The Right Nutrition

Recognizing Speech and Language Disorder on the Children

Morinaga Platinum - 24 January 2019

Usually, parents are anxious to the children’s development when it comes to the walking and talking ability. Especially if in the surroundings also have other children with the same age, Moms must be anxious and do compare the development process.

Speech and language disorders in the medicine language are called aphasia. Aphasia is a condition that children have no language skill due to brain damage. The language skill includes speaking, writing and reading.

The cause of aphasia is brain damage in the hemisphere (two symmetrical sides that divide the cerebrum). The brain has two important parts and damage to these two parts will cause language disorder.

Speech and language skill can be seen from an early age. Here are the stages of children’s normal speech development for Moms to know:

Age of 0-6 months: At birth, children can only cry to express what they want. Then at the age of 2-3 months, they can make sound like ‘aaah’ and ‘uuuh’ which is known as cooing. At this age, children will experiment by making strange sounds. Once they enter the age of 6 months, they will start with the ability to speak a single syllable word, like ‘mamamamamama’ or papapapapapa’.

Age of 6-12 months: Children will start to babble by using the intonations as Moms do. then they can say ‘mama-papa’ without knowing its meaning. They will also start using gestures if they want something, such as by pointing to ask for something. At this age, they can follow the word ‘let’s’, ‘here’, or ‘there’. At the age of 12 months, children will understand about 70 words.

Age of 12-18 months: At this age, children are able to say 3-6 words with meaning. They can nod or shake their head when something is offered to them.

Age of 18-24 months: Children will have an increase in their speech ability. 50 percent of their speech is understandable at the age of 2 years old.

After understanding the normal stages of speech, Moms should also be alert if you find that the children:

  • Do not turn around when you call their name from behind at the age of 6 months and no babbling at that age.
  • Do not show any facial expression until the age of 12 months. Can’t point to something they want at the age of 12 months.
  • Aren’t able to say anything until the age of 16 months.
  • Do not understand any word at the age of 2 years old.

In order for the children’s speech and language skills to develop optimally, make sure that Moms provide stimulations according to their age. If you notice any signs of developmental delay, consult a doctor with the specialty in children’s development for further examination.

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