Child Speech Development

Child Speech Development

According to the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association, there are guidelines on what a child should be able to do with language at specific ages and if this is not happening with a child, then they are most likely going to suffer from a Speech or Language disorder. 

The most crucial age of a child acquiring their first language is from birth to three months. I am primarily focusing on speech development and so at this period of time in a child's life they will usually be making pleasure sounds i.e. cooing or gooing, will cry for its needs and will smile at a parent when recognising them. 

From four to six months, the child will start to make babbling sounds and the development of p, m and b sounds begins. At this age also, children tend to show their excitement and displeasure through different sounds and will make gurgling sounds when engaged with an activity or when concentrating but also in order to get attention when they are left alone.

The next stage is seven months to one year, and this is when the child will repeat babbling sounds in a sequence, starting to understand the structure of words, such as 'tata' and 'bibi'. Starts to actually use speech to get attention instead of making noises or crying. The child will also use gestures to communicate such as stretching out their arms if wanting to be picked up. They will begin to imitate speech sounds that they have heard before and this is the primary form of acquiring speech. Towards the age of one the child will be able to relevantly use a couple of words such as 'dada', 'hi', 'dog' and 'mama'. 

It is also important that the parent or carer looks at the child and speaks to them, tells them things and asks them questions, in order to reinforce communication and trigger the recognition of speech in the baby's mind. It is also good to repeat your son or daughters facial expressions so that they can understand how they are expressing themselves and what this means in context. A parent should also talk about what they are doing, where they are going, why they are doing it, and how they feel about it so the child can begin to understand why we communicate and how we do it.

Source: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/01.htm