Atlanta Children's ENT

Member Georgia
Otolaryngology Associates

CHILD LANGUAGE

What is language?

What makes up this language code?

What is speech?

How do children learn all these language rules?

How can parents help a child learn to talk?

How do you know that a child's language and speech are what they should be for a particular age?

When should I seek professional help?

Will hearing problems affect speech and language development?

Are there ever other physical causes of language disability?

How about other causes'?

What can be done about language disabilities?

Where can I find a speech-language pathologist?

What is language?

Language is a code that we learn to use in order to communicate ideas and express our wants and needs. Reading, writing, speaking, and some gesture systems are all forms of language.

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What makes up this language code?

Language is made up of a series of rules for:

creating words or signs from smaller units like sounds, letters, or body movements
modifying the meaning of root words (e.g., girl + s = girls, walk + ed = walked, teach + er = teacher, quick + ly = quickly, dis + obey = disobey)
combining words together (the grammar of the language)
attaching meaning to words
holding a conversation; telling a story; and using different forms of language for different listeners, purposes, and situations.

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What is speech?

Speech is the spoken form of language.

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How do children learn all these language rules?

Children learn language and speech by listening to the language around them and practicing what they hear. ‑In this way, they figure out the rules of the language code. It is not learned all at once but in stages over time.

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How can parents help a child learn to talk?

Talk to the child. Read to the child. Encourage the child to talk, but don't demand speech. Make talking fun.

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How do you know that a child's language and speech are what they should be for a particular age?

There are expected language behaviors for different ages. For example, by I year of age, a child should use one or two words, follow simple requests ("Come here"), and under,stand simple questions ("Where's your shoe?"). By 2 - 3 years of age, the child should be using two or three word sentences to talk about and ask for things and following two requests ("Get the ball and put it on the table"). Parents should also understand their child's speech most of the time.

Children are individuals and do develop at slower or faster rates than expected. What 'IS most important is that the child shows continuous language growth.

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When should I seek professional help?

When you become concerned. Don't delay. No child is too young to be helped. If there is a problem, early attention is important. If there is no problem, you will be relieved of worry.

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Will hearing problems affect speech and language development?

Yes. The first years of life are particularly important for learning speech and language. Even mild hearing losses may cause children to miss much of the speech and language around them and result in critical developmental delays. Parents should make sure that their children receive a regular hearing evaluation from an audiologist certified by the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), particularly if there is a history of ear infections, frequent colds or other upper respiratory *infections, or allergies.

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Are there ever other physical causes of language disability?

There are, but most often language disability exists without any known physical cause.

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How about other causes'?

Sometimes children are not exposed to enough language to learn the rules. Sometimes the child has no need to talk because parents respond to pointing and gestures instead of speech. But most language disabilities occur without an identifiable cause.

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What can be done about language disabilities?

A speech language pathologist with experience in child development can evaluate the child's language development, design an organized plan of language learning, and carry out the plan in individual or small group sessions. Educated at the master's or doctoral level, certified by ASHA, and licensed in almost all states, this professional will also help you help your child.

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Where can I find a speech-language pathologist?

Speech language pathologists provide services in schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, clinics, private practices, and other settings. To find a speech-language pathologist near you, write or call ASHA, 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, (800) 638-8255 or (301) 897-5700 (Voice or TTY), or email: actioncenter@ashorg

Ear:
	Swimmer's ear	Middle ear infections
	Ear wax and Q-tips	Eustachian tube dysfunction
	Childhood Hearing Loss	Noise and Hearing Loss
	Assistive Listening Devices
Nose:
	Stuffy nose	Nosebleeds
	Sinus Infections	Adenoid disease
	Snoring and sleep apnea

Throat:
	Tonsil infections	Tongue tie
	Hoarseness	Noisy breathing
	Cough	Lump in the neck
	Child Language	Stutter
	Swallowing	Voice Problems
	Speech Language Pathologist
Cosmetic:
	Otoplasty

Surgery:
	Ear tubes	Adenoidectomy
	Tonsillectomy	Sinus Surgery
	Airway reconstruction

The information provided on this web site is not intended to take the place of consultation with your physician. You should always consult a physician whenever you require diagnosis or treatment.