You and Your Baby - The Development of Speech

You and Your Baby – The Development of Speech

Although at times communication between you and your child may seem worlds apart, language and speech development occurs from the moment that screaming bundle of joy appears on this planet. Although language acquisition is partly innate it is also largely dependant on a Childs interaction with those who care for it. Whatever the family situation he or she who is most prevalent in an infants life will greatly influence a child’s communicative skills. The first five years of a child’s life are vital for the development of language skills. Everyone has heard the rare cases of feral children raised by wolves or packs of dogs. Well the scary fact is that if a child has no interaction with language within the first five years of their life this skill may be lost to them forever. Within these first five years of your child’s life the way you engage with your child will largely determine their language development will take. INTERACTION IS KEY! (But don’t worry your child is not going to start barking if you don’t talk to it 24 hours a day!).

Language can be described as a code or system of rules allowing us to communicate ideas and express wants and needs. The code develops gradually over time. So what are the stages of language development to look out for? Although this article gives you a rough guide remember every child is different so don’t panic!

BIRTH:

New born babies are aware of the sounds around them. They make sounds to let other know they are experiencing pleasure or pain and begin to recognise a carer’s voice after just seven days.

0-3 Months

Between this age you will find your baby will turn to you when you speak. They may smile when they hear your voice. They start to develop their voice recognition and you will find they stop in response to an unfamiliar voice. They will also start to respond to comforting tones and start to ‘coo’ and ‘gaa’.

4-6 months

At this stage he or she will start to respond to the word no and respond more to tone of voice and to unfamiliar sounds. For example they become fascinated by toys that make noises and start to enjoy music and rhythm. They may also respond to electronic sounds (such as a microwave or toaster), birdsong, horses etc. Your child will start ‘vocal play’ gurgling and babbling sounds. He or she will first start to develop bilabial (two lip) sounds such as ‘p’ ‘b’ and ‘m’. The baby may start to make sudden load sound to get your attention or hurry you up.

7-12 months

Your baby will now start to respond when addressed by name. He or she will gain recognition of names or objects such as ‘Daddy’ ‘mummy’ ‘dog’ or ‘Cat’. During this time your baby may start to develop speech. More sounds will start to immerge as well as words such as ‘mama’ and ‘dada’. There is often a repetition of sounds such as ‘dede’ for tree.

1-2 years

Between 24 and 36 months a child often enters the two word stage and start to things such as ‘what that’ ‘go there’ or ‘want dink’. They may also start understanding two stage commands such as ‘get your coat and give it to daddy’.

2-3 years

Your child should now have a fast expanding vocabulary and know the words for most things. They may start to name things such as ‘lorry’ ‘blue’ ‘car’ ‘big’

3-4 years

Now you may start to see sentences develop and the ability to use connectives. For example ‘I am going over there’ ‘I am going to have a drink’. They may start to talk about thing outside of home, about friends or interesting experiences. Your child will also be able to answer simple who? What? Where? Why? Questions and reply if you call them from another room. It is at this stage which most hearing impediments may become apparent. If you have any doubts see you GP and if needed seek advice from an audiologist.

4-5 years

By this age your child’s speech is developed and clear. They will use fluent, clear language and accurate responses. They are able to put together detailed sentences with ease and hold a conversation. Although there speech is highly developed lisping may occur as your child may still have difficulty pronouncing letters such as ‘r’ ‘v’ and ‘th’. This is normal however if stuttering is increasingly evident in your child’s speech it is recommended that you seek advice from a Speech and Language Pathologist as this is NOT an aspect of language development.

So now you know a rough guide to the stages of your Childs language development what can you do to help?

ONE -ON-ONE

First of all bare in mind that every child is different and some children pick up language quicker than others, this is normal! If your child has still not said its first words by 18 months, set aside time in each day to play with your child. This may be difficult for some house holds but it is vital not only to your child’s speech, but to developing a bond between you and your child.

READING

Read to you child. A child is human and very receptive. Reading to your child is a good way of helping develop a child’s speech and listening skills.

ACT NATURAL

Everyone has a tendency to revert back to baby talk when interacting with a child. Although this is hard to resist remember, his or her speech is learnt from you! The more you speak normally to a child the quicker he or she will develop clear language skills.

INTERACTION

Finally, play with your child; help them to explore this amazing world they have entered. Spend some quality time with them and you will find that the most difficult job in the world also becomes the most fascinating and rewarding.