Difficulty of speech
Stammering affects about 1% of children. The problem is the repetition of one syllable or the inability to pronounce a word combination with explosive consonants (b, d, d, k, n, t). Stammering creates tension. Because of him, talking becomes much more difficult, obstacles create anxiety and intense excitement. Stammering children often display other symptoms of anxiety - for example, tics and grimaces, which make it even harder for them to pronounce words correctly. As a rule, at the age of 3-4 years the child automatically repeats some syllables. Under normal conditions, this is because he has not yet developed speech skills, he repeats syllables, remembering the word he wants to say. But in subsequent years it can be assumed that the child stutters. To help the child overcome stuttering, it is necessary to establish its root cause, and for this, in many cases, psychotherapy is required. The ideal age for treating children with speech disorders is 4-5 years. The earlier parents think about treatment, the better the results: the neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms responsible for developing speech skills are still quite flexible.
Parents of children with speech disorders usually give the following recommendations for the definition.
- Watch the speech of the child and correct it.
- Restore the child's confidence in himself.
- To contribute to the emotional stability of the child.
- To teach the child to hygiene, to instill in him useful habits.
Parents of the child should treat these aspects with understanding and sympathy, create an atmosphere of confidence and support that will help the child overcome difficulties.
Tips for parents to determine a child's speech disorder:
- Do not create a tense and anxious atmosphere at home, in which the child feels insecure.
- When the child begins to stutter, gently help him overcome the difficulties of the language. Do not shout, do not make comments in an authoritative tone.
- When a child speaks, it is important that they understand it. His mistakes and reservations should not be repeated, especially to parents.
- Try to speak clearly and clearly to the child so that he has a pattern for imitating sounds and words. When answering a child, try to pronounce the words that he himself pronounces incorrectly, so that the child will hear them again.
- If the shortcomings of speech are very noticeable, it is useful to identify and offer the child to engage in activities that promote the development of psychomotor skills. For example, let him try to sing the simplest songs, since other neuropsychological mechanisms are involved in singing than in speech. You yourself will notice that the child stops stuttering when he sings and even when someone imitates and talks to himself.
- In a child's life there should be as few radical changes as possible. For example, he should not start school at the very time when he began to stammer, or he had speech defects, and if the child begins to get used to one school, you should not change it.
- For family trips and hiking holidays and on holidays, choose quiet places where people will not be nervous or feel insecure.
- Parents should act together, establishing disciplinary and educational rules, to be consistent, not to contradict each other, giving instructions to the child. It must also be ensured that the child is not under the destabilizing influence - for example, grandparents and other relatives. Now we know how the definition of speech impairment in a child affects development.