Learning Language

When a baby is learning to talk parents are naturally  excited about. The first words out of a babies mouth will send us scrambling for the video camera. When you do not hear these words or the words are delayed our delight turns to fear. When you notice that there is difficulty in language that is when you should be refered to SPEECH.

When children are learning language there are many problems that are encountered. We will begin our look into these issues every month beginning with:

STUTTERING:
It is the unnatural flow of words. Usually diagnosised between te ages of 2-8 years old.The child can begin to pronounce a word that cause him/her to become stuck on the word. Such as the word " was" - wwwwwaaa, wwwwas,was. This will also cause them to start over and over again to try to self correct the problem. It is very frustrating for the child and hard for the parent to hear.

A speech pathologist will need to evaluate to provide the proper treatment. It is important to determine if the problem is motor and/or language-based because treatment will be based upon this determination. Those with higher compreshension level will benefit from a description of techniques either written or in picture form along with practice. Those with lower comprehension will benefit from less description and more imitattion models.

HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:

• Listen to your child attentively.
• Do not allow sibling to tease or say the word for him/her.
• If you are at the dinner table play pass the salt shaker. This allows for everyone to get in what they want to share without interuptions or a hurried atmosphere.
• If your child is in speech, then let your therapist know.
• Let your child know that you have all the time in the world for them.
• Use bath time 5-10 minutes to work on strategies.

HELP IN THE CLASSROOM:

• Telling a child to slow down or relax will only cause more anxiety in the child.
• Try not to complete words for them as they may feel like you do not have time to listen.
• All students must respect and listen to everyone until they are finished speaking.
• Respect the student and their needs, but do not enable them.
• Never make stuttering something to be ashamed of.
• Make accommodations in the classroom.

Check out:
www.stutteringhelp.org
www.inspiration.com - organizers, story webs
www.icdl.com/staging

• The Affect Diathesis Hypothesis