By the time the baby is born, you are ready to communicate with the world around you. At the beginning he will do it by crying, looking and smiling, but little by little he will be taking important steps that will help him lay the foundations of language, and begin to pronounce his first words.
We have talked with Mar Becher, speech therapist and psychologist at the CRL Clinic, about problems that may occur during the language acquisition process in the childhood. In his experience, these are the nine signs that should put us on alert.
1) Less than ten intelligible words before two years
Throughout the first year of life, the first words meaningful and intentional. They are everyday and simple words composed of two syllables. By 18 months, most children have acquired between 50 and 100 words, by 20 months 200 words and by 2 years between 400 and 600 words.
Although each child has its own rhythm when it comes to acquiring in language, the expert recommends consulting with the pediatrician if between the first year and a half of life and the two years, the child says less than ten intelligible words.
In Babies and more My baby still does not speak, should I worry?2) Less than 50 words or no sentences, before three years
Between two and three years of life, the child already has an extensive vocabulary composed of about 1,500 words, and is able to use phrases of three elements with a structure of name + verb + name (for example, "baby eats bread").
The speech therapist recommends that in this age range, the child use less than 50 words or there are no sentences of at least two words, we must consult with the pediatrician for an evaluation.
3) There is no social smile
During the first month, the baby smiles spontaneously and can even do so while sleeping. It is a reflection of the newborn, also known as angelic smile. But the first really full smile is the social smile.
In Babies and more Emotional education in the first months of life: how to stimulate your babyThis occurs in response to a stimulus from the father or mother, and is considered as the first two-way communication between the two. Little by little, as a courtesy response, the baby will begin to smile at anyone who dedicates a smile or a few words, but as he grows, his smiles will become more selective.
In short, the smile is one of the first social behaviors related to emotions that appear in the baby, so the expert recommends consulting with the pediatrician if we perceive absence of this.
4) Avoid eye contact when speaking
Establishing eye contact when we feed our baby or talk to him is essential for proper brain development, in addition to laying the foundations for communication between them.
And is that look into the other person's eyes while talking with her It is a fundamental aspect of nonverbal communication, which is why Mar Becher recommends that we consult with the specialist if we perceive that our son avoids looking at us when he talks to us.
5) Does not accept physical contact
Caresses, massages and hugs are a way of manifesting love for our children, but also, science has shown that it has important benefits for their physical, cerebral and emotional development, in addition to calming them and helping them relax.
In Babies and more According to science, hugging your baby not only has numerous benefits for him, but also for youUsually, children raising in environments where they receive affection, respect and physical contact, they accept caresses and hugs willingly. But it may happen that through shyness, independence or as part of another phase in their development, they go through times when they avoid or reject physical contact.
If this happens, we should never force him to hug or kiss, and if his attitude worries us, the expert recommends consulting with the pediatrician.
6) Show certain attitudes to the game
The game is fundamental in childhood, and necessary for your physical, mental and emotional development. The child begins to play practically from birth, and as it grows, the game will evolve from the functional stage, to the symbolic game and then the rules.
But the way the child plays since he is a baby can also give us a clue when assessing certain problems. In this way, Mar advises us to consult with the pediatrician if we perceive the following signals:
- His game is stereotyped and routine
- Always use the same objects or use them in the same way
- Show an obsessive order trend
- He is obsessed with toys that emit certain sounds or certain games / toys with repetitive movements (wheels that move, marbles that fall down a slide ...)
7) Does not understand gestural language
When we talk, verbal language is accompanied by nonverbal language or gestures that give more intensity to words. Through observation, the child is internalizing that gestural language and when he begins to need to communicate but has not yet reached the ability to produce words, gestures are helped to make himself understood.
Therefore, as an essential part of the communication process, the expert advises to consult with the pediatrician if we believe that our child has difficulties in understanding gestural language and, therefore, to develop it through imitation.
8) Shows joint disorders and phonological delay
Mar explains that we should consult with a specialist if from the age of three we perceive that our child has difficulties in articulating words, as well as a phonological delay:
"From the age of three, language disorders such as dyslalia may persist, which is the difficulty for the correct pronunciation of some phonemes that, due to evolutionary development, should already be acquired and generalized in the child's spontaneous language (ex: la / k /, the / r / simple) ".
"If those problems remain, it would be necessary to consult with a speech therapist who determines whether the problem can be evolutionary or deviates from the normative parameters of development."
9) Shows difficulty in building complex sentences
Sometimes the language delay can also occur at the morphosyntactic level, which refers to the grammar or structure of the different parts of speech that are presented in a sentence. When the child is unable to construct coherent sentences (composed of subject, verb and predicate) or the complexity of the sentences does not increase as the child grows, it is necessary to consult with an expert.
The early detection of any problem related to the development of language properly and the early start of a rehabilitative treatment is key to avoid subsequent complications. But in addition, parents can stimulate the language of our children with simple exercises and games.
Mar insists that "there are no lazy children when it comes to speaking," so in case of doubt it is best to consult an expert as soon as possible to make an assessment.Photos | iStock, Pixabay
Acknowledgments | CRL Rehabilitation Clinic
