How to Tell If Your Child Has Speech Defects

Speech delays in children can be one of the mostrespond to basic commands like pointing to certain
worrisome concerns parent can have over theirparts of the face.
toddlers. Up to a certain age, speech and pronunciationAt age three, children graduate to using plurals and
lapses can turn out to be funny and cute but therepast tenses and can identify more body parts apart
comes a point when too much of it at an older agefrom the face. They should be able to say three word
becomes an issue of concern.sentences and increase their vocabulary to about a
Early speech development is essential to thethousand words. The way they speak should also be
development of effective communication with childrenunderstood 90 percent of the time. A child should also
and is quite necessary for his success at school. If yoube capable of identifying his or her gender, name and
are not quite sure of the correct speech developmentage.
a normal child should have, you can request speechAt four years old, a child begins to know the name of
testing in pre-schools where you send your toddlers to.familiar animals and can readily name objects in
Likewise, you can be guided by some generalpictures and books. Colors should become familiar to
guidelines when it comes to identifying normal speechthem and they should be able to count up to ten. This
development. It helps to recognize the milestones youis also where a child begins to participate in pretend
should see taking place depending on the age of aplay and relate well to other children of the same age.
child.A year later, there should be remarkable
A two-year old should be able to associate certaindevelopments especially as they enter a regular
words with objects in his or her surroundings. So theschool. Adjectives and comparison should come easy
first words you should be hearing are mom, dad, bed,to the five-year-old and their speech is generally
car, ball and most easy to pronounce toy names. Theygrammatically correct by this time.
should also be able to put two words together, usuallyIf at any point you notice some delay or lack in the
a noun and a verb like daddy go or mommy sleep.speech development of your child, it helps much to
You should be able to understand what your child isconsult with the experts so proper motivation or
saying more than half of the time, even if toddlerstherapy can be implemented. There are late bloomers
have the tendency to switch letters at this age. A twojust as there are early starters, so it is best to seek
year-old's vocabulary generally consists of about 150professional assessment to give you peace of mind.
to 200 simple words. They should also be able to