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SpeechandLanguageDisorders Speechdisabilitiesincludethemoreeasily‐recognizedstutteringtothemorecomplex"apraxia."Apraxiaisaneurologicaldisorderthatcausesaninabilitytotalkbasedonthemotorplanningandcoordinationinvolved.Languagedisabilitiescanbeexpressive(whatonesaysorwrites)orreceptive(whatonehears).Theyincludelanguage‐basedlearningdisabilitiesandselectivemutism(whenthechilddoesnotspeakinspecificsituations).Childrenwhoexperiencelanguage‐basedlearningdisabilitiesmayexhibitproblemsinfindingawordandsay"um"alot,havedifficultyunderstandingandfollowingwrittenorspokendirections,andconfuseleftandrightwhilereadingandwritingormixuptheorderofnumbersandletters.Speechandlanguagedisabilitiesimpactone'sacademic,behavioral,andsocialrelationships.

Recommendations

1.Consultwithaspeech/languagetherapist(alsoknownasaspeech/languagepathologist,orSLP)whoisabletoevaluatechildrenifyounoticespeechand/orlanguageconcernssuchasstutteringorlisping,difficultybreathingorswallowing,weakmusclesaroundthemouth,hoarseness,difficultyunderstandingorprocessinglanguage,difficultyputtingwordstogether,limitedvocabulary,oraninabilitytouselanguageinasocially‐appropriateway.

2.Bepatienttoallowyourchildthetimerequiredtoproducethenecessarysoundswithoutbecomingself‐consciousortoodiscouragedtotry.

3.Encouragedialogueathome,wherechildrenaremostcomfortable,andrefrainfromaskingthemtospeakbeforestrangersiftheyarenotcomfortabledoingso.

4.Resourceteachersinschoolsarebestequippedtohelpchildrenwithlanguage‐basedlearningdisorders.Theycanemployavarietyoftechniques,suchastheuseofspecificreadingprogramsforchildrenwithreadingdisabilitiessuchasdyslexia.

5.Modeltheprocessofverbalizingyourthoughts.Oneexampleistodoasetofchoreswithyourchildandnarrateyourperspectiveoneachstepoftheprocess.Usingspeechnotonlytodescribewhatyouaredoing,butalsotheassociatedfeelings,mayalsobehelpfulforthechild.Thisgiveschildrenwhomayhavedifficultyexpressingthemselvesavocabularyfordescribingtheirfeelings.

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6.Encourageyourchildtosing.Singingallowschildrentolearnnewwords,addsomerhythmandcadencetotheirverbalexpression,andmayhelpinpronouncingnewwords.

7.Teach,butdonotpressure,yourchildtousespeechinanappropriatefashion.Forexample,ifyourchildmakesamistakeinhis/herverbalcommunicationwithyou,donotforcethechildtocorrectitonthespot,butcorrectitforherwhileresponding.Forexample,ifyourchildstates,"Igotoschoollater,"youmightrespondbysaying,"Youaregoingtoschoollater?"tohelpthechildlearnthebestwaytoexpressherself.

8.Childrenwithmildspeechandlanguagedifficultiesareoftenoverlookedbyschoolsystemsandteachers.Itmaybehelpfultoconsultwithyourchild'steacherandwiththespeechandlanguagespecialistinyourchild'sschooltodeterminewhetheranevaluationorspeechtherapyisappropriate.Giventheimportanceofspeech‐and‐languageissuesforachild'soveralllearning,itisveryimportanttoaddressthisasearlyaspossible.

BooksDougherty,DorothyP.(2005).TeachMeHowtoSayItRight:HelpingYourChildwithArticulationWitArticulationProblems.Oakland,CA:NewHarbingerPublications.Feit,Debbie.(2007).TheParentsGuidetoSpeechandLanguageProblems.NewYork,NY:McGraw‐Hill.McAleer,Hamaguchi.(2001).ChildhoodSpeech,Language,andListeningProblems:WhatEveryParentShouldKnow.NewYork,NY:Wiley.Schetz,KatherineF.andStuartKentCassell.(1994).TalkingTogether:AParent'sGuidetotheDevelopment,Enrichment,andProblemsofSpeechandLanguage.Blacksburg,VA:PocahontasPress.Websites

LearningWorksforKids.(www.learningworksforkids.com):Thepremiersiteforexecutivefunctioninformation,itprovidesawealthofup‐to‐datetipsandrecommendationsforchildrenwithalltypesofdisordersanddisabilities.

AmericanSpeech‐Language‐HearingAssociation.(http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/ChildSandL.htm):ThissiteprovidesinformationregardingChildhoodApraxiaofSpeech,OrofacialMyofunctionalDisorders,SpeechSoundDisorders:ArticulationandPhonologicalProcesses,Stuttering,andmore.

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UniversityofMichiganHealthSystem.(http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/speech.htm):Thisgivesparentstipsonhelpingtheirchildtodeveloplanguageandtocommunicateinalternativeways.AmericanSpeech‐Language‐HearingAssociation.(http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/Parent‐Stim‐Activities.htm):Thissitelistssomeactivitiestoencouragespeechandlanguagedevelopmentinchildrenagesnewbornto6yearsold.ChildDevelopmentInstitute.(http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/disorders/children_with_communication_disorders.shtml):Thisisabriefquestion‐and‐answerguideforparentsofchildrenwithcommunicationdisorders.