What causes severe speech disorders in children?

Question

I work with children alot and I was wondering opinions on how children get speech problems this child is 4 years old and is so cute and sweet but it is so hard to understand him and it is somtimes frustrating. He cannot pronounce er s t r and many other letters and he stutters on top off that. I feel bad for him and I was wondering what you thought about it so mabey I can understand where he is coming from a little more so mabey I can help. I am very interested in this. Thank you for your help.

Answer 1

There are many causes for speech delay and disorder. Autism, cerebral palsy, poor hearing/deafness, mental retardation to name a few. This child has the right to have speech therapy from birth to the age of 21 through the public school system. His parents need to set up an IEP with the Educational Service Unit, (ESU).

Answer 2

I can only stress to you it is extremely important for you to talk with the person who cares for this child. This child needs to be evaluated by a speech therapist, which shouldn't cost anything if going through the school system. My daughter has been seeing a speech therapist for 8 years now and I have been given many different thoughts on why there is a problem with her speech, it can be a number of things. I find that it's not so much how or why there is a speech problem but where can I get the help that is needed for this child. Best wishes!

Answer 3

Speech disorders in children are caused by many things.
Probably the most common cause is hearing problems and ear infections. If a child cannot hear all the sounds of the language, they will not say all the sounds. Children with hearing difficulties may speak in vowel sounds or leave off the endings of words.

Sometimes children have difficulty making the sounds because they do not know how to move the tongue and lips, or the muscles of the tongue and lips are weak. Sometimes difficulty with speech runs in families. Brain damage due to illness or accident can cause speech problems. Physical abnormalities such as tongue tie and clef pallet can interfere with speech development.

After a hearing test and a speech evaluation with a speech therapist, you can help by speaking clearly and enunciating each sound in words. Instead of correcting a child you can model the correct speech by replying to the child with the correct pronunciation/useage. For example, if the child says "The bum tut is full." You can say, "Yes, the Dump truck is full."
Or if they say "I gived him my cookie." You could say "How nice of you. You gave him your cookie."

When a child stutters, wait for them to finish. Don't try to fix the stuttering. If they are stuck ask them to try saying it another way or with different words. Singing, chanting, and rhythms can be of help to stutters.

Finally, some sounds are just harder and take longer to develop. R and L are usually the hardest as are blends like st, br, bl, tr, and nd.

So make sure the child's hearing is checked and have the child evaluated by the school speech therapist.

Answer 4

Sometimes it is the parents thinking they are funny, when either parent or child talks- some parents will make up words and expect their child to know that it is made up- other time parents think it is cute when a child will start saying some words with a slur or will try to correct the behavior by saying the word slowly hence where the child's stuttering maybe coming from- The child could also have a hearing impairment or the muscle under the tongue may not have enough stretch to it-- There are exercises to practice if the muscle is not stretched enough.

Answer 5

Check out the web site for The Stuttering Foundation of America as they tell you how to react to someone who stutters, which may also help with his other speech problems. Help his parents by telling them about it, too. Their books and DVDs are in many public libraries.

Answer 6

There are lots of different reasons. Some might be because of the mom using drugs or alcohol, some might be because of defects in their tubes (my step-daughter had this problem), and if it is not caught by age 3 a lot of speech problems are permanant. My step-daughter's hearing problem was not caught until she was 5 and she still has balance, speech and comprehension problems because of it. Sometimes there is no known cause.

Answer 7

my son is 5 and he was born with a rare brain disorder that affects his speech as well as a few other things with him. he is very hard to understand and it is frustrating for him as well as it is myself. he goes to special ed pre-k and they have been working with him teaching him sign language, it is a very good way for him to be understood and he is able to make his point. he uses the signs but also will say the words so he is still working on his speech. he sees a speech therapist as well and they are excellent. he has come a long way in the 2 years he has been with them.

Answer 8

it can be inherited is all i know. thats the answer i was given - my little boy who is 5 now has a severe speech problem. but he has gotten alot of his letters and sounds from 2 years of preschool but still cant sound out the t and the c and and a few other. it was recommened for him to see a speech specialist in nashville tn and it was found that he had a weak pallette but would grow out of it. so it could be a number of things that casues this.

Answer 9

my speech problem is because if a Cleft palate which is a birth defect some of the words are still hard for me to pronounce even today.
with speech therapy i am some what better but will alsways have speech problems.

Answer 10

poor parenting

look at the school district and speak with the special education department

they sometimes do a pre K to help develop the child before the are in the short bus class when they are old enough for classes