How is speech delay observed in preschool aged children?

Speech delay is a hot topic amongst parents, with some fearing the worst if their child is not talking as much or as clearly as they would like prior to starting school. It is important not to put pressure on a child or label them with speech delay too early as this can cause more difficulties in encouraging the child’s language.

Speech intelligibility

Language and speech is a key aspect of development that influences many areas of life such as building relationships and daily communication. However speaking fluently and grammatically correct all of the time at a young age, may be asking too much of children. Speech intelligibility is a measure of how comprehensible speech is and the ability to use speech to communicate effectively. Many factors can affect speech intelligibility in children such as problems with hearing or tongue muscles. However it is common for young children to mispronounce words or miss parts of a word out. This can cause speech intelligibility to be unclear, especially to strangers or those unfamiliar with the child.

School Readiness

Children progress and grow at their own rate, with many children speaking clearly prior to starting school. Children should be understood most of the time by family and those close to them by the age of three; yet for strangers it is not expected until the age of around four to four and a half years old. Children who are born in the summer months are more vulnerable to speech delay, simply due to being younger upon starting school. This can cause problems with school readiness but it is important that parents and practitioners ensure a smooth transition into school highlighting any need for support.

Health conditions

There are many ways that children with speech delay can be supported, often speech sound delay is due to lack of practice. Encouraging children to hear the whole word by talking slowly and not using as many words can help them to break down the sounds in the word correctly. It is important that concerns with speech delay are followed up and simple things such as hearing tests are offered as some conditions for example ‘glue ear’ can be the reason for delay. Once all health associated conditions are ruled out, it is easier for the practitioner and parents to find the reason for speech delay.

Receptive language

Children must be able to understand words and instructions given in context before using them in speech. A child’s receptive language may be sound, however they are not using their expressive language. This can be supported through using strategies such as slowing down your speech and giving the child space to talk. Children can sometimes find it easier to point to request things, however this does not encourage them to use their voice. The practitioner or parent should support the child in first using single words before putting words together to create sentences. Children that are not talking prior to school, yet are able to understand others and answer through signs or non verbal actions may need further support from speech and language therapy.

Multi agency

It is important to ensure outside agencies are supporting a child with speech delay prior to starting school in order to enable the child to feel comfortable and accepted. It is the responsibility of all adults involved with the child to work together to support the child’s speech delay and offer alternative ways of communicating such as through makaton or widgets. Children that are supported correctly and have no underlying conditions will often pick up language at their own pace and eventually begin to communicate effectively with the world around them.