We will have to start, even in the simplest way, by defining language as a set of signs and sounds that humans have used and that distinguishes us from other species in order to communicate with other individuals. Through language, we can express both what we feel and what we think.
It is one of our best means of communication, facilitating early social interactions and promoting learning. However, there are key periods and a series of stages for language development. The first three years of life are the most intense period for acquiring speech and language skills. These skills develop best when a child is consistently exposed to a world full of images, sounds, and the speech and language of others. There are key periods in the development of speech and language in babies and young children. During these times, the brain is more capable of absorbing language. If a child is not exposed to language during this time, it will be more difficult for them to learn it. Overall, the brain will be predisposed to learning intensely and flexibly until around the age of seven.
The baby shows the first signs of communication when they realize that crying gets them food, comfort, and company. Newborns also begin to recognize important sounds around them, such as the voice of their mother or caregiver. As they grow, babies begin to distinguish the speech sounds that make up the words of their language. By six months of age, most babies recognize the basic sounds of their native language. It should be known that not all children develop speech and language skills in the same way and time, but all children follow a natural progression or a series of stages to master language skills.
The main stages in language acquisition.
In a very generic way, we could mention:
Pre-linguistic (from 0 to 12 months), proto-conversations appear (Proto-imperatives: the child wants something and directs themselves with gestures or with their gaze towards their objective).
Proto-declaratives: the child transmits a feeling.
Linguistic (from 12 months onwards), highlighting the word-phrase period (from 12 to 24 months), more comprehensive than expressive capacity, holophrases emerge, they pronounce all the vowels and simple phonemes (p, b, m, n).
The Simple Sentence Stage (from 2 to 6 years).
- From 2 to 3 years, telegraphic sentences emerge, symbolic play (between 3 and 4 years they have usually acquired t, k, d, g, ñ, l and are able to produce the diphthongs ie, ue, ua),
- From 4 onwards, social language appears, they begin to move away from egocentrism, control the grammatical structure (between 4 and 5 years children already pronounce f, s, ch, ll, j, z).
- At 5 and 6 years, most children pronounce the “r” and the sinfones fl, pl, bl, cl, gl, br, fr, pr, cr, gr, tr, dr.
As mentioned before, the rates of language acquisition vary in children, but you have to be attentive and not settle for a well-known phrase that is “they will speak eventually”. That attitude has led to some children in need seeking help late and early intervention being delayed.
Language and speech disorders are a relatively frequent pathology in childhood.
They have a prevalence close to 5-8% in preschoolers and 4% in school children. Their greatest importance lies in the fact that they alter the child’s ability to communicate with their parents and peers. In the school stage, speech and language disorders can be associated with difficulties in learning to read and write, poor school performance, and secondarily with disorders in the behavioral and emotional sphere.
It is indicated that we clarify the difference between language and speech disorders.
The former include problems understanding what others say (receptive language) or difficulty sharing ideas (expressive language). Specific language impairment, SLI, or dysphasia, is a restriction that postpones the mastery of language skills. Some children with a specific language impairment may start talking around the age of three or four and with an evolution without progress. Simple language delay consists of the acquisition of language being chronologically delayed, but evolving adequately (meeting milestones in an appropriate way) and not compromising comprehension. Aphasia, or acquired language impairment, in which a normal previous development is observed, and subsequently alterations in comprehension and/or expression.
Speech disorders are alterations that can affect articulation, phonology, voice and/or fluency. Speech, language, and attention difficulties often coexist. The most frequent are dyslalia (disorder of the ability to articulate or pronounce phonemes correctly), dysarthria (difficulty articulating sounds and words, problems controlling or coordinating the muscles used to speak), dysglossia (pronunciation disorder caused by physical injuries or malformations), dysphemia or stuttering (disorder characterized by stumbles, spasms and repetitions).
No less important are the alterations of the phono-articulatory organs that can generate difficulties in language acquisition. The main ones are hypoacusis, either conduction (usually secondary to effusive otitis media, and more rarely to agenesis of the middle ear) or sensorineural (secondary to neonatal asphyxia, ototoxicity, metabolic diseases, CNS tumors, genetic cause). Dysglossia or alteration of the phono-articulatory organs, which causes speech and language disorder, for example cleft lip, cleft palate. Dysarthria or difficulty in the pronunciation of words of neurological etiology.
How to observe your children or students to obtain information about their educational needs
If as a parent you are worried because you have seen singularities in your child’s speech and language that do not conform to the norm for their age, you can use the dide tool with which, in a simple way and by observation, without the intervention of the child, you can collect the information you require about articulation and pronunciation, language acquisition, language development, and 32 other indicators of great utility to elaborate the real profile of your child’s needs in all its areas (developmental and social, emotional and behavioral, educational and learning), being able to start using the dide tool from 2 to 18 years.
At the end of the dide pass you will obtain an automatic report with the results that, if they indicate it to you, you can take to your pediatrician and that, if they value it and decide it is convenient, the child can be examined by a speech therapist, phoniatrist or audiologist, but you will already provide them with valuable data with the dide report to help your child. You will also have something very important with dide, a guidelines report on how to treat your child until they obtain a diagnosis and an intervention, if that is the case.
If you are an education or psychology professional (teacher, educational counselor, speech therapist, PT…) and you have any doubts or uncertainties about the evolution and development in any of the areas that concern your students, do not think about it anymore, take the dide test, (you have two free studies), invite other adults who know the child, whether from the family or from the school, to participate in the digital structured interviews. In real time you will have detailed information about the minors, it will be the starting point for an early and effective detection.
