The child does not speak sentences

The child does not speak sentences. What shall we do? What are the reasons?

Normally, child’s speech formation goes through several stages. The reason for the delay in the child’s development may be a delay in his/her psycho-mental development.

The child does not speak sentences. What shall we do? What are the reasons?

The first years after birth are the most important for a child, because a kid perceives the world and masters vital skills such as self-transportation, basic self-service and of course speech.

When should a child start speaking sentences?

Normally, speech formation in a child undergoes several stages: cry, walking, babbling, and starting from 11-12 months the baby begins to pronounce the first words. He/she begins to associate words with environmental objects, the words are filled with meaning. By this time the child already has an active vocabulary (from 3 to 10 spoken words) and a passive one (up to 20 meaningful words). Up to 1.5 years its vocabulary increases to 40-70 words, and at the age of two the baby already uses from 150 to 300 words. On average, at the age of 2 children begin to speak sentences. At first, they consist of two words (mom, give, dolly boom, etc.), and then – from three to four.

Of course, each child develops individually, and there may be minor delays in the speech functions development, which are not yet a deviation, and depend exceptionally on the child, his/her temper or heredity. But if you observe that your child does not speak sentences for a long time or he/she has missed the previous stages of speech formation, this may indicate a psycho-speech delay (PSD).

Psycho-speech delay (PSD)

The reasons of psycho-speech delay (PSD) are quite numerous, among the most common are:

• Mother’s illness during pregnancy or difficult delivery;
• Intra-uterine fetal hypoxia, child’s injury during delivery (cervical spine and/or central nervous system trauma);
• Severe diseases transmitted by the child at an early age;
• Psychoemotional trauma at an early age;
• An unfavorable climate in the family or miseducation (beatings, quarrels, lack of parents’ love and care, and conversely, helicopter parenting).

In addition, if your child is older than 2 and does not speak sentences, the symptoms indicating psycho-speech delays are the following:

• Limited vocabulary (up to 3 years of age the child should normally know 1200-1500 words);
• Reluctance for a speech contact, even with relatives;
• The child speaks too slowly or vice versa quickly, swallowing the words endings;
• Cannot repeat an adult phrase.

By the age of 5 the child’s organs of speech are finally maturated, and lips, palate and tongue adapt to heavy sounds, and only the child’s ringing voice reveals his/her age. Therefore, if you notice psycho-speech delays symptoms of your child do not hesitate and consult a neuropathologist as soon as possible. In this case, the sooner you start the treatment, the better results you will achieve.

What to do if the child does not speak sentences? Psycho-speech delay treatment

First of all let’s repeat you need to contact a therapist to establish the exact diagnosis and treatment order.

The “Bersenev’s Medical Center” provides an integrated treatment of childs’ psycho-speech delay. Our medical center’s experts have an individual program for each child of SPD treatment and correction. The program includes a complex of rehabilitation activities conducted by a pediatric neurologist, a massage therapist, and a speech therapist. Parents and  psychologist are also involved in the treatment.

One of the main parents’ tasks is to eliminate the ground, which caused a speech delay (first of all, it concerns families with an unfavorable climate). Very important moments during the treatment are attentiveness to the child, moral support and patience, since the correction of PSD is a complicated and meticulous process.

Try to give more attention to your child and do the developing exercises with him/her. Playing with a kid try to pronounce all the words, and try to make the child see your face and your articulation. Speak simple sentences; add short words-actions to the words of your child’s friends: “Give, mommy,” “Give, dolly and so on. This will help the child to understand gradually the algorithm for constructing elementary sentences.

Do not forget that the level of speech development in children directly depends on development degree of fine finger movements, so it is important to develop small motor skills in small children.

Except performing special exercises, you can turn your child to drawing, modeling, applique, etc., combining finger practice with child’s general development.

PSD treatment is a long process, but if you timely appeal to the doctor and follow all the doctor’s recommendations, you will achieve good result in your child’s perfect speech in future.

You can make an appointment for a consultation with a pediatric neurologist by calling the contact center (044) 238-22-31 or by calling the children’s department (044) 272-11-82.