Not being able to speak until the age of 2 years can indicate a child has speech delay. This condition can be treated with speech therapy or stimulation from parents.
The ability to speak or pronounce words is one of the stages of child development that is quite important. However, children may experience speech delays or speech delay.
Speech delay can be caused by various things, ranging from hearing loss, oral structure abnormalities, to nervous disorders.
Signs of Speech Delay in Children
In general, a 2 year old child can master about 50 vocabularies and combine 2 words into simple sentences, such as "I'm hungry". Meanwhile, children aged 3 years are able to arrange 3-4 words into complete sentences.
However, you need to be aware of conditions speech delay if your child shows the following signs:
- Rarely tries to speak or imitate other people's words
- Does not react when called
- Avoid eye contact when spoken to
- Difficulty mentioning objects at home
- to string two or three words
- UnableNo can follow simple instructions
- Choose to show gestures rather than talk when asking for something
If your little one shows the signs above, you should consult a pediatrician. If the child does experience speech delay, the doctor will suggest appropriate treatment for his condition, including speech therapy.
How to Overcome Children with Speech Delay
In addition to undergoing speech therapy, you can help stimulate your little one's speech ability. There are several ways that you can do to stimulate your little one's speech development, including:
1. Often invites children to talk.
The Way to stimulate children with speech delay easiest is to involve them in every conversation. In fact, you are advised to speak directly to him, even if only to tell what you are doing.
For example, when changing a child's diaper, tell and explain what you are doing. You can use simple words or short sentences. Thus, your little one will be encouraged to imitate or respond to your mother's words.
2. Reading stories to children
Reading Books story to children from an early age is beneficial in improving their speaking skills. By listening, children can learn to understand the names of objects or stories in books.
To support therapy speech delay, you can ask your little one to imitate the names of characters or objects in the books that are read. You can look for story books with cartoon characters that your little one likes.
3. Respond to his words and correct
If the child says something and it doesn't really mean it, don't be in a hurry to refute it. Mothers should respond to words with the use of appropriate words or sentences.
For example, if your child asks to "tie" his shirt button, you can respond by saying "Yes, I will button your shirt". This can support the development of children who experience speech delay.
4. Help children understand the names of objects
When they want something, children who experience speech delay may just point at the object instead of saying the request sentence. In this condition, Mother can help him understand the names of these objects.
Thus, your little one will be encouraged to imitate the names of the objects he hears.
5. Ask questions to make the child choose
Stimulating the child's ability with speech delay can be done by asking him to choose something. Ask the child questions, for example, "Do you want to eat oranges or apples?.
If the child points to one of the fruits, ask him to use the word “orange” or “apple” in choosing.
6. Limit the use of devices
A study conducted on children aged 18 months wholot of play gadgets shows that these habits are associated with speech delay.
Therefore, to prevent speech delay in your child, it is recommended that you limit your child's use of gadgets to only 1 hour per day. This is intended to encourage children to talk to family members rather than playing with cell phones.
In addition to applying some of the methods above, to train children with speech delay, mothers should avoid speaking in "baby language". Mother can teach you how to speak using good and correct language.
The development of children in speaking is different. There are some children who can speak appropriately, even faster than their age, but there are also those who experience speech delay and require extra training from their parents.
However, you don't need to worry as long as the delay can be caught up in a few weeks, this is still normal.
If you are worried that your child's speech development may be delayed, or even signs that you need to watch out for leading to speech delay, you should immediately consult a doctor to ensure the child's condition and get the appropriate treatment.