Speech Skills

At three-and-a-half Alexander really didn’t have any words, while other kids his age were little chatterboxes. He should have been forming full sentences and telling stories by that age. He was able to communicate with signs and gestures that only I seemed to understand. As weeks and weeks passed with only few recognizable sounds my husband and I started to panic.

Eventually, we decided that there was a problem and enrolled Alex at The Speech and Stuttering Institute in Toronto. He was placed into a program that ran two times a week for nine weeks.

His Speech Language Pathologist (Melissa Moshal) determined that he had a motor speech disorder. She worked diligently with Alex using a variety of techniques that make The Speech and Stuttering Institute so well known. She had him carefully watch and listen to her, say new sounds and words slowly and then use them over and over again in many different activities. Melissa also used, PROMPT, a system where she put her hands on Alex’s face to help him feel the muscles and movements needed to form sounds and words.

We noticed significant improvements in Alex’s speech each week; we could hear the progress. He loved the classes (which came with their fair share of homework). Games, reading and arts and crafts really made the experience interactive and memorable. 

People used to talk through me to connect with Alex but now they speak directly to him. As a mother, I am so proud to see the progress he’s making and the relationships it’s allowing him to develop. He’s becoming more independent and confident. We are blown away by what he knows and what he absorbs. 

This past year would have been so different had Alex not received the help he required to develop his speech. 

“A child with a speech disorder has difficulty producing the sounds of language,” says Margit Pukonen, Director of the Speech Program at The Speech and Stuttering Institute. He or she may also have language difficulties. This means the child may have trouble understanding everything that is said and/or find it challenging to combine words together to express ideas. Approximately one in ten children has speech/language difficulties. 

Below are warning signs that your preschooler might have a speech issue:

 S/he is not talking.

Your child is missing sounds.

Your child is putting sounds in the wrong places. 

Here are some signs that your preschooler may have a language problem:

Your child is using immature grammar (“Me want” instead of “I want”).

S/he has difficulty finding words.

S/he gets information in the wrong order.

 
Learning is all about the brain making connections, and children need certain conditions to excel. “They need to be emotionally engaged (doing something they enjoy), calm, in good health and alert,” says Margit. Here are some things you can do if you believe there might be a problem:

See a Speech Language Pathologist. They will assess your child and determine whether there is a problem and the nature of it.

Speak at a slower rate, so the child hears clear models of words, sentences and speech sounds.

Use short, simple sentences, so that the child can tune into what you are saying.

Repeat and restate words that they have trouble with.

If you are concerned about your preschool child, contact your local Preschool Speech and Services System. Follow the links to early childhood and speech and language program locations. For a listing of Speech Language Pathologists in private practice across Ontario, contact the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.