Speech Therapy For Your Children When You Are Living Abroad
Evie Oman, MSc, CCC-SLP
Can you always understand what your child is saying? Does your child's teacher tell you they have trouble understanding your child? Is your child not as talkative as other children their age? Are you worried that he or she may have a speech problem, or that you might not find a high-quality speech therapist abroad?
Deciding If Your Child Needs Speech Therapy
In general, all children can learn to talk. Knowing about the stages of language acquisition can help you determine if your child is developing these skills appropriately. During the first five years of children's lives, most children will pass through the same stages while learning to talk.
Cooing and babbling heralds the one-word phase (by about one year of age), the one-word stage graduates to the two-word level (two years of age), then two becomes three. At the same time, children learn and refine the grammar and perfect their pronunciation. They learn how to manipulate the language in a wide range of social situations. Most five year olds should talk like little adults. These language development charts help you understand more about different milestones to look for across the various age groups.
Parents who suspect a speech or language delay (or disorder) are advised to first talk to their pediatrician. Parents might also then consult a speech therapist, who can guide them in determining whether their child is on track for language development.
A Speech Delay/Disorder versus a Language Delay/Disorder
A child with a speech disorder has difficulty pronouncing some or several speech sounds. A child with a language disorder can have difficulty with either expressing themselves, or understanding (comprehending) what is said. Or they might have trouble with both comprehension and expressive language skills. Some children have a concurrent speech disorder with a language disorder.
What Exactly Is A Speech Therapist?
Speech language pathologists, also called speech therapists or speech language therapists, are specialists educated and trained to evaluate and treat persons with disorders that affect their speech, language, voice, fluency, cognition and swallowing.
A qualified speech language pathologist can determine the nature and severity of a speech-language delay or disorder. A treatment plan is created specific to the needs of that individual which may include: exercises to improve the agility of the muscles involved in speech; exercises to enhance voice production; tasks involving instruction, modeling and imitation of desired behaviors; educating the patient and their family; and/or referral to other specialists if necessary.
A speech language pathologist can help a person who:
Cannot produce speech sounds or cannot produce them clearly;
Has trouble understanding what is said to them;
Has trouble producing language and expressing themselves;
Has difficulty reading;
Has difficulty writing;
Stutters;
Wishes to improve their spoken language by modifying an accent; and/or
Has attention, memory and problem solving difficulties.
Finding an English-Speaking Speech Therapist Abroad
"Two years ago Mark's preschool teacher informed his parents that his language skills were a little delayed compared to those of his peers. Because his parents could not find resources locally to help him, they hoped Mark would "catch up"with time. Currently, Mark doesn't always understand what is said to him, and his teacher can't always follow what it is he's trying to say. Mark's parents realize his need for a speech therapist but they still cannot access one locally."
If you are looking for a high-quality, English-speaking speech therapist abroad, one option is to ask for referrals from friends who you trust and who might understand your child's culture and background.
A second option would be to ask coordinators at international schools (who may have a speech language pathologist onsite, or who at least should know of one/some in your local community).
A third option would be to consider using the online delivery model for speech therapy. Online speech therapy services can occur one-to-one, over the internet (at school or at home) in real time, and your child's therapist can move with you virtually, wherever your family might move to next.
Talking To Your Child to Promote Language Development
There are many things you can do to promote your child's language development. Babies are born ready to learn language, but your baby relies on you to provide the opportunities for learning that language.
In the first several months, hold your baby close. Their eyes can focus on objects about eight inches from their face – the distance between your face and their face when holding them in your arms. Talk softly, whisper and talk normally. Repeat the little noises that your child makes with their throat and mouth.
At about two to four months, imitate your child's vocalizations. Let them watch you sound out the p and b and m sounds. Some of the first speech sounds are those that they can see you make – your baby can see you bring your lips together when you say the p, b and m sounds. Imitate their cooing and squealing.
From about six to twelve months, you will hear lots of vocalizations. Imitate what your child says, or pretend you understand and respond to them. Your baby's vocalizations now have a purpose. If their babbling has sounds that might represent something in the immediate environment, respond using that real word. Make your speech more sing-song and rhythmic. Slower speech also aids in the language learning process.
One to two years: Sometime around your baby's first birthday they will say their first real word. Your child will begin to vocalize more words. Name the objects in their environment that they comes into contact with – their socks, their shoes, the tissue, water, spoon, fork, the foods they are eating, the foods you eat and so on. Your child should begin to understand words for body parts and clothing, but only if you use them and incorporate those words into your interactions with him.
At about two years of age, your child should begin to put two words together. Talk to your child in simple two and three word sentences, almost like telegraphic speech. When they say something you cannot understand, consider the context in which it was said, try to interpret it, and then have a small conversation with them about it.
Between two and three, you will notice that they will be able to follow two-step commands, such as "Get the book and bring it to Mommy please″.Knowing that they will be able to hold two pieces of information in their mind and perform upon them, create situations for your child to practice and learn this skill. Expand their vocabulary by using new words that they may not know. Use more verbs in your speech. Talk to your child in complete but simple sentences. Prior to this you were using telegraphic speech, such as "Mommy eat cookie"and "Sarah go night-night". Because your child will be learning simple grammar in this phase, use correct grammar when talking to them, but remember to keep your sentences simple. For example, "Mommy eats a cookie"and "Sarah goes night-night".
From three to six years of age, continue to explain and describe what you see, what you are doing and why. Your child will begin to ask interesting questions, especially the beloved..."Why?" Explain as best you can. If you do not know the answer to something, look it up. Let them sit on your lap while you find the answer on the Internet or in the dictionary. Show them that you can find words in a book. Read some of the words out loud. They may not understand, so simplify it so they can comprehend and be part of the process.
At this age, your child's language becomes more sophisticated. Avoid "baby talk"and use correct sentence structure, but remember to start with simple sentences and over the next two to three years, increase the complexity of your conversations. When your child uses a word in the wrong way, they are typically testing how to use it. Model the correct usage of the word in sentences so they can hear how it is should be used.
Always remember to provide your child with plenty of opportunities to learn language by talking to them as much as possible.
Helping Your Child Be 'Ready To Read'
Unlike learning to talk, most children are not born 'ready to read'. They will need your help to teach them about letters, words and books. Not only will your child's speech-language skills impact their ability to read, their pre-literacy skills will also bear heavily on their reading success. As a parent, you will want to assess two things: first that your child is learning to talk; and second, that they are learning pre-reading skills.
Pre-literacy, pre-reading and emergent literacy all essentially mean the same thing. A child in the emergent phase is learning about print and sound. They will be developing oral language, alphabet knowledge, print awareness, phonological awareness (awareness of spoken sound and how these sounds are blended together to form words), and emergent writing skills.
Strong emergent literacy skills are a very good predictor of reading success. But children need to be taught pre-literacy skills. Create situations and take advantage of opportunities to talk about pictures, letters, sounds, words, symbols, signs and books. Remember that teaching does not always mean sitting at a table instructing with paper, pencil and books in hand, you can very easily teach while playing.
The best way to help your child be 'ready to read' is to encourage reading in your home. Make sure there is ample print material that your child can easily reach and absorb. Jump on the opportunity to interact with your child when they show an interest in any type of print. Encourage conversations that go beyond what is written on the page. Start reading to your child even before they begin to talk; it is never too soon.
Final Note
Do as much as you can to encourage the progress of your child's speech, but remember that children all develop at their own individual pace. Keep a loving eye on your child's development and if warranted, consider consulting a qualified speech therapist, at home or abroad, if you would like a second opinion or some one-on-one assistance to help your child.
Best wishes to you and your children!
Evie Oman, MSc, CCC-SLP, speech language pathologist, is the founder of Canto Speech Therapy Online, an organization providing high-quality speech and language therapy services to individuals and families with a wide range of communication issues. Evie started Canto LLC in the 1980's and her company's online service is a viable solution if you cannot find a native English-speaking speech therapist in your locale. If you would like more information about speech therapy online, speech language disorders and/or emergent literacy, please visit Canto Speech Therapy's website here. They look forward to hearing from you and especially to working with you/your child in gaining the skills necessary for effective communication.
© Canto LLC 2010
Submitted by, and published with permission from, Canto LLC |
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September 2010 |
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