Top 10 Signs Your Child Has a Speech Disorder

You want your child to succeed. That means giving them the best possible start in life.

You’ve spent time researching the best schools, discovering the most reputable daycares, and providing toys that are educational as well as entertaining.

But what about your child’s speech?What are the early signs of a speech disorder, and how does it impact their future?

Watching for the early signs of a speech disorder is of vital importance not only to your child’s social health but also for their academic wellness.

Studies have shown that if your child has a speech disorder, they are at a greater risk of performing below grade level. This not only equates to problems reading and writing, speech disorders can devastate your child’s self-esteem, causing them to avoid school.

Speech Therapy at Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy Is Extremely Effective

We know how devastating the consequences can be for children with a speech disorder, and we know you want them to have the best chance at success. We address:

• Language delays
• Problems with social communication
• Stuttering (preschool age)
• Articulation disorders
• Voice problems (due to nodules or voice overuse)

With leading speech-language professionals who are experts in their field, we’re able to offer an extensive scope of services to help your child. We invite you to schedule an appointment with us.

It’s best to start treating a speech disorder as early as possible, so we wanted to review signs you should watch for that indicate your child needs speech therapy.

10 Signs That Your Child Has a Speech Disorder

1. Your Child Stutters

Stuttering is an obvious indication that your child needs speech therapy. Children who stutter may repeat whole words (He-he-he- ran to the door) or the first syllable of a word (j-j-jump). Sometimes, stuttering children may avoid talking altogether.

2. Your Child has inconsistent Voice Quality

Not all signs of a speech disorder have to do with vowels or consonants. Often, children who have a hoarse voice or inability to control volume may need early intervention.

They also may have trouble emphasizing the correct syllable of a word, even though they pronounce a word correctly (such as saying BA- NAN-A instead of ba-NAN-a).

3. Your Child Doesn’t Interact With Other Children

If your baby doesn’t smile or acknowledge when someone is speaking or playing, you should consider scheduling an appointment with a speech therapist.

4. Your Child Doesn’t Babble

Between four and seven months of age, your child should be babbling or making “nonsense” noises. These sounds are important because they will help your son or daughter learn words.

5. Your Child Shows Speech Inconsistency

For example, your child may pronounce a word correctly the first time but incorrectly the second or third time. They may also place gaps between syllables (run…ning).

6. Your Child Has a Cleft Palate or Other Structural Problems With the Mouth

Problems with the lips, jaw or tongue can make it difficult for children to speak clearly and consistently. This can have a devastating effect on their academic progress.

7. Your Child Doesn’t Gesture

Your child should be using gestures such as waving and pointing by the time he or she is seven to twelve months old.

8. Your Child Doesn’t Speak

When your child doesn’t speak a lot – or at all – this is a red-flag warning. You should also be concerned if your child says fewer than 50 words by the time they are two years old.

9. Your Child Has Several Ear Infections

You may not equate ear infectionswith speech disorders, but extensive and chronic ear infections can cause fluid in the middle ear to cause temporary hearing loss. If this happens repeatedly, your child’s speech may be delayed.

10. Your Child Has Some Type of Hearing Loss or Hearing Disorder

In order to create sounds properly, your child needs to be able to hear them properly. Hearing loss, particularly in the early years, can cause more extensive speech problems further down the line.

If your child has even partial hearing loss, it’s important to work closely with an audiologist speech therapistto be sure he or she has all the skills needed to help them succeed in school and in life.

We Can Help Your Child Overcome Speech Problems

Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy offers a wide variety of voice and speech services including treatment for:

• Voice disorders

• • Articulation and phonology – treatment designed to improve the dynamic production of specific sounds (e.g. /k/ in “cup”)
  • Aural Rehabilitation for children with hearing loss – treatment designed to assist individuals with auditory disabilities improve their communication

• Articulation and language disorders

Stuttering is one of the most common speech disorders in children, and it’s often one of the most noticeable.

Stuttering Statistics: How Common Is Stuttering?

Did you know that 5% to 10% of all children stutter at some point in their lives? For some, this may only last a few weeks, but for others, it can continue for years. Boys stutter three to four times more than girls.

While 75% of children will recover from stuttering, your child may be in the remaining 25%. Intervention is needed, as it can cause lifelong issues and hinder both academic progress and social interaction.

Next, we’ll take a closer look at stuttering and how our tailored treatment at Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy can resolve the issue

How to Treat Stuttering in Children

It’s hard to believe, but the man with one of the most well-recognized voices on the planet used to stutter.

James Earl Jones– the actor whose strong, resonating vocals were featured as Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga—stuttered so severely when he was a child that he barely spoke to anyone for eight years.

Your son or daughter may not have a world-famous voice, but to you, those sweet, beautiful syllables are the most precious sounds on earth. It’s heartbreaking to watch your child struggle to read aloud or have a conversation.

Even worse, speech difficulties can make it difficult for your child to succeed in school. Thankfully, our speech language pathologists and audiologists at Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy can help your child’s speech problems, but it’s vital to get help early.

What Causes Stuttering?

Answering the phone, a job interview, telling a friend about a TV show — these are things millions of Americans do every day, taking for granted the intricate ballet of muscle movements that must occur in order to produce pure, unobstructed sound.

Stuttering makes the simplest communication difficult, affecting quality of life, career, and every interpersonal relationship.

There’s no one cause of stuttering, and scientists are always learning more about this communication disorder and how to treat it.

Several different factors can contribute to stuttering:

• Genetics: More than half (60%) of those who stutter have a close family member who does as well.

• Developmental issues: Developmental stuttering—the most common form of stuttering—occurs when young children are learning speech and language skills. Most experts believe it starts when a child’s speech and language skills are unable to meet the child’s verbal demands
• Neurophysiology: Some researchers believe those who stutter physically process language in a different way from those who don’t stutter.

What Are Signs Your Child Needs Speech Therapy?

If your child is experiencing any of the following, you should schedule an appointment with one of our leading physicians or speech language pathologists.

Our speech language pathologists and audiologists help diagnose and treat adults and children with speech and language disorders. They may also help children with autism and young children develop language skills.

• The most obvious sign of stuttering is repeating the first syllable of a word (such as “to to top” or “ru ru run”). Also, be aware of any time your child stretches out a sound (such as rrrrabbit).
• Other indications of a potential speech problem include repeating whole words (I-I-went- went- I-went to the store) and avoidance of talking altogether.
• Not all signs of stuttering are audible: Tremors or quivering lips, foot-tapping or blinking can also indicate a problem.

How Is Stuttering Treated?

There is no “magic pill” or instant cure for stuttering. However, intervention and speech therapy will help your child overcome it. These methods may focus on:

• Gradual progress from single syllables to longer-syllable words
• Speaking more slowly
• Breathing regulation
• Reducing anxiety

If your young child is showing signs of stuttering, early intervention can prevent it from becoming a lifelong problem.

How Can I Help My Child Overcome Stuttering?

To successfully treat stuttering, it’s important to work closely with every member of your health care team. You may also want to:

• Provide several opportunities for your child to speak.
• Listen attentively to your child.
• Maintain a relaxing home environment.
• Don’t interrupt your child. Wait for him or her to say the word they are struggling to speak.
• Don’t complete your child’s sentences.
• If your child mentions stuttering, have an open and honest conversation about it.
• Be sure to speak in a slow, relaxed manner.

Help for Voice and Communication Disorders

At Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy, we treat children and adults who have a wide variety of speech and communication challenges. We offer:

• Evaluation of voice disorders
• Speech and voice problems for head and neck cancer patients
• Aural rehabilitation for children with hearing loss—designed to help those with hearing disabilities improve their communication skills
• Swallowing problems
• Language therapy

If you’re concerned about your child’s speech development, contact us. We’ll be happy to work with you to help your child overcome his or her challenges.

Hearing and Its Effect on Voice Disorders

Hearing can have a dramatic impact on how your child comprehends words and the world around them. Therefore, we’d like to share some additional information about important hearing milestones for your child and why they are so important for speech.

Important Hearing Milestones for Your Baby

It’s adorable when your baby babbles and coos, but you may not realize your child is doing much more than being cute. These nonsensical noises are actually “practice” for developing the vowel and consonant sounds needed for speech development.

If your baby has a hearing problem, this practice doesn’t occur as it should, and your child may face social, academic and vocational difficulties. It’s vital to understand the important hearing milestones for your baby, and take action if your son or daughter is not reaching them.

How Hearing Problems Affect Baby’s Development

Two to three out of every 1,000 newborns in the U.S. have some detectable level of hearing loss. Early intervention is vital to ensure that these children won’t fall behind in schoolwork or vocabulary development.

Hearing Loss Affects Children in Four Major Ways

1. Delayed Communication Skills

Children with hearing loss don’t learn vocabulary as quickly or as easily as their peers. Specifically, they have difficulty comprehending abstract words like “before,” “after” and “equal to.” Words such as “an” and “are” can also present problems.

2. Academic Challenges

Children with mild to moderate hearing loss performed one to four grade levels lower than their peers with normal hearing.

Children with severe or profound hearing loss often cannot progress beyond the third or fourth grade level without extensive intervention. Academic help is absolutely necessary for children to realize their full potential. Parental involvement is a vital part of this equation.

3. Isolation and Poor Self-Image

Communication problems can lead to a profound and sometimes debilitating sense of isolation. Often, children with hearing loss report that they’re unhappy in school and don’t have many friends.

4. Limited Vocational Choices

Without help, children with hearing loss face limited vocational choices due to communication and academic challenges.

Is Your Baby at Higher Risk for a Hearing Loss?

Your child may be at greater risk for developing a hearing loss if:

• You have a family history of permanent childhood hearing loss
• Your child was in neonatal intensive care for more than five days
• Your child was exposed to an in utero infection
• There are developmental problems with the structure of your child’s face, head or ear
• Your child had a birth weight of less than three pounds
• Your child experienced any head trauma
• Your child has had any infections associated with hearing loss (such as bacterial and viral meningitis)

Your Baby’s Hearing Development Milestones

Even if your baby has passed the newborn hearing test, it’s important to remember these important hearing milestones, and track your son or daughter’s progress.

BIRTH TO THREE MONTHS

• Reacts or awakens to loud sounds
• Turns toward interesting sounds
• Recognizes your voice or smiles when spoken to
• Coos and makes pleasure sounds
• Smiles when he or she sees you

THREE TO SIX MONTHS

• Follows sound with his or her eyes
• Pays attention to music
• Notices toys that make sounds
• Smiles when you speak
• Tries to imitate sounds, babbles
• Understands some words, like “bye-bye”

SIX TO NINE MONTHS

• Responds to name
• Uses both long and short groups of sounds (“tatata,” “upupup”)
• Says first meaningful words like “mama” or “dada”
• Listens when spoken to
• Responds to “no”
• Understands words for common items (cup, shoe, juice)

NINE TO TWELVE MONTHS

• Responds to simple commands like “come here”
• Enjoys games such as peek-a-boo
• Babbles to get attention
• Imitates different speech sounds

What to Do If Your Child Has a Hearing Problem

If you suspect your child has a hearing problem, schedule an appointment with one of our ENTs as soon as possible. The sooner you seek help, the better the chances for your child to achieve his or her full potential.

For more than 40 years, the physicians at Raleigh Capitol Ear, Nose. Throat and Allergy have served children throughout the Triangle area. We have extensive experience in helping infants and young children who have hearing loss. We want to be a partner in your child’s care, providing assistance and world-class treatment. Contact us for an appointment.