How can I improve my daughter's speech?

My child has a stammer

Question

I am worried about my 32-month-old daughter's speech.

Children of her age are speaking quite clearly, however my daughter still cannot speak in any legible sentences.

She can say single words although her pronunciation is poor. She doesn't complete any words, for example, 'dog' is 'do', 'cat' is 'ca'.

She has an all clear hearing test. I will ask her to repeat individual words to me and she will copy me with individual words, ask her to repeat the whole sentence and the words are no similarity whatsoever.

What can I do to improve my daughter's speech? Her comprehension has always been impeccable and she follows all instructions.

Answer

There can be many different reasons why children show a delay in mastering the skills of speech and language, but for many the problems are only temporary and eventually they will be able to speak normally.

It is reassuring that your daughter has had a hearing test which showed no problems, as hearing loss can cause speech delay.

The fact that you think your daughter understands what you say is also a good sign. In order to get a more detailed assessment of your daughter's speech development you could take her to see your health visitor or GP. If they feel it is necessary, a referral on to a speech therapist could be made.

In the meantime you can help your daughter by exposing her to clear speech and language as much as possible.

Talk to her, describe things around you, ask her simple questions, read her lots of stories and play games together, talking directly to her with good eye contact whenever possible.

Does she go to nursery? This could well help as some nurseries place a strong emphasis on language stimulation.

Watching television by young children is known to slow down the development of language skills so try to keep your daughter's TV viewing to a minimum. When she does watch, it would help if you could talk to her about the content of the programmes she sees.

If your daughter is progressing normally in her general development and has a simple delay in the speech she uses, the measures I've outlined may well help to get her talking fluently in the next year or so.

Yours sincerely

The Medical Team

<<Back



The documents contained in this web site are presented for information purposes only. The material is in no way intended to replace professional medical care or attention by a qualified practitioner. The materials in this web site cannot and should not be used as a basis for diagnosis or choice of treatment. Conditions for use



© Copyright 1998 - 2004 NetDoctor.co.uk - All rights reserved