It is language that provides children with a mechanism for social interaction and communication with one another. Efficient language skills are crucial for both academic as well as occupational success.
- In order to understand what constitutes language disorders in children, it is necessary to first understand normal language development. Language development in children depends on several factors e.g. intelligent quotient, attention span, hearing abilities as well as level and extent of interaction with caretakers. Moreover, a child's behavior, psychology, play skills and socio-emotional status all act as crucial contributing factors to his / her language development.
- Clinicians use language developmental milestones as a general guide or frame of reference to guide their expectations about the language characteristics of children at certain chronological ages. Additionally, theories of language development provide the foundational underpinnings for assessment and treatment of children with language problems.
- Language difficulties are caused by and associated by several factors such as specific language impairment, global delay, pervasive developmental disorders and brain injury.
- Children with language delay and disorders have limited language skills. Both the ability to understand spoken language and produce speech may be impaired in these children. Children with these impairments cannot interact, in their families, communities, or cultures, in a manner consistent with that of their peers or with societal expectations. Throughout their lives, children with language disorders find themselves at a disadvantage in personal, academic and occupational settings.
- Language is an important element for the learning process to occur
- Some school-age children have language difficulties
- Some of the children having language difficulties can develop learning disabilities in the future
- Language is a code whereby ideas are expressed. It is a form of social behavior that is maintained & shaped by a verbal community.
- Language skills involve receptive skills; the ability to understand spoken language, expressive skills; the ability to speak and pragmatic skills; the ability to use language in different situations.
- To adequately develop language, the child has to have intact mental abilities (Intelligent Quotient / IQ) and normal hearing. He has to be surrounded by a language-stimulating environment.
- Some authors believe that language acquisition is an innate specification that human beings are born with whereas others believe that language is not inherited but acquired through learning.
- First 6 months: Produces biological crying to fulfill his physiological needs such as hunger, watches adults’ faces while speaking to him, startles in response to loud noises, turns to where a sound is coming from, imitates some vowels such as /o/, /a/, smiles and laughs in response to adults’ smiles and laughs
- 7 months Produces and imitates more sounds. Babbling appears; a string of consonants and vowels e.g. /bababa/
- 8-9 months Makes different cries to express different needs, smiles and laughs more frequently, responds to a telephone ringing or a knock at the door and understands when being told “no”
- 10-12 months Gets what he wants through pointing, tries to reach others to get picked up, enjoys being around people, instantly turns head to own name, frequently produces varied babbling e.g. /babamamadada/ and understands up to 10 words e.g. “bye” and “hot”. In some children, first words start to appear
- 1 year old Follows simple instructions such as "Clap your hands", looks across the room to a toy when an adult points at it, produces 3-5 single separate words, and waves bye.
- 1; 06 years old Understands the meaning of “in-out-off-on” with some help, points to more than 2 body parts, uses at least 20 words, responds with words or gestures to simple questions, points to pictures using one finger and produces more jargon (unintelligible string of words).
- 2 years old Follows 2 sequential directions that are related to each other e.g. "get the juice and drink it", uses at least 2 pronouns "I, me", uses up to 150-300 words, produces phrases of two words, engages in 1-2 turn dialogues and enjoys being around other children. Half of his speech is clear enough.
- 2; 06 years old Understands the concepts of “big – small- more- less", recognizes familiar logos, uses more than 350 words, uses more verbs, speaks in 3-word sentences, expresses negation using "No", easily follows two-step directions and masters some speech sounds such as /k/ and /g/
- 3 years old Uses 900-1000 words, speaks in 4-word sentences, uses conjunctions such as "and", uses common comparatives such as "bigger", masters some sounds such /f/and /s/, talks about past events. Most of his speech is clear to strangers.
- 4 years old Follows 3 order commands, begins to understand the concept of “before” and “after”, “in front of” and “behind”, uses past tense and negative forms more readily, masters more pronouns, properly forms questions, masters the /sh/ sound and tells stories
- 5-6 years old Appropriately uses future tense to speak about upcoming events and follows complicated commands e.g. "Put your red book on the table before you go to the bathroom and brush your teeth". His listening comprehension and storytelling are well-developed by this age.
- By 7 years old All grammatical rules, speech sounds and conversational skills are mastered. The child can introduce a topic, sustain it, end or switch it. He can use language for different purposes such as promising, warning, or telling jokes.
- 8 years old At 8 years, language is completely developed. It is almost like adults' language. Afterwards, language continues to develop other routes such as reading and daily life interactions.
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