preview

Speech Delay in Children Essay

Good Essays

Speech and language delays can be problematic for preschoolers, school aged children and adolescents. These delays range in degree of severity and have many causes; physical and developmentally. Communication plays a specific and important role to all people, especially, preschool children who are developing speech and language skills at fast rate. The consequences of these delays can be devastating for the children affected and can follow them into adulthood. These effects may include academic problems, social and emotional issues and may even lead into mental illness. Children with speech and language delays need professional intervention as young as possible. However even with intervention, some children are still at risk of suffering …show more content…

3121). For example a six year old may be speaking at the norm of a four year old; all speech is in tack but development is lagging. It is noted that boys are at an increased risk of speech and language delay by three to four times more than girls (American Family Physician, 1999, pg. 3121). It is also estimated that 2% to 19% of preschoolers suffer from some sort of language deficiency (CASLPA, 2012). Phonology (the appropriate speech sounds of the language spoken) and stuttering may include 1% to 4% of defined speech issues. It is also important to note that there is a 20% to 40% risk factor of speech problems among those children with a family history (CASLPA, 2012).
Many causes can be attributed to speech and language delay, and it is important to understand the characteristics of the causes in order to help a child effectively. Although speech delay can be just that, it may indicate other issues or disorders and may be the first indicator of such (American Family Physician, 2011, pg.1183). Some causes of speech delay are mental retardation, hearing loss, developmental language delay, expressive language disorder, bilingualism, psychosocial development, elective mutism, and receptive aphasia (American Family Physician, 1999).
Mental Retardation can be caused by many different factors such as environmental (drug use during pregnancy), genetic disorders (trisomy 21 – down syndrome), trauma, and prenatal infections to name a few. Mental retardation is a major cause of

Get Access