“Um”… “Uh”…

‍Does your child say “Um” and “Uh” a lot? Is your child having difficulty understanding what you are saying? Is your child struggling to find the right word to use to express himself or herself? 

As parents, we can easily detect if our child is struggling to speak. If you are creating a language-rich environment and your child is still not speaking properly, then your child may be struggling with speech delays.

As parents, it is our duty to ensure that we are creating these language-rich environments at home so that we give our children the chance to communicate and engage in discussions. The more we motivate our kids to speak, the easier it becomes for them to join in conversations and share their newfound speaking ability with others.

Due to children meeting milestones at different times and ages, some children will experience speech delays even when given the chance to communicate openly at home or at school. Speech delays are easier to tackle than word delays. With speech delays, children will say, “Bog” instead of “Dog” if they notice a dog outside. Word delays become more complex. With word delays, a child will spot dog but will be unable to find the word to use to label it.

In order to understand if further intervention is needed, parents can look out for some warning signs before even consulting a speech therapist or a professional who can assist.

Signs of Speech Delays

When carefully listening to your child speak during daily interactions, you may find that your child:  

• has a less intensive vocabulary bank in comparison to kids of the same age
• is unable to formulate sentences
• does not say words in the correct order
• repeats a question while thinking up an answer
• leaves words out without realizing it
• is unable to engage in conversation
• confuses tenses when speaking
• struggles to describe something
• is unable to find connecting words to join sentences

Even when you notice the signs mentioned above, you need to consider rather carefully whether your child is experiencing speech delays or if the signs are just the hurdles that all children face when trying to improve their communicative abilities.

Something to Note

Before taking further action, you must keep monitoring your child’s speech. If your child persistently shows the same signs when speaking and does not improve incorrect utterances over time, then you may need to step in and take action. 

If you are still not convinced if your child has a speech delay, there is one more sign to take notice of. If your child responds to your questions with a nod, you know that your child may not be processing what you are saying. How children react to verbal prompts or instructions given by others can also help us understand if our children are experiencing speech delays.

You can test this by giving your child a simple instruction like, “Pick up your toys.”

If your child doesn’t respond to instructions, you have your sign that your child is having some issues with understanding what is being said.

‍Immediate Intervention Strategies

Even if you have noticed signs of speech delay, it is still best to reach out to a speech therapist to request a medical examination for your child. To ease your worry, you need to know what you are dealing with. Most parents fall into the trap of diagnosing their children without seeking expert advice.

Once you confirm that your child is experiencing speech delays, you can take the correct measures to assist your child on his or her communicative journey.

‍Reach out to speech therapists: Depending on the extent of the problem, it always helps to find a speech therapist who has the necessary tools to help your child process words and sentences more easily.

• Simplify your speech: You can play your part at home by providing simpler instructions and speaking slower and clearer. You may need to repeat what you said more simply if your child finds processing the statement difficult.
• Give your child time to respond: Patience is key when dealing with a child experiencing speech delays. You should not try to complete your child’s sentences but rather give your child some time to respond.
• Make the home environment relaxing: Parents are instrumental in helping their kids overcome any upsets. You need to keep the home environment relaxed at all times and not make communication seem stressful in any way.
• Ask your child to repeat what they understood: You can ask your child to repeat what you have said in a way they understand. In this way, you will be able to tell if your child is understanding and processing an instruction or not.
• Cut out the baby language completely: It won’t help your child if you resort to using baby language and incorrect words. You want your child to pick up the correct vocabulary words and pronounce them correctly.

Some Fun Ways of Helping a Child with Speech Delays‍Again, a speech delay need not be seen as the end of the world. All children are unique and some require more time to meet milestones than to others. You can always find fun ways to interact with your child while rectifying delayed speech problems in the process. 

1. Use gestures and be animated when you speak. It is important to make eye contact with your child when speaking. You can also explain your statements and questions by using gestures and facial expression to make your message clearer.
2. Use words to describe playtime. Playing with your child is one of the best ways to sneak some vocabulary words and repeated phrases in. Explain to your child what they are playing using basic words and phrases. Use teddy bears or dolls to communicate with your child during playtime and use the words you want your child to learn as they play.
3. Sensory play. It is a great idea to use sensory playtime to teach your child how to describe the texture of materials and objects. Giving children the correct adjectives to use when explaining an object is a great idea.
4. Use menus and food items to encourage speaking. When you take your child to eat, get your child to choose a food item on the menu and let them order for themselves. You can also give your child one piece of chocolate or little food at a time so you create a situation whereby your child has to ask for more chocolate or food.
5. Get your child to choose. When faced with a choice, your child will have to state what he or she chooses and why he or she chooses a particular thing. You need to make everything a choice and you must encourage your child to explain the thinking behind choosing something over the other.
6. Read to your child. Children pick up on words they are exposed to. You need to read to your child often and sometimes even repeat favorite books so that your child picks up on new words.
7. Encourage the use of interactive learning apps. Interactive apps are great for getting children to learn new words in fun and stimulating ways. Child-friendly apps give children the chance to learn new words that are well-suited to their age group.
8. Recruit your child to help in the kitchen. Get your child to join you in the kitchen during meal preparation time and make sure that you are explaining what you are doing. It is also great to read recipes out aloud and give your child simple instructions to follow when in the kitchen.
9. Talk about what your child is passionate about. If your child is passionate about something (like soccer or a game) make sure to strike up a conversation on that topic. This will excite your child and he or she will continue engaging in the conversation.

Keep the Conversation Going‍The best way to assist your little one in overcoming speech delays is to keep talking and to encourage conversation. Introduce as many words as you can related to a set topic when you are discussing that topic.You need to ensure that your home is the place where discussions and conversations are continually occurring. The more you produce correct grammatical utterances when you speak in front of your child, the easier it becomes for your child to pick up the right phrases and words to use when speaking.Put in the effort but remain patient. Small steps toward speech proficiency are better than no steps at all. By taking baby steps and tip-toeing around new words, your child is moving forward toward becoming better at speaking. Make sure that you do everything you can to encourage speaking so that your child doesn’t get left behind. Slow progress is surely much better than no progress at all!