By age three or four, most children can express themselves. But 10 percent of all preschoolers have some form of language impairment, and the figure rises to nearly 50 percent for children who’ve been in an orphanage setting or foster care. While there are general timelines for language milestones, language-skills development varies greatly from one child to the next. Some children have an ear for language and imitate sounds and words quickly, while others easily comprehend language spoken to them but struggle to express themselves in words. In the long run, most children will do fine, but their paths to language acquisition will be different.
Getting Help
If, by preschool age (or younger), you’ve noticed that your child has difficulty understanding language or expressing himself, or if he has trouble with the mechanics of speech, don’t hesitate to have him assessed by a professional. Here are some warning signals:
– Your child is not motivated to learn language, and is passive in her interaction with others.
– Your toddler doesn’t babble, sing, or engage in pretend play.
– Your preschooler has difficulty following verbal instructions, and trouble with age-appropriate reading and spelling.
– Your child shows inappropriate behaviors, like hitting or biting, extreme tantrums, insecurity, and stranger anxiety. While these behaviors are not exclusive to language difficulties, they can be a red flag. (If it’s hard for a child to communicate, he may act out in such ways.)
As a pediatric speech pathologist, I believe most adopted children should be monitored by a professional for developmental-speech milestones. Early assessment gives parents extensive information about the child’s well-being and development, empowering them to offer her the best start in life.
Your child’s physician can help determine whether therapy is needed. A child suspected of speech delays is often eligible for publicly funded evaluation and treatment services, called Early Intervention (EI). If your child is not eligible for EI (some programs require that a child have a 30-percent speech delay), your physician can refer you to a private speech-language pathologist.
Many internationally adopted children, and those previously in foster care, experience transitory speech delays. These children need concentrated exposure to auditory feedback and reinforcement to overcome whatever stimulation they missed in the earliest stages of life. Addressing speech delays in the preschool years, or earlier, can often prevent or minimize later problems. It is particularly important to catch and begin treating language-learning delays before children start elementary school, when they will be required to develop reading and writing skills. The developmental improvements that follow speech therapy encourage not only children, but their families, as well.
