• the toddler does not point his finger at objects or elements in the book;
• the two-year-old toddler does not try to connect words;
• the child breathes his mouth and snores at night;
• while talking and / or resting, the toddler slides his tongue between his teeth;
• at the end of the second year of life, the child does not utter sounds l.

Difficulty speaking in 2-3 year olds

Between 2 and 3 years of age children develop their vocabulary and begin to combine them into the first sentences - at first simple and short. Usually, they are far from being grammatically correct - a toddler sometimes "loses" endings or incorrectly conjugates words. At this age, the child does not cope with pronouncing all the sounds - he replaces the most difficult ones with others. Softening of sounds may also appear - e.g. instead of saying: samethe toddler will say: siam. This stage is also creating your own words, the so-called children's neologisms that may remain in the memory of parents for a long time as funny sayings, e.g. glubel - sparrow, daddy - tram, stains - I wash. At this stage of speech development, this is nothing to worry about. By age 3, children can also recognize colors and understand descriptive terms and simple commands such as "bring your shoes".

What should pay attention at this stage of development (in sentence period):

• the child does not try to combine words into simple sentences;
• the toddler breathes his mouth and snores at night;
• while talking and / or resting, the toddler slides his tongue between his teeth.

How do you know if a 3-year-old or older child has speech difficulties?

A three-year-old toddler communicates with the environment quite freelyalthough it is still difficult for him to avoid mistakes. However, he can pronounce most of the sounds and uses funny neologisms on a daily basis. The following years are a time of continuous improvement of language skills.

A five-year-old already uses virtually all sounds, although it may still have difficulty articulating the sound rwhich he replaces with l (saying e.g. lyba instead fish). He uses more and more complex sentences and makes fewer and fewer linguistic mistakes. The end of the period of specific children's speech occurs around 6-7 years of age, i.e. when our child begins education at school.

What should draw our attention at this stage of development (in the period of specific children's speech):

• a four-year-old does not speak in full sentences, distorts words, only utters simple words;
• the child does not speak fluently, stutters, repeats words;
• speech is slurred, nasal;
• while speaking, the child slides his tongue between his teeth.

Why doesn't the child want to talk?

What may be the reason why a toddler does not want to speak or his speech development deviates from the norm? We are observing more and more often the negative impact of modern technologies on the brain of a little man. Mobile devices: smartphones, tablets, computers are devices that allow children to be easily occupied and seemingly silent. Often, in the room where the toddler is, the TV is turned on, and within the child's reach there are toys that make various sounds. The toddler is subjected to intense stimulation, the so-called the right hemisphere, while the left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for the development of speech. What happens when the child is exposed to an excess of stimuli affecting the right hemisphere, with a simultaneous deficit of stimulation of the left hemisphere responsible for the development of language and speech? The effect is that the right hemisphere blocks the action of the left hemisphere, which causes a delay in speech development.

The child does not say: hearing impaired

Of course, a speech development disorder may have a much more serious background, requiring even medical intervention.

One of the reasons a child is not speaking may be hearing impairment. It should be remembered that hearing is the key factor influencing the development of speech. A properly functioning auditory analyzer allows for the differentiation of heard sounds and then for their playback. Any hearing impairment has a negative impact on development - both linguistic and cognitive. A child who has a problem with the reception of sounds from the environment, not only does not reproduce them (or improperly reproduces them), but also shows disturbances in the sense of their own body schema and incorrect orientation in space.

The child does not say: dysfunction of the articulation organs

Speech development disorders in a child may also result from abnormalities in the structure or functioning of the articulation organs. Our child will not be able to speak without a well-functioning epiglottis, larynx, lips, tongue and palate. Damage to one of these structures (e.g. a submucosal cleft palate, decreased muscle tone within the speech organs) can make it very difficult or even impossible for a child to speak properly.

How to support a child who won't talk?

The child learns to speak by listening, observing and imitating adults. Because it is important that the parents speak correctly in the presence of the child, without linguistic mistakes and unnecessary diminutives. It is also extremely important to listen patiently to what your toddler says. Rushing or showing impatience may discourage a child from further communicating. 

At each stage of speech development, as parents, we can support our children in learning to speak, e.g. by reading, introducing sensory and auditory games. Remember that the development of each child proceeds at an individual pace, so you should not panic when - knowing the time frame of each stage - the toddler will experience slight delays in acquiring individual skills.

With doubts and problems, see a specialist

However, if the deviations from the norm are significant or something particularly worries us, it is best to go with the child to a specialist who will rule out any abnormalities and possibly recommend exercises that will help the child in the process of learning speech. In the case of speech development disorders, we should seek help from a speech therapist. If you have doubts about hearing, it is worth consulting an ENT or audiologist. The sooner an abnormality is diagnosed, the sooner appropriate treatment or therapy can be initiated. This will definitely have a positive impact on the further development of the child's speech.

Cieszyńska-Rożek J .: The Krakow method in the face of disorders in children's development. From the perspective of phenomenology, neurobiology and linguistics, Omega Stages Systems, Kraków 2013;
Sawa B .: Children with speech disorders, WSiP, Warsaw 1990;
Vasta R. et al.: Child Psychology, WSiP, Warsaw, 1995.