Everyone in our family can understand our 4-year-old. However, visitors are often puzzled by what he is saying. Could he have a speech problem and we don’t even recognize it?
Not being understood by people outside family is one sign that your preschooler could have a speech disorder. Other signs, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, include NOT mastering most of the following skills.
By age 4, your child should be able to:
• Use sentences with four or five words.
• Talk easily without repeating syllables or words.
• Use sentences that give a lot of details. (EX: The biggest peach is mine.)
• Have a vocabulary of 2,000 to 4,000 words.
Speech problems can stem from several sources: Your child may not be hearing properly, he may spend time around other adults or children who don’t speak clearly, or he may a developmental delay of some kind.
To address the situation, get your child a hearing test. The earlier you seek help, the quicker you can provide necessary intervention. Causes of language issues include learning disabilities, hearing loss, and intellectual disability, among others. If you have doubts, get your child tested by a speech pathologist.
To learn more, go here.http://theconversation.com/how-to-tell-if-your-child-has-a-speech-or-language-impairment-31768
Questions? Ask questions online at dearteacher.com.