Toddler Speech: Toddler Speech Development Stages, Speech Therapy
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... each child. If you are concerned about your toddler’s speech development consult a pediatrician and keep a chart to keep track of the average speech development at various stages of toddlerhood. Also, at that stage, it will seem like your child is often struggling to form words. This is very normal and is caused by the fact that your child now understands so much more than he/she is capable of expressing.
Here is an average indication of speech development among toddlers:
6 months to a year
At this stage the baby is watching your lips and mouth very closely when you speak and is trying to imitate the sounds you make. Children also start (more around the age of one) babbling random words.
1 to 2 years of age
At this stage, your child will start speaking more words, ask short questions (albeit still unclear in pronunciation) and generally start using more sounds.
2 – 3 years of age
By this time you can rest assured that your toddler understands everything you tell him. He is also able to assign words to all his thoughts (it needn't always be the right word). Also your toddler might start speaking short (sometimes mispronounced) sentences.
3 – 4 years of age
By this age your toddler has absorbed enough to be able to converse with members outside the family. He can now speak sentences clearly enough to understand. Indeed, this is usually around the time parents find it hard to get their child to shut up.
The above is just an indicator. It is important to remember that no two children are the same. For some speech is a gradual process, for others, however, it may come in spurts. The same is the case with stuttering. You only need be concerned if the stutter is constant. In case, you do suspect that your child is not up to speed with his speech, then it is important to find out why.
Sometimes, the problem is in the alignment of the facial or tongue muscles. It could also be some neurological problems or sometimes a hearing difficulty which is causing the speech impairment.
What toddler speech therapy entails
If you have an official diagnosis stating that your child has a speech problem, then speech therapy is your best alternative. Depending on the magnitude of the problem, this therapy can either be administered by a professional speech therapist or even by a parent.
In cases where it is an easily rectifiable problem, the therapist can work with the parents and draw up a speech therapy plan for the child. These involve exercising your child's vocal chords, helping them with their articulation and stuttering.
The idea of speech therapy is to improve not just your child's speech but the overall ability to communicate as well. If administered consistently and appropriately, speech therapy can eliminate minor toddler speech problems and articulation problems completely.
Toddler Speech
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