There are a lot of things that could affect the language development skills of your child. Most children are able to speak certain words by the time they are two years old. However, if your child is not gesturing or speaking, or even making sounds, perhaps it is time to visit a doctor. Listed below are some of the common reasons for speech delay.
- The most common cause of speech delay in infants who are developing normally otherwise is oral abnormalities. Oral impairments such as deformities of the palate or the tongue may prevent your child from forming words naturally or reciprocating to sounds. Some children may be born with a short frenulum, which limits the movement of the tongue and inhibits speech production.
- Some children may also have an oral motor problem, which means that the areas of the brain that are responsible for speech production and recognition may not be working normally. The child may not be able to coordinate the tongue, frenulum, jaws, and the lips together to produce speech sounds. However, such problems may be accompanied with other issues such as feeding problems.
- In rare cases, speech delay may also be caused by an overall delay in development. Often, the child has hearing problems because of which there is no speech recognition and the child is unable to hear or process the sounds normally. A child, who is unable to hear, is also unable to produce sounds or articulate words. The child may not even be able to use signs or imitate the words that others speak.
If your child has been experiencing regular ear infections, especially chronic infections, this may cause hearing problems. However, recurrent ear infections that have been treated adequately may not have any specific impact on your child’s speech. A doctor may be able to tell you the exact problem with your child.
answered by S S