1. Lisping
Children in the initial months of speech development often do not pronounce words clearly. Lisping or substitution defect (e.g. ‘th’ for V) is a common, normal developmental phenomenon, which is considered abnormal only if it persists beyond the age of 5 years.
2. Stuttering
Many children stutter to some extent. The pronunciation is not clear plus there may be a pause and repetition of the syllables without further words of the sentence forthcoming for a while. The young child is not conscious of this non-fluency or repetitions. A child’s vocabulary is limited and his expression power in combining words to form sentences, particularly long ones, is limited. As a result, the words seem to come out in an outpour, albeit brokenly. This is because, in his mind, the child has something to narrate but while putting these thoughts into words, he is not that fast and smooth.
He has to “search in his mind” for the words to express himself. This is a normal phenomenon and parents should not be concerned if the speech of their child is not fluent and smooth initially. If parents have noticed, stuttering increases when the child is excited about something and eager to tell them some narration, which he considers funny and interesting. He bubbles along, repeating in an effortless manner.
This is a normal phenomenon till the age of 3-4 years. This phase usually remains for 6-12 months after which it passes off, provided parents don’t pay any attention to it and don’t show concern or anxiety about it. Parents should not be bothered about it, as it is a transient condition, occurring in many children and which they outgrow with time. Parents feel that there is something wrong with the tongue whenever the child has any speech difficulties. But tongue-tie has got nothing to do with.
However, persistence of stuttering beyond 4 years of age is not normal and is then referred to as “stammering.” It can persist in adulthood also. An adult suffering from stammering is very aware and conscious of his speech and any situation, which makes him tense, nervous or more self-conscious, aggravates the condition.This is usually due to mishandling of the earlier situation (i.e. stuttering).
Things to do (for stuttering)
i. Give him the attention he deserves when he is speaking to you. Do listen with patience and understanding because he is telling you something that he considers important.
ii. Let him finish what he is saying, no matter how much difficulty he is having.
iii. Eliminate as much as possible the causes of tension and frustrations in his daily routine. Maintain a calm and relaxed atmosphere at home. This can be done by slowing down your own pace and by handling routine things in an easy and unhurried manner.
iv. Try to speak more slowly, clearly and calmly to him. If you speak in short, simple sentences and at a slower tempo, he will find it that much easier to achieve fluency. If you are relaxed and unhurried, he is apt to feel more relaxed when he is speaking to you.
v. Sometimes a playmate or another adult may bring to the child’s notice his way of speaking. Should this happen and the child ask his parents for guidance, the parents should reassure him by saying that everyone gets entangled while speaking once in a while if they are excited or talking very fast, and that there is nothing wrong with him.
Things to avoid
i. Don’t make him self-conscious or give it the label of “stuttering” or any other label. Once the child’s speech is “labelled”, it means to him that something is wrong with him.
ii. Never discuss in his presence the “trouble” he is having with his speech.
iii. Try to avoid becoming anxious about his speech. Most children go through this phase. Anxiety can be transmitted to the child and remember a child’s perception and understanding that something is amiss is very acute.
iv. When he speaks to you, your facial expression should be deadpan and not a give away clue that you are in some way bothered about his way of speaking.
v. Do not ask the child “to speak more slowly”, “take a deep breath etc.” In fact do not make any suggestions. vi. Do not reward him for periods of fluency, neither force him to repeat something that he has got “entangled” with.
vii. Do not ridicule him, because this will lead to a lowering of his self-esteem and confidence, which will only worsen the problem.