Speech Delay: toddler, tests and treatments.

Speech delaySpeech delay is a condition which refers to he delayed development in the process of speech production in children. A normal child should start talking and producing recognizable patterns of speech by the 18 months. A delay in this process is known as speech delay. This may be caused by the inability of a toddler to use the organ such as lungs, vocal, cords, mouth, tongue and teeth in an coordinated manner to produce a recognizable language. This language is generally the language spoken around the toddler by his or her parents. Hence language delay actually mean a delay in the development or use of language. One should also remember that language and speech in toddlers are two independent aspects of communication. A child for one maybe able to produce language I.e he is able to make cognitive language assessments but is conversely unable to produce this language into intelligible speech. In the case described above the toddler would be trying to speak in English for example picked up from his parents but this language would be impossible to understand. In a case where a child exhibits language delay he or she has surely not been able to produce speech hence it is more than likely that this child suffers from speech delay too. If parents feel that there child is not able to comprehend language patterns and as a result is not producing speech at an appropriate time they should promptly consult a speech therapist or speech pathologist.The scope of practices in speech therapy includes; prevention, screening, counseling, assessment diagnosis, treatment, intervention and follow up of patients suffering from speech disorders. Speech involves phonation, articulation resonance and aeromechanical aspects of respiration. When all these facets of speech are in sync only then does proper speech take place. If any of these aspects are not functional or dysfunctional pathologic speech may occur. A speech therapist firstly needs to recognize the aspect of speech that is not functional and then go about correcting it. Language , sensory awareness, and cognitive aspects of speech are also very important and not to be underestimated. Hence speech therapy requires carefull evaluation firstly of a persons fundamental grasp of speech and then g about treating it. Speech therapy also includes the screening of the child for participation in tympanometry and further evaluation using techniques such as videofluroscopy, nasendoscopy, stroboscopy and EMG’s . All these techniques help in the correct diagnosis of the speech empidment and thus provide data for the parameters of the speech disorder itself. Ones a positive diagnosis has been established a speech therapist may then proceed in giving counseling and therapy for the disorder itself. After all the tests and counseling a speech therapist will be definitively able to inform or correct the disorder plaguing the child. Sometimes it is just a matter of a delayed response but in other cases a speech delay may also indicate a cognitive dysfunction, deafness, and or some kind of organic disorder such as tumors.