How Do You Know If Your Kid Needs Child Speech Pathology?

For many parents, determining if one's son or daughter needs child speech pathology is often a difficult and confusing experience. Even if their child is already showing signs that he (or she) might be lagging behind his peers when it comes to speaking and communicating, some parents would often put off the need to seek medical intervention, hoping that their child would catch up someday. However, many experts believe that such situations need to be addressed immediately. But how can you tell if your child's difficulties with communicating are serious and need professional help?

 Every child develops at his own pace. However, understanding what is typical or normal for each age can help you identify the signs when something might be wrong. Experts at speech language pathology for children said that by one year, a small child should be able to cry babble, and pay attention to other voices. By age two, he should be able to understand a small vocabulary and be able to put some words together in speech.

A three to four-year-old child, meanwhile, is usually capable of using a lot of words, short sentences, and making most sounds. And by age five, he should be able to carry on a simple conversation. He shouldn't sound much different from his playmates. If your child has significantly missed these simple milestones, then perhaps it's best that you consult a reliable practitioner that offers child speech pathology.

Another way to determine if your child requires speech language pathology is to observe him while conversing with someone he doesn't get to meet frequently. Being around your child most of the time, it isn't surprising that you can perfectly understand what your child is saying, even if he is making mistakes.

But if other people are having a very hard time comprehending what your child is saying, then you should raise the red flag and seek the assistance of an expert at child speech pathology. According to experienced speech therapists, a less-familiar listener should be able to understand about 88% of what a three-year-old child is saying.

Meanwhile, it is normal for a child's speech pattern to be unintelligible when he is angry or upset. As such, the best time to analyse your child's speech is when he is calm or playing happily. Engage your child in some imaginative play and see what you are hearing. Reading books with your child can help, too. Child speech pathology experts said during such times, parents often notice certain patterns or sounds that are more consistently used in place of correct sounds.