It is common for a parent or teacher to have concerns about their child's language development. Many of them live with these doubts for a long time until they finally decide to consult a professional. This could take even longer in public schools with long waiting lists. You may be wondering why this happens, why don't parents seek intervention first, why don't doctors demand early language intervention?
One of the main reasons is that parents depend significantly on the experiences of other parents and the recommendations of pediatricians. Sounds reasonable. That is, pediatricians went to medical school and are doctors who specialize in children. Similarly, other parents have experience with parenting. If they say there's absolutely nothing to worry about, many take their advice, especially first-time dads.
This is what happens, pediatricians and other parents have not received specialized training in language development. Although doctors are very aware of developmental milestones, their recommendation is often to wait. "Let's wait until he's two years old," "I think we should wait six more months," "eventually he'll talk." These are the most common phrases shared by parents in the first consultation.
Why is early intervention recommended?
Research has found that the brain is the most flexible in the first 3 years of life, and this flexibility decreases as people age. Think of how simple it is for a child to learn a second language, as opposed to how difficult it would be for an adult to learn exactly the same language. The younger you are exposed to a second language, the faster you will learn it. The same is true for children with speech and language delays. The sooner they receive the intervention, the faster they will move forward. Children who receive early interventions have also been found to have better long-term language skills.
Does this mean that all children who receive early intervention will recover fully? No. Many children have irreversible brain damage, developmental delays, or learning problems that will affect them throughout their lives. However, speech therapy increases the chances that their progress will be possible and that they will achieve as much as they can with their limitations.
The truth is that many children do overcome their speech delays, but other children continue to have language disorders in childhood and even adulthood. Recent research has found that between 25% and 40% of children with language delays will not "get out" of their delay, and sometimes this does not seem to be important to many, but communicating properly with others is vital for proper development.
What are the goals of early language intervention?
It should be noted that there are many speech related skills that can be worked on in young children since the goal of speech therapy is not always verbal. Some children will not be verbal communicators, but that doesn't mean they don't need to talk. Speech therapists work in communication. Communication is everything.
Language is linked to everything we do. Our relationships, our ability to follow directions, and our academic life. As such, it is important for parents to know that all academic areas rely heavily on language skills.
A child must be able to answer questions in conversations before he or she can answer questions about reading. Children need to understand basic concepts before they can do math operations. They must understand their language in order to write it in a sentence. So, if we want our children to do well academically, they must first have a good foundation of language skills.
Is your child a candidate for early language intervention?
Let's say you're the parent of a 20-month-old child who says 5 words. Everyone has told you not to worry, that you will talk; but you are worried so take it to the speech therapist. The therapist says your child is approximately 6 months behind in his or her language skills and recommends the speech therapy service. This means that your child must "catch up," meaning that he or she will have to make up for those 6 months that he or she is already behind and continue to make progress as he or she grows up.
For some children, who are true "late speakers," it's simply a matter of "clicking. They can progress very quickly and be discharged from speech therapy sooner than expected. If this happens, would you feel that speech therapy is a waste of time or money? Or a great achievement for you, your child, and the therapist?
For other children who have more severe language delays or disorders, speech therapy will not be a quick fix. It takes time, requires a lot of effort on everyone's part and is hard work. It is unrealistic to expect a child, especially one with a real language delay, to make 12 months of progress within 6 months. So be prepared for that and try to set reasonable goals for your child.
Let's say that the mother of the 20-month-old child in the example above decided to wait to see her therapist until her son turned 2. That child is likely to have a 9-10 month delay, which will take much longer to remedy than if treatment had begun at 20 months. And the gap will continue to grow larger and larger the longer this parent waits. That's why early intervention is key!
Get informed and get rid of doubts
Chances are that once the speech therapist evaluates your child, he or she will recommend that you wait. This is also valid. Sometimes we see many strengths or feel that a child can simply "click" on their own. They may recommend that they return in 3-6 months to monitor progress, and make recommendations to parents if this is the case.
If you, or anyone else, have any concerns about your child's speech or language, see a speech/language therapist at this time. If you wait 6 months for an evaluation, there are many missed opportunities for early intervention. We want our children to be happy and successful, and early communication intervention is the best way to do it!
In our office, we are professionals with experience to intervene comprehensively with children of all ages. Don't hesitate to contact us and schedule an appointment to assess the right treatment for your child. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.