Your child may need speech therapy if you notice your child is developing speech skills slowly than children comparing to her/his age. A child should start saying simple words eg. mama papa etc by age of one and should have fully developed speech by age of 5 years. Most of the children with speech issues have difficulty to understand instructions, prefer to use sign language than saying words and have limited eye contacts. It is a good idea to consult speech therapist if you notice speech issue in your child. You can also get a good idea by comparing your child speech with speech milestones widely available on internet.
It is important to check if your child is meeting speech milestones in timely manner because early therapy have advantages. It is also important to understand cause of speech delay or other speech related disorders. Some children often develop speech delayed comparing to peers. Sometimes there is no reason behind speech delay and often caused by child isolation or limited interaction due to nuclear family. Such normal delay may effect schooling of child. Parents in this cause often have choice to wait some more time or opt for speech therapy.
Sometimes there are specific causes for speech issue eg. autism, hearing issues, family history, oral muscle problems etc. In adults causes are often neurological conditions eg. stroke or aging related disorders. Such cases of speech issues are more complex to treat and often require treatment of underline cause if possible. Hence evaluation if important to understand cause of speech issues in child.
Autism is one of the common cause of speech issues in child. It is important to differentiate between autism and normal speech delay. While typical speech delay often effect child speech i.e delay in speech, stuttering etc, however child understand instructions very well, makes eye contact, play with other children, however child with autism and speech delay may have limited social communication, prefer to stay isolated, does not show interest in playing may have learning difficulties and behavior issues. While you can try to judge your child condition on basis of symptoms of child it is important to consult therapist as they are experienced and able to diagnose condition of child
We at Hope center for speech therapy and autism offers free assessment of child. You can get in touch with us as follows.
Hope Center for speech therapy and autism
Building no-19, opposite A – Block Market Main Road, Gumtala Sub Urban, B – Block, Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar, Punjab 143001
Time 9 am to 7 pm
You can call us @ +91-9878296877
Location:- https://maps.app.goo.gl/yUJUJDq2KLhV9f7h8