Diagnosing and treating childhood dyslalia
Difficulty speaking correctly is one of the most common disorders in children and appears between 3 and 5 years.
It is a disorder in the articulation of phonemes. Being the most common speech disorder in children , the easiest to identify . A timely intervention will facilitate the cure of it. It usually appears between the ages of three and five, and is characterized by difficulty speaking correctly.
When a child under four years of age presents errors in pronunciation, it is considered normal, since he is completing a stage of his linguistic development. This situation is called evolutionary dyslalia and does not require diagnosis or treatment , since language acquisition is still in the maturing phase. However, if pronunciation errors persist beyond four years, a hearing and language specialist, a speech therapist, should be consulted.
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HOW LANGUAGE DEVELOPS IN THE CHILD
The pronunciation of the sounds of language, like other elements of speech, is a skill that children must acquire throughout their development. During his infantile development, the child will begin making simpler sounds such as “m” or “p”, and as his skills improve he will begin to speak with more complex sounds that require more muscles and speaking organs.
The first mistakes in speaking will begin with the production of the first words, between twelve and eighteen months. These speech errors are a consequence of the immaturity of their language. As you gain new and better articulation skills and automate phonemes, improved pronunciation and fluency will be seen in your voice. All of this being normal in child development.
SO WHAT IS INFANTILE DYSLALIA?
It is a speech disorder that consists of the difficulty to pronounce or correctly form certain phonemes or groups of phonemes. Children with this voice disorder have an inability to correctly pronounce the sounds of language that are expected according to their age and development . The child will present errors in the production of sounds, such as the substitution of one letter for another (the child says “rate” instead of “house”) or the omission of consonants (“lapi” instead of “pencil”).
ALTHOUGH NOT SERIOUS, DYSLALIA CAN LEAD TO ISOLATION IN CHILDREN
TYPES OF CHILDHOOD DYSLALIA
Dyslalias can be of several types:
– Physiological : caused by the immaturity of the organs of speech when children are still young. Parents should only be concerned if it continues past four years, because then there could be an underlying organic cause.
– Audiogenic : related to a hearing defect. If your auditory perception is faulty, so will your pronunciation.
– Functional : it consists of a defect in the articulation of language caused by an incorrect functioning of the organs of speech. This type of dyslalia is the most common, and affected children do not have any organic defect that causes it.
– Organic : they are also known by the name of dysglossia. In them, dyslalia is associated with certain defects of the organs that intervene in speech. They are subdivided according to the defective area into: labial, lingual, dental, palatal, nasal and mandibular
It is important to know what the possible causes are, to apply the appropriate treatment according to the factor that is affecting child development.
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CHILDHOOD DYSLALIA
As already mentioned, dyslalia usually occurs between three and five years of age, being the most common language disorder in children. It is usually detected without difficulty by parents and teachers, however, on few occasions an adequate diagnosis and specialized intervention is carried out due to the erroneous belief that childhood dyslalia is a problem that disappears over time without intervention.
SPEECH WILL IMPROVE WITH PROPER THERAPY
Although the prognosis will depend on the type of disorder and its cause, speech will usually improve with appropriate therapy . Treatment is usually based on performing exercises to perfect the muscles used in voice production. It also focuses on improving the articulation of words, the use of breathing, rhythm in pronunciation, expression … Normally, the exercises will be focused as pedagogical games, so that the acquisition of language is easier and enjoyable. It is common to perform exercises in front of a mirror, mimicry and gestures are used to promote oral and facial motility, activities that involve movements with the tongue or breathing exercises that allow the child to control inspiration and the amount of air expelled.
For therapy to result in a cure for dyslalia, parental involvement in the process is important. There are many exercises that parents can do with their children in the family environment , such as:
– Spread chocolate around the child’s mouth making him wipe it with his tongue.
– Play to see who takes the biggest bite of the apple.
– Make bubbles or gargle.
– Drink through a straw.
– Ask the child to jump when they say words that begin with a certain letter.
– Practice yawning or play blowing.
– To improve the breathing pattern, you can play some games such as: contest to hold on without breathing, blow up balloons, whistle …
– Place a toy on the child’s belly and see how it rises and falls when he takes in air and expels it.
– Have the child imitate animal sounds.
– Sing songs or recite poems.
– Encourage him to describe what he is doing or to name the objects in the room.
– Promote reading.
After diagnosis and during treatment, there are a series of tips that the child’s environment should follow to promote cureof dyslalia. Speak slowly, with normal intonation and clear pronunciation. If the child is to pronounce words well, the environment must also do so. The objects must be named correctly, it is not advisable to speak to him with “baby language”. If the child persists in mispronouncing a word incorrectly, you should not overwhelm him, just remind him how it is correctly by repeating it, this is called indirect correction; For example, if he says: “Give me the tateta” you can answer: “Ah, does your head hurt?” The child should not understand that his bad articulation is taken for good. Conversation with the child should be encouraged, taking turns speaking and allowing him to express himself, not interrupting or overwhelming him with too many questions. Ask for things by name, fleeing from names like: that, junk, thing … It is important to give him confidence and that he feels that he is being listened to. We should not be impatient or observe expressions of disapproval. Try not to constantly correct their mistakes, as it will only make the child feel afraid to communicate. And never punish or draw attention to the child for the way he speaks.
Dr. Tabriella Perivolaris, Sara's mother and fan of fashion, beauty, motherhood, among others, about the female universe. Since 2018 she has been working as a copywriter, always bringing to her articles a little of her experience and experience as a mother and woman.