Talk About Children’s Speech – Part II

Q: I know that how I talk to my children play an important part in how they learn to speak. What are some good ‘rules of thumb’ to take note of?

A: Speech is obviously important for daily life. Not only do we communicate for more practical functions such as asking for what we want or need, we also talk to socialize and to think aloud.

In addition, the verbal language skills (both listening, or receptive language, and speaking, or expressive language) serve as foundations for building reading and writing. (Many studies show that early speech and language problems may mean difficulty in learning to read and write. The effect may last well into the secondary school years, with students taking fewer exams, and getting worse grades.)

School children also use language to learn about other subjects. Not having the basic language skills by then is akin to being a taxi driver without having learnt to drive.

Whether your child is a baby learning to babble, a toddler stringing words together, or a pre-schooler learning about sentence grammar, here are some general hints for what you can do to facilitate his speech and language development:

• Children learn to talk by listening to people talk and having people talk to them. Ensure your child has a stimulating language environment, whether the caregivers are parents, grandparents, maids or childcare teachers.

• What do you talk about? When we think about a healthy diet, we know there are food we should eat more of, food we eat moderately, and food we have sparingly. It’s similar for what you say to your child. Especially in the early years, you would want to talk to them a lot, more in the role of a ‘commentator’, describing what you or baby are doing, what you or baby see around you etc.

• Use simple words and sentences and don’t be afraid to repeat if necessary. As they are capable of communicating with you, talk more like a ‘friend’, so they get a chance to participate. Ask open-ended questions such as “What  happened?”, or make comments that invite a response (e.g. “Hmm, I like the part where the monkey fell down.”). You can just pause to allow baby to coo and babble back!

• Try to minimise times when you talk like an ‘examiner’. That is, refrain from ‘testing’ your child on what is this, what is that, and other things you may already know. This does have its place when children are first learning about words and actually like being asked. They will let you know!

• Match what you say to your child’s level. You would gradually progress from just name of people and objects to a variety of different words: action words, describing words etc. You would progress from just talking about what is here-and-now to talking about events in the past or future.

• Your own speech should generally be at the same level or slightly above what the child is using. It is more likely your child will actually learn from such input. If your sentence is so long and complex your child can only say it after you word by word for example, he is simply ‘parroting’. This does not help him to produce his own sentences and express his own ideas.

• ‘Walk the talk’, or in this case, ‘talk the talk’. Whether it is speaking clearly, using correct grammar, taking an interest in books etc, make the effort to set a good example.

• Talking to children comes more naturally to some parents than to others. It’s alright to recognize that you may need more time and effort to work at it. By the same token, talking comes more naturally to some children than others, and there are those that may genuinely need some help. One of the most useful things a speech and language therapist does is to show both parents and children lots of different ways of learning and interacting in effective and fun ways.

Q: My older child seemed to have just picked up speech all by himself, but my second child is much slower. Should I be concerned and how do I seek help?

A: While we may consider ourselves a nation of ‘overly competitive’ parents, when it comes to seeking professional help from speech and language therapists, most parents are remarkably spot-on.

Even if parents can’t quite put a finger on what their child’s problem is, they are likely to be aware of what to expect from observing other children. In fact, parents are more likely to be unaware of who to seek help from, rather than what problem to seek help for.

Nonetheless, some parents may find these guidelines useful.
You should seek professional help anytime you are worried about your child’s language development, and particularly if s/he:

• is not babbling or paying attention to voices by about 12 months.
• is not speaking his/her first word by 18 months.
• is not starting to combine words by two and a half years.
• does not understand simple verbal instructions by about two years.
• is not speaking clearly by about three and a half years.
• is not using simple sentences of four to five words by about four years.
• stutters.
• has an unusual voice, for example it sounds hoarse.

There are many possible causes for these difficulties. The best scenario is one where the child does have the communication skills but has simply not had the opportunities to use them because of too much attention from doting parents, grandparents, maid etc.

Some children may have a learning difficulty specific to learning speech and language. (They may have other strengths, for example, in the areas of mathematics or art.) In some cases, communication is part of the problem in a developmental disorder such as autism.

Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterized by impaired development in communication, social interaction, and behaviour. Studies indicate that more than 50 percent of all autistic people may
have difficulties acquiring language skills.

Because listening, speaking and communication in general is such a big part of a child’s development and learning, many professions have a role to play (e.g. doctors, teachers etc).

Speech and language therapists are the professionals who work with people (children or adults) who have difficulty in communicating. They may also be known as speech therapists or speech pathologists.

They are professionally trained to diagnose and treat people with communication difficulties. In addition to doctors or paediatricians, more and more pre-school teachers, reading specialists etc are recognizing the advantages of early intervention and recommending that parents consult a speech and language therapist where necessary.

In Singapore, most qualified practising speech and language therapists are registered with the Speech-Language and Hearing Association Singapore (SHAS). It should be remembered that learning to communicate is an on-going process that begins even before a child’s first word.

Therefore, if you feel that your child might not be on his way to some of the milestones indicated above, you do not have to wait. It may be just a matter of getting some suggestions or tips from a speech and language therapist to ‘kick start’ or stimulate your child’s development.

The article (part II – final part) is published in the “Small World 2005/2006” magazine and is available in leading newsstands in the Republic of Singapore.

Our Contributor

The author, Ms Magan Chen brings with her more than 26 years of speech and language therapy experience in both private hospital and enrichment centre settings. This gives us exceptional understanding of our clients’ medical and/or school needs.

She has helped more than 1500 individuals to overcome their communication or learning difficulties.

Ms. Magan Chen trained in London, U.K. (M.Sc. Human Communication) and Sydney, Australia (B. App. Sc. in Speech Pathology).

Magan is a registered Certified Practising Speech Language Pathologist (CPSP) with the Speech Pathology Australia.

She is also the founding President and a registered member of Speech-Language and Hearing Association Singapore (SHAS, the professional body representing Speech Language Therapists in Singapore.

Magan has been interviewed and featured in various newspapers and magazines such as Young Parents Magazine, The Straits Times & The New Paper.

Together with Magan, our team of competent and caring speech language therapists and teachers help hundreds of individuals improve their ability to communicate and have more say in life.

If you would like to see a highly experienced speech language therapist / pathologist for an initial consultation, please call us at (65) 6223-7876.

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