Speech delay

Dear Father and Mother, one of the most common developmental disorders is speech delay. Speech delay is a condition of the child who has not been able to do something and pronounce a number of vocabulary based on the age of the child. Speech delay needs to be a serious concern because it is related to children's development in general and has an impact on parents and the environment, especially when children have to start school. However, speech and language disorders can be detected early.

Children with speech delay still reach the sequence of stages of speech development but slower than their peers (eg children aged 3 years, but their speech development is equivalent to age 2 years).

There are three stages of children's speech, namely introduction, understanding, and pronunciation. Before understanding, children must know and then express it. The three stages divide the child's speech ability into stages of receptive language skills and expressive language skills. Parents are the first contact with children. Parents have an important role in detecting speech delays.

To assess a child's ability, it is necessary to first determine whether the child cannot speak, does not want to speak, or does not speak normally.

There are two factors that affect speech delay. Intrinsic factors that exist in children, and extrinsic factors that come from the environment. Intrigue factors include hearing loss, brain disorders, speech organ disorders. Extrinsic factors include lack of stimulation, the wrong parental learning process (bilingual), permissive parenting, the use of unaccompanied media, and the use of body language.

As a parent what to do?

Pay attention to the quantity and quality of interaction with the baby. Ensure two-way communication. Remember the child is still learning, pay attention to the tempo of speech so that it is easier for children to understand. Avoid excessive and unaccompanied use of gadgets and television. Giving sensory motor and language stimulation to children can be done simply. The key is that there is only need for interaction, parents can build interactions with children using everything that is in the house, without having to use expensive toys.

When the child shows a delay, try to remember and record the vocabulary the child has spoken. Immediately take the child for an examination or evaluation of growth and development.