Why does a 2 year old child not speak. Why doesn't a two-year-old child speak. This could be, for example

All parents want their beloved children to develop in accordance with age norms. Unfortunately, there are cases when babies have a developmental delay, in particular, a fairly common problem when a child does not speak at 2 years old. In this regard, it is important to understand possible reasons and help your beloved child speak.

There are many factors why a child does not speak at 2 years of age. The most common reasons are the following:

1. Hearing aid malfunction. If the baby is hard of hearing, then, consequently, he has problems with the perception of the speech of other people. When a child has a severe degree, such as deafness, he is unable to speak at all or pronounces words with severe distortion.
2. Hereditary predisposition. It happens that children whose parents started talking late face the same problem. There is nothing surprising in this. But if the baby does not start talking even by the age of 3, then you should be concerned and consult with a specialist.
3. Weakening of the body. Poor speech development can also be caused by the fact that the baby was born prematurely or suffers from a serious pathology that contributes to developmental delay nervous system.
4. Fright or psychological trauma. This is possible, for example, if the child is torn away from the mother too early. You can identify psychological trauma by paying attention to some of the manifestations. Such babies are often frightened, flinching from loud noise, the sight of a person and other things, and also suffer from urinary incontinence.
5. Attention deficit. The fact that parents, due to their employment, pay too little attention to their children, can lead to speech disorders. You should always pay attention when the baby turns, asks for something, you should not ignore him, referring to being busy. As a result, the child can begin to communicate much later than his peers.
6. Excessive custody. But you also should not overdo it with the custody of children. If parents always satisfy the needs of the baby as soon as he wants something, then he no longer needs to talk and explain his needs and desires.

Many parents believe that girls develop a little faster than boys. Accordingly, they should start speaking first. However, there is no scientific evidence to substantiate this opinion. Therefore, do not pay attention to this.

It also happens that children do not want to talk at 2 or even 3 years old, and then start to speak unexpectedly for everyone, and the speech develops very quickly and in a short period of time goes in whole sentences. Therefore, you should not worry if the baby perfectly understands the speech of adults and develops normally in all other directions. Follow the guidelines in this article and be patient.

But be sure to pay attention to the developmental disorders of the child. This can serve as a signal of very serious pathologies.

Diseases of the nervous system as a cause of delayed speech development

The development of the nervous system plays an important role for the whole organism, including for the activity of the speech apparatus. A factor why a child does not speak at 2 years old may be the pathology of this system. There are several forms of speech disorder:

• Dysarthria.
• Aphasia.
• Motor alalia.
• Sensory alalia.

Dysarthria

This violation can occur in moderate, severe and erased degrees. Patients are worried about a confused breathing rhythm, a nasal tone of voice is observed, the pronunciation of sounds is blurred, as if a child is speaking through the nose.

If the baby suffers from a severe form of pathology, then the tone of the facial muscle tissue is disturbed, it becomes too relaxed or, conversely, tense.
The kid is not able to lift his tongue up, stick it out, reach the corners of the mouth. Trembling of the tongue is observed. If the patient tries to hold it, then it acquires a blue tint, and an abundant saliva flow is caused.

In addition, the child's gross and fine motor skills are impaired. He loses the ability to jump, stand on one leg, awkwardness of hands, inability to maintain balance are noticed.

Such an ailment can occur due to asphyxia or birth trauma, damage or the presence of a neoplasm in the brain, a hereditary predisposition to diseases of the central nervous system.

Aphasia

This pathology can also be the reason why the child does not speak at 2 years old. It happens that the baby normally develops hearing and organs of articulation, but there is a violation of speech, which has already begun to form. With aphasia, the child's speech begins to distort, the meaning of phrases is lost, sounds are poorly pronounced.

This pathology can lead to a delay in the intellectual development of the baby. The disorder can occur due to the fact that the child has received a head injury, suffers from a tumor or inflammation of the brain.

Motor Alalia

This disease can manifest itself in various deviations. The child may not speak completely, or may just speak badly, confusing endings, declination, and so on.
With a severe degree, the child cannot speak at 2 years old, although he perceives the speech of an adult. At the same time, the child is not even able to independently position his lips and tongue in the required position.

The reasons for the development of this disorder include damage to the cells of those parts of the brain that are responsible for the activity of the speech apparatus, or a delay in their development due to trauma during childbirth, the transfer of infectious diseases, the negative effect of toxic substances on the fetus during intrauterine development.

Sensory alalia

Children suffering from this pathology do not understand the meaning of the speech of the people around them, they cannot even perceive a separate word... In some cases, the patient has a condition where he speaks poorly, pronouncing words meaninglessly and incoherently. It is also possible that the baby's intellectual development will slow down, irritability, problems with large and fine motor skills will appear.

From all this, it must be concluded that if any of the above symptoms appear, it is necessary to urgently contact a specialist.

These specialists work with children who have impaired or no speech. They recommend that all parents of babies whose speech development is delayed do the following exercises:

• Point your finger at an object, pronouncing its name clearly. Then take the child's hand and touch this object, repeating the word again. It will be much easier for a baby to learn the name of an object if he creates some kind of association with it, for example, that it is cold, smooth, and so on.
• Sit in front of the baby so that he sees the face and reproduce the words. At the same time, it is important to enhance articulation by opening your mouth wider, pulling your lips more strongly. The child will look at the parent and try to repeat what he does and says. This activity will appeal to all kids.
• You can study animals by simplifying the task a little. You should not learn full words, you can first try to study the sounds that the animals make. For example, show the dog and say "Av-av", the cat "Meow, meow" and so on.
• Sing simple songs written especially for little kids. You need to choose a piece of music in which the same words often sound. At the same time, it is necessary to actively articulate. It is important that a 2-year-old child is not indifferent to this song, otherwise he will not want to sing along with you. Singing makes words easier to remember and pronounce.

Doing this every day requires patience. There will certainly be a positive result, but not as soon as we would like it to be.

If a child at 2 years old does not speak, then problems can be worn psychological character... In this regard, it is worth consulting with a psychologist. These experts advise adhering to the following recommendations:

1. To play more often, such as imitating the sounds of animals or nature. For example, you can demonstrate to the kid how the wind blows "uuuuu", at this time to blow on the child. The little one will definitely try to do the same. You can also use this game while bathing by playing the sounds of water.
2. It will be even better if the parents combine physical activity with the study of words. After all, most children do not like to sit still, so they may not be interested in playing with only words. For such active kids, it is recommended to play "Ladushki", show actions from some fairy tale, and so on.
3. You need to constantly talk about everything that is happening around. Even in the process of feeding a child, it is necessary to say what he is given, why it needs to be eaten, and so on. Or sitting in a stroller, talking about what object he sits on, where his mother is now taking him.
4. A good environment for development is one in which other babies are present. Children learn to speak faster by communicating with their peers.
5. Reading children's books is an important activity. In the process, you need to pause, take the attention of the crumbs on those words that are already familiar to him, give the opportunity to pronounce them.
6. Singing lullabies before bed is also a great exercise for those who don't speak well. In this case, you need to slowly stretch the words in the process of singing, so that the baby can assimilate them and pronounce them in the future.
7. It is imperative to develop the child's fine motor skills, which is closely related to the activity of the vocal apparatus. You need to let the baby feel small toys, for example, pebbles, buttons, cereals, and so on. In modern children's stores, you can find a huge number of items made specifically for children to develop fine motor skills.

It is not enough to know the ways that will help develop speech if the child does not want to speak at 2 years old. The most important thing is to make sure that all classes are interesting for the baby himself. Otherwise, he simply will not listen to his parents, thinking that he is being forced to talk.

Parents need to train in the form of a game, show goodwill, demonstrate how fun it is to learn something new. Then the baby will get used to the world around him much faster and will actively take part in his knowledge and sound.

It is worth paying attention to what is happening within the family. An atmosphere should be created so that a child at the age of 2 himself wants to communicate with his parents. You should not patronize your child too much. Children will begin to develop faster if the focus is on the objects of the external world, their properties, and not the child himself.

Also, parents should take a closer look at their baby, perhaps they will be able to choose the most optimal way of developing speech, which will be appropriate in a particular situation. For example, if a child likes to listen to songs, then you need to turn them on more often, then he will be more willing to replenish his vocabulary.

Thus, there are many ways of what to do if a child does not speak at 2 years old. If parents cannot cope with the speech development of their child themselves, then you should not hesitate to visit a specialist. He will develop a special set of exercises that must be performed daily, and will observe the dynamics of the development of the speech apparatus.

Parents are moved by the first conscious "words" of their baby. But the opposite picture is often observed: the child does not speak at a year and does not even make attempts.

Stages and norms of speech development

Since speech is important not only for full-fledged communication, but also has an impact on mental development child (associated with the development of memory, attention, thinking and imagination), it is worth paying close attention to the delay in speech development.

Knowledge of the stages and norms of speech formation helps to identify such a violation.

It is important to remember that the norm is a relative concept, and each child has individual capabilities and characteristics, the time of appearance of certain speech forms can vary in terms of time.

The main stages of development:

• From birth to 1 month life, the baby reacts to the intonation of the speech addressed to him (shows joyful animation, cries). At this time, the first vocal reaction appears - the child screams, and by the second or third month, the cry is distinguished by various intonations.
• From 2nd to 3rd month humming is observed - the toddler makes separate melodious sounds and listens carefully. These sounds are the same for children of any nationality - ah-ah, o-o-o, gu-oo-oo, uh-uh. By the 4th month, the combinations become more complicated, and the baby gradually weeds out combinations of sounds that are unusual for his native language.
• From 4 to 5 months humming turns into babbling - the baby reproduces combinations of syllables, imitating the speech of others. After the 6th month, babbling sounds intensively accumulate and gradually turn into babbling words.
  Important: in case of delayed speech development, babbling appears at a later age, and if there are hearing problems, humming stops.
• From 6 to 10 months “Quantity turns into quality” - the baby repeatedly repeats the same babbling chains of sounds, babbling words also appear, correlated with specific objects and persons (“bb”, “av-av”, etc.). Speech is characterized by emotional expressiveness, there is a reaction to your name. The kid begins to correlate the sound image of the word with the object, reacts to questions (shows the named object, looks in its direction).
• From 10 months to a year words-sentences appear (the word expresses, depending on the situation, a feeling, desire, designates an object).
• From 1 to 3 years old the pace of speech development in a child actively learning about the world is accelerating. The child is interested in how new objects and objects are called and actively uses new words. There are sound distortions, rearrangement of syllables, and difficult to pronounce sounds are skipped. Often, only the initial syllables are used.

It is important - normally, a child of the second year of life is able to pronounce without difficulty the sounds o, n, t ', d', t, d, k, g, x, v, f, and closer to the third one is also d, l ', uh, s'.

Elementary phrasal speech is formed by the age of 2 - the baby is able to combine several simple words in the process of communication (give me a drink, etc.).

At a year and a half, a child's vocabulary is approximately 100 words, at two years old it is about 300, and by the end of an early age it is approximately 1500 words.

The correct use of grammatical categories begins in toddlers after 2.5 years.

Deviations from the norm

Slight deviations from the timing with the preservation of the stages of speech development usually indicate an individual peculiarity of the toddler. It should be remembered that girls usually start talking earlier than boys and like to imitate adults more. The stronger sex is more action oriented; in boys, the first words are often the designations of actions, and sometimes they do not want to repeat after adults.

If the baby does not speak at 2 years of age, but differs little from his peers and perfectly understands what adults want from him, you should not worry too much. Sometimes active speech manifests itself suddenly, and yesterday's silent, with due attention from adults, turns out to be a quite talkative child.

In case of concern, parents should establish the cause of the baby's silence by excluding possible pathology. To this end, you need to contact a pediatrician, the doctor will give referrals to a speech therapist and other narrow pediatric specialists (ENT, neurologist, psychiatrist).

Why isn't a two-year-old child speaking?

All children who do not speak at the age of two can be divided into two groups:

1. Absolutely healthy babies, "keeping silent" due to temperament and other individual characteristics of development.
2. Children with various pathologies that interfere with the normal development of speech.

Often, in the absence of health problems, a baby at 2 years old does not speak in the following situations:

• Speech is unclaimed. This situation occurs both in children left to themselves, and babies suffering from overprotection. Long time The crumbs are silent, for various reasons they do not receive full-fledged communication with their parents - they have neither an example to follow, nor an incentive to develop speech. Adults shaking excessively over the child, practically guessing the child's desires and immediately rushing to fulfill them, stimulate prolonged silence (usually such children have a limited set of words that allow them to manipulate others). Children who are too closely guarded have no need to voice their desires and feelings; they do well with gestures.
• There are stressful situations, fear. Healthy children, who are in an emotionally unfavorable environment, become isolated and silent due to strong stressful experiences (first of all, regular family scandals have a stressful effect on the child). Moving negatively affects the baby at this age, a serious illness requiring inpatient treatment, improper adaptation to kindergarten etc. Particularly acute children of this age perceive separation from their mother.
• The family is bilingual. Although children learn a variety of languages ​​much more easily than adults, the regular use of different names for the same objects makes it difficult for a child to accurately determine which names should be used.
• The child has a negative attitude towards speech. Usually, children with a stubborn, independent character are stubbornly silent and do not respond to requests to say something, to repeat. And the more parents insist, the more withdrawn and silent the child becomes.
• The child has unlimited access to a TV, computer, etc. - in this case, he often perceives speech as a background noise, without separating the parental voices from the stream of sounds.

Pathologies causing delayed speech development

In addition to the above socio-psychological factors, there are also medical reasons. These reasons include:

• Hearing impairment. Hearing is the leading speech analyzer, and various problems with it lead to speech disorders in children. A child who is deaf from birth is not able to master speech on his own. In children with hearing impairment, speech comprehension and reproduction suffer due to impairment of speech perception.
• Limited mobility of the organs of speech that occurs in case of damage to the nervous system (dysarthria) in babies. It appears due to injuries, cerebrovascular accidents, neuroinfections, etc. It is often one of the manifestations of cerebral palsy. Depending on the severity of the pathology, the speech of children is characterized by minor articulation disorders or is practically absent.
• Congenital anomalies development of the maxillofacial region, impeding the development of speech in children.
• Hereditary diseases (familial bradilalia, myasthenia gravis, Down's syndrome, etc.).
• Brain and nervous system pathologies. With organic lesions of the cortical speech centers located in the brain (they are intrauterine or occur during the first years of life), alalia develops, in this case the baby's speech reactions appear late, the vocabulary is poor, the syllable structure and sound pronunciation are impaired. Local organic lesions of the brain lead to the development of aphasia in children, in this case, previously acquired speech skills are lost.

A fairly common reason explaining the silence of a child in the absence of physical pathologies is autism. This is a violation of the development of the nervous system, which is expressed in isolation, weak expression of emotions and active avoidance of the outside world. A slight delay in speech development is also observed in the case of Asperger's syndrome, which resembles autism.

The predisposing factors for the fact that the baby does not speak by the end of 2 years of life are:

• long-term toxicosis, mother's illness during pregnancy;
• too long / rapid labor;
• fetal hypoxia;
• birth trauma in children;
• taking contraindicated medications by the mother during pregnancy.

Helping your child to master speech skills

When a pathology is the cause of the child's prolonged silence, the development of speech should be accompanied by treatment of the underlying disease. Medical / surgical therapy for children is prescribed by doctors of a narrow specialty - a neurologist, psychiatrist, ENT.

Cortexin and other drugs, magnetotherapy, and, in the absence of contraindications, electroreflexotherapy contribute to the activation of the activity of the child's speech zones.

Classes are held with a defectologist, helping to prevent the development of new deviations on an individual basis and correct the existing ones.

Speech therapy massage is also indicated for poorly speaking children.

Sick and absolutely healthy silent people need regular "conversation" sessions with their parents to develop their speech skills, including:

• Articulatory gymnastics.
• Various activities that develop fine motor skills (modeling, finger games, pouring and sorting out small objects, etc.), they stimulate the work of the speech center.
• Slow, with expression, reading (rhythmic speech is more easily perceived by children, give preference to children's poetry), storytelling from pictures.
• Singing children's songs together, playing with imitating the voices of animals, etc. (what you said together, the baby remembers faster).

If, in the event of violations in the baby, the actions of the parents are corrected by a specialist, then what to do and how to get the child to talk, who does not suffer from any pathologies?

If a stubborn independent kid understands, but does not repeat the words after you, do not insist, otherwise he will begin to resist the "imposed" even more. Try to create a situation in which he wants to speak up on his own.

Exercises that contribute to the development of speech are also indicated for an absolutely healthy child.

Komarovsky's opinion

What if a child at 2 years old does not speak? How should parents respond? Are there any teaching methods aimed at developing speech? When does a child say the first word? What specialists should I contact? Read about it in our article.

What time do children start talking?

Usually, by the age of one year, kids confidently pronounce the simplest words: "give", "mom", "baba", "dad". This is the time when the child speaks his first word, even if unconsciously. By the age of two and a half, the child, in theory, should not only replenish his vocabulary, but also learn to put together simple sentences from words: "Give a bear!", "Let's go for a walk!", "Buy a ball!", "Give a pen!" and so on. But what to do if a child at 2 years old does not speak at all or pronounces indistinct sounds that are understandable only to the mother? Why does the baby have “porridge in his mouth” when his peers are already chirping with might and main? Is it worth talking in this case about some kind of backwardness, or is such stubborn silence - just an individual feature? And most importantly - how to teach a toddler who has reached two or three years of age to speak?

Reasons for silence

There are many reasons why a child at 2 years old does not speak.

Hearing impairment. When the baby does not hear very well, then, accordingly, he will perceive the speech of others poorly. In more severe cases (up to deafness), the baby may not speak at all or greatly distort sounds and words in general.

Heredity. If, for example, you yourself uttered the first intelligible words late, then there is nothing strange in the fact that a child does not speak at 2 years old. Although, if the baby has not mastered simple sentences by the age of three, it is worth worrying and examining the child.

Weakening of the body. Prematurity or serious illness, for example, can delay the maturation (development) of the nervous system and, therefore, speech itself.

Hypoxia.

Injuries (including birth).

Strong intoxication.

1. Postponed operation.

   Improper parenting (for example, excessive custody, when the child's wishes are literally foreseen).

   Developmental disorders in general.

There are rumors among parents that girls allegedly begin to walk and talk earlier than boys. In fact, this theory has no substantiated evidence. It happens that a child does not want to speak for two, or even three years, and then suddenly "breaks through" into complete, correctly composed sentences. If the baby perfectly understands what the parents and those around him are telling him and at the same time even follows some simple instructions (“come up”, “take”, “put down”, “sit down”, etc.), then most likely worry about nothing.

Active speech may come on suddenly

If the baby repeats after you the words that you say to him, this does not mean at all that he really assimilates them. Do not torment, do not force him to say what you want to hear. For some children, imitation may be delayed. Try to challenge your baby to a conversation. For example, ask your child questions more often, do not rush to fulfill wishes (let him voice them). Children have their own rhythms of development. Of course, there are so-called "norms", but one must not forget about individuality. Someone later shows their teeth, someone skips the crawling period and immediately starts running. Therefore, if the child speaks little, do not panic. Just give the baby some time. Do not hurry. Do not do for him what he could do on his own (put on slippers, or drink milk, or eat). Does not work? Help. But only so that it was unobtrusive. Push your baby to independence.

And many psychologists also advise turning on the TV less often, since your speech practically merges with the sounds from the TV, respectively, your child perceives your voice as general noise. Therefore, in most cases, it depends on the parents at what time the children start talking.

What kind of specialists could help?

If the child does not speak at two years old, find out the reason for the silence. What kind of specialists will you need to pass? First of all, a pediatrician. He will not only conduct a general examination, but also give directions to narrow pediatric specialists: ENT, speech therapist, neurologist, psychiatrist.

The speech therapist, after testing, will determine the correspondence between the levels of speech and mental development. To confirm or refute, he may send the baby for examination to a neuropsychiatrist.

The task of the Laura is to check if there is a relationship between speech delay and problems with the articulatory apparatus (for example, a shortened hypoglossal frenum) and hearing. The doctor will examine the oral cavity and make an audiogram.

The sooner the problem is identified, the easier it is to deal with it. But what if the baby is healthy and intellectually developed? Some experts say that parents should wait up to three years, since this is the age at which there is a sharp leap in all development, and the child, after a long silence, can speak not just in separate phrases, but in whole sentences. By the way, such children not only keep up with their peers in their studies, but sometimes even surpass them. Of course, if a child at 2 years old does not speak, it is simply impossible to wait for this wonderful leap. You need to help him develop using simple and rather exciting methods.

When should you start teaching your baby to talk?

This question cannot be answered unequivocally. Actually, the learning process, in fact, begins in the womb. It has been proven that a child perceives and reacts to sounds while still in his mother’s tummy. He calms down, "listening" when a woman hums a song or, on the contrary, "fights" when she swears. Psychology is a subtle science, and what is laid down before birth will certainly appear after. You should start active activities with your baby when the baby:

tries to explain something with sounds (or gestures);

not only hears everything, but also understands speech;

speaks rubbish alone with himself, but pronounces almost all sounds quite clearly.

The relationship between speech development and fine motor skills

Up to six months, the child enthusiastically repeats the facial expressions of the mother who talks to him. However, since seven months this imitation is weakening. The kid is actively exploring so rich external world, and his attention to his parents is no longer so sharply focused.

It has been noticed that speech development proceeds in parallel with the development of motor skills. Of particular importance lies in the opposition of the thumb to all others. Let the baby roll a ball, teach him to work with plasticine, buy him multi-colored wooden beads (larger). By the age of one and a half, begin to master more complex manipulations:

fastening locks and buttons;

tying knots;

lacing (we are not yet talking about the ability to tie the laces on the shoes, teach the baby to insert the laces into small holes), etc.

Left arm movements are responsible for the development of the right hemisphere and vice versa. Very useful are those joint games that contain finger bending elements.

Critical periods in the development of speech function

Doctors distinguish several periods:

Between the first and second years in speech development, there are clear prerequisites for speech. This is the time of "babbling" words: "la-la", "nya-nya", "la-la", "ba-ba", etc. Already at this time it is necessary to think about how to teach the child to speak correctly. More often ask the baby to show a bird, a horse, a cow, a dog, a cat, etc. Encourage him to pronounce (sound) actions. The perfect role model is your own. Teach the baby new movements: "sit down", "give", "lie down", "take". Use games in which actions are performed at the command of adults: "Okay", "Magpie-crow", "Top-top", etc.

Between 1.5 and 2.2 years, children try to connect two or even three words. What can a baby usually say at this age? For example, phrases such as: "De baba?" The word "no", for example, is used in all sorts of situations. Start increasing the number and narrowing the meaning of the words the baby understands: name the details of clothing (hat, sock, blouse, tights, etc.), furniture, toys. It is important to comment on the actions used: “take a toy”, “put on a shirt”, “fasten a button”, etc. It is advisable to accompany any action of the baby with an appeal.



By the age of 2.6, the baby's vocabulary begins to grow rapidly. He already asks himself, pointing with his finger at an unfamiliar object: "What is this?" It is difficult to say what time the children start talking. If we mean already conscious speech (not a period of imitation), then, perhaps, it is at this age. The child does not pronounce the words clearly enough, often distorts them. And adults, trying to "go down to the level" of the child, also begin to distort their conversation, slowing down the formation of the child's speech. Indeed, why should a child learn to pronounce words clearly and correctly, if they already understand? Remember: the kid must hear all the words in the right way! Then by the age of three or three and a half, he himself will speak quite well. By this age, words will change in cases and numbers, and sentences will become more complex. However, it is impossible to overestimate the requirements, otherwise the child will simply withdraw. By the way, this is one of the reasons why the child does not speak.

Three years is the time when the child switches to contextual speech. Here, the coordination of attention, memory, analysis, speech-motor apparatus is already required. The inconsistency in the work of the central nervous system can cause stubbornness and negativism on the part of the baby. This system is still quite vulnerable, therefore, against the background of stress (even slight), so-called mutism and stuttering are possible. By the way, breakdowns are possible even at 6-7 years old, when the time comes to start development. At this time, the central nervous system is subject to severe stress and is on the verge of stress.

If the delay in speech development is not associated with diseases of the central nervous system ...

If a child at 2 years old does not speak, if he refuses to repeat words after you, if he does not ask for help and solves his children's problems on his own, help in the development of speech is definitely needed. Some parents attribute this behavior to obstinacy or early independence and do not hear the "first bells". Ignoring leads to a lag in speech development. This, in turn, is fraught with aggravation of stubbornness and self-will. Hysterical reactions may also increase. If a child for 2.5 years does not speak, and adults endlessly pester with the request “repeat”, “tell”, you can wait for the negativism to intensify. As a result, your child will not only not want to duplicate words, but will also be silent altogether. Forget about such requests. At least for a while.

What to do?



First, create an environment in which the child will be forced to communicate. Great option - playgrounds, ideal - kindergarten... Children there develop faster, because they are not only forced to follow the example of already communicating peers, but also somehow express their desires and needs. Many children, who have been silent for up to three years, suddenly begin to "give out" such complex words as "armored personnel carrier", "synchrophasotron", etc. By the way, they often begin to talk alone with themselves, completely refusing to communicate with adults.

And be sure to do it. The development of speech is a painstaking process that requires perseverance, regimen, and patience. Get ready for the fact that you will not be limited to classes with a speech therapist.

Responsibilities of parents

Work with your baby. But turn the lessons into a game. Pronounce the names of those objects that you will see together. If the baby does not repeat them, do not insist, let the training be imperceptible, unobtrusive. Rejoice sincerely if your child utters a new word. Praise him. Do not forestall all the desires of the crumbs, ask leading questions: "What color?", "Do you want to eat?", "What is the lady doing?" Moreover, increase the complexity of the answers gradually, starting with a simple one. Read nursery rhymes, fairy tales to the kid, hum songs. Moreover, be sure to reproduce sounds (meowing, buzzing), encouraging attempts to repeat what you just said. Do not lisp - the words should be pronounced correctly, clearly. Comment on actions (both his and yours). Teach the baby to grimace (stretch the lips, pull them into a tube, click the tongue), this is an excellent charge for the articulation apparatus. If the baby expresses desires with some gestures, correct him by voicing his desires in an interrogative form: "Do you want to drink?", "Did the toy fall?" etc. Keep a diary in which you will make all the changes: new sounds. This will make it easier to trace the growth of speech development.

Talking games for kids



This is another weighty coin in a piggy bank. This type of activity will appeal to children who like to watch TV. If a child does not speak at 2 years old, pick up discs with such games for him. Learning will turn into real fun!

The games are designed taking into account the characteristic here and the development of speech, and the broadening of horizons in general. For each age - its own program, which is also divided by themes: sound pronunciation ("Buzz", "Tick-tock", etc.), the development of horizons ("Domestic animals", "Wild animals", "Who said" mu " etc.), development of attention, memory, hearing ("Riddles of sounds", "Visiting a bug", "Magician", "Fairy", etc.), development of breathing (mainly games with a microphone: "Helicopter", "Bee "," Cake and candles "), speaking and even joint creativity (you can invent big and small stories, compare, name, repeat). Children perceive such activities much better, since they really take place in game form... On the one hand, adults do not press, on the other hand, the baby is given independence (of course, under your supervision, but he doesn't even know about it). There is one that can, to some extent, replace a speech therapist. This entire collection is held under the title "Learning to Speak" for children from 2 to 7 years old.

For the full development of the child's personality, his social skills and intellectual development, the timely development of speech is a prerequisite. There are several age periods in the formation of speech, from pre-speech, when the baby only walks and babbles, to the younger preschool, in which the child not only composes phrases from words, but can also compose a short story, express his thoughts, joke or fantasize aloud.

But if a child does not speak after three years or lags behind his peers, at some of the intermediate stages of speech development, this should definitely alarm the parents and become a reason for consulting a specialist - speech therapist, neuropathologist, psychologist.

Signs of delayed speech development

Most parents believe that if a child does not speak at 2 years old, or his speech is indistinct, there is no reason for concern, and over time everything will normalize by itself. But such an attitude to the problem of delayed speech development can affect the child's intellectual abilities, his ability to communicate in society, and sometimes such negligence leads to irreversible changes in the child's psyche. Therefore, timely diagnosis of delayed speech development (RAD) at any of the stages of speech formation is the first step towards recovery.

What should alert parents in the behavior of the baby:

• The newborn does not respond to loud sounds, does not turn his head to the source of his mother's voice.
• At the age of 2 months to 4, the baby does not walk and does not begin to actively respond when close people appear.
• Little activity of speech vocalization or complete absence of babbling at the age of 9 months to a year.
• The child does not speak simple syllables a year and cannot fulfill simple verbal requests, for example, to show an animal in a picture.
• One and a half year old baby speaks monosyllabic syllables, does not pronounce simple words- "mom", "na", "uncle" and even their abbreviated version. Doesn't respond to his name.
• The child speaks poorly at 2 years old, his speech is slurred and monosyllabic.
• A kid after three years cannot compose a simple sentence, often confuses the endings of words, the vocabulary is less than 30 words.

If you find any of the above signs of RRR in your child, you need to consult a specialist in order to exclude pathology or, if it is detected, help the child in time.

Causes of delayed speech development

The development of speech in children occurs gradually, first, the speech apparatus is prepared, the muscles of articulation are strengthened, then the baby learns to understand human speech and tries to communicate through simple sounds. In a year and a half, the active vocabulary is constantly replenished, and by about the second year of life a "linguistic explosion" occurs, when the number of words spoken by the child increases every day and is soon equated to a passive vocabulary. If the child does not speak or eat clear signs ZRR, this may be various reasons which can be grouped into two main groups - physiological and social.

Physiological causes of RRD:

• Hearing problems. A child's poor hearing leads to a delay in intellectual development, and, accordingly, speech. In order for the active vocabulary to be replenished with new words, children must understand human speech, which is difficult for a child in the absence of hearing or hearing loss. Hearing problems can be congenital or acquired as a result of a serious illness or injury to the ear canal. If a child of 3 years old speaks poorly, although before that his speech corresponded to the norms, it is necessary to contact an otolaryngologist to check the hearing aid.
• Underdevelopment of the speech apparatus, articulation disorders. Poor development of the facial and jaw muscles leads to the fact that the child has difficulty in vocalizing sounds. This may be facilitated by muscle hypotonia at birth, early weaning, and a short frenulum under the tongue. A sign of impaired articulation is severe salivation, the child's mouth is constantly open, solid food causes a gag reflex, the child does not speak clear words at a year and a half.
• Genetic predispositions. If a child for 3 years does not speak, but at the same time there are no deviations in physical and intellectual development, the baby is active, intelligent, perhaps there will be relatives in the family who were also in no hurry to speak. This is due to the immaturity of the nervous system, which slows down the growth of cells responsible for speech activity, which is inherited.
• Neurological problems. Children with a history of neurological diseases resulting from fetal hypoxia, intrauterine infection, trauma during childbirth, post-vaccination reactions, more often than others, have a problem with the development of speech. This is due to both irreversible changes in the brain and the problem of underdevelopment of the sensorimotor sphere responsible for the perception and reproduction of information, in this case, it is possible to correct the development of speech. With such deviations, the child speaks poorly at 3 years old, but with proper training and classes with a speech therapist, everything is getting better by six.
• Delays in intellectual development. Such serious genetic diseases as Down syndrome, metabolic defects, intrauterine viral diseases, encephalitis cannot but affect the child's speech development.

Psychological developmental delays, such as autism, lead to the fact that a 4-year-old child speaks poorly or does not speak at all.

Social causes of RRR:

• Lack of demand for speech. The reason why the child does not speak at 2 years old and later can be both pedagogical neglect and overprotection of the child. In the first case, they practically do not talk to the child, they do not stimulate his speech activity, the baby is left to himself and his passive vocabulary is not replenished with new words. Getting into society, such children create the impression of a little retarded, although in fact they simply do not always understand the speech addressed to them, because they do not know the meaning of all the words, sometimes the child speaks poorly at the age of 5. In the second case, when the parents are too protective of their child, the child lacks motivation to vocalize his desires. Excessive custody slows down progress in development and the child speaks poorly, because he no longer needs to voice his desires, you can simply show with gestures.
• Stress and fear. Strong emotional experiences, being in an unfavorable environment when parents are constantly quarreling with each other and often break down on the child, change of place of residence and much more that negatively affects the psychological comfort of the child can lead to stuttering and become the reason why the child does not speak.
• Bilingualism. In families where two languages ​​are used for communication, especially from different linguistic groups, it is very difficult for a child to perceive what has been said, to separate one language from another, what is there to say. In such a linguistic confusion, a child does not speak in long phrases at 4 years old, because he is confused in the meaning of words.
• Syndrome of "hospitalism" in children. Quite a rare case of the development of mental and physical retardation against the background of weaning from the mother due to a long illness or being in a hospital. Children lose weight with proper care, and they develop a detached attitude towards the world around them. Being in such an institution from infancy, a child does not speak even elementary words at a year and a half, while his peers are trying to connect several elementary words by constructing a sentence. Relationships in the family, where the mother is only formally present in the child's life, can also cause alienation of the child and delay in his development.
• Negativism towards speech. The crisis of the first year of life coincides with the stage in the development of speech when many children utter their first words. The independent and stubborn nature of the child, with the persistence of the parents, can give a negative result. A picture is observed when the baby, having uttered a new word, loses interest in it and does not repeat it any more. Persistent requests and persuasions of parents still meet with even greater resistance from the child, he withdraws into himself.

Alalia in children

Violation of the parts of the brain responsible for the reproduction of speech and its perception lead to the fact that children are not able to participate in a conversation. Alalia in children is difficult to diagnose, but if it is detected early, it can be corrected. The reasons for the disturbance of the brain centers of Wernicke and Brock can be fetal injuries, entanglement with the umbilical cord, asphyxia during childbirth, smoking and alcoholism of the mother, brain inflammation suffered in the first year of the baby's life. As a rule, with alalia, a child for 2 years does not speak, and if he does utter sounds, then they can only remotely resemble words and even those close to them cannot always understand their meaning.

Distinguish between motor and sensory alalia. In violation of Brock's brain center, which is responsible for building speech, motor alalia is observed. The degree of alalia depends on how badly the brain is affected. At the first degree, speech may be absent or the child does not speak at the age of 3, but then begins to pronounce phrases, forming them from scraps of words, as a rule, swallowing the endings. The second and third degrees can be expressed in the rearrangement of syllables, incorrect case and other lexical errors.

Alalia is accompanied by an imbalance in the coordination of movements, a child's lack of assembly, and his lack of independence.

Sensory alalia, associated with a lack of speech perception, is observed with a violation of the Wernicke center. In this case, a child at three years old does not speak only because he cannot understand what others want from him, he does not perceive human speech, does not separate one word from another. Against this background, alienation from the team develops and if you do not deal with the baby, a delay in intellectual development is possible due to insufficient information for the brain. With sensory alalia, you can often observe how the baby repeats the question asked, just because he does not understand what he was asked about, this is called echolalia. The reason why a child does not speak at 3 years old with sensory alalia is the perception of the speech of others as background sound.

The first words uttered by the baby cause special awe in the parents. From this time on, they begin to believe that their child is about to start talking coherently. However, this is not always the case. It so happens that even when the child is almost 2 years old, the baby does not speak, but gives out to others only incoherent sounds. At the same time, he can only hum, pointing at the object he needs with his finger. When should parents start to worry about a situation that has arisen and take their child to an appointment with a specialist? In what situations is it enough to just wait and the child will start talking on his own?

Stages of speech development

From the extent to which a child is able to operate with the concepts of his native language, one can judge the level of his development, as well as his progress in the future. That is why the baby's speech should be developed from birth, monitoring the correct pronunciation (in accordance with age) and timely expansion vocabulary... At the same time, parents should not waste time acting blindly. First of all, they need to understand what are the stages of development of the baby's speech.

The first of them runs from birth to a year of life. This stage is called pre-verbal. Until the age of three months, the baby only perceives the speech of people close to him. However, even during this period he has a need for communication. The more often parents talk to their child, the more prerequisites for the transition to the next stage of speech development will appear. At the same time, the words should be pronounced tenderly and affectionately, clearly and with a smile on their face. This is important for the development of the child's future diction.

By the age of six months, the baby begins to master the art of dialogue. First, he pronounces syllables that are understandable only to him. With them, a little man designates those items that are needed for the game. He calls the baby and people close to him in his own way, and a little later also some actions. It is important for parents not to switch to the language of their child, naming objects correctly.

The next stage of development lasts from one to three years, when speech begins to arise. The kid learns to make words out of syllables and understand their meaning. Now he does not need to see the object that he decided to ask for. He himself can name the thing he needs. At this stage, the child is able to answer the question of an adult, since he understands the meaning of the whole sentence.

At the age of 3 to 7 years, the baby will have to go through a stage characterized by the development of verbal communication. During this period, the child learns the native language independently during games and learning new things. Adults should remember that at this stage they are required to use words correctly and try to answer the questions that the baby has. At the same time, explanations should not be unambiguous, but eloquent, with many examples. If the parents contributed to the correct development of their child, then in the future he will thank them with good academic performance in all school subjects.

Conducting timely diagnostics

At each stage of speech development, parents should carefully monitor the behavior of the baby. Conducting timely diagnostics will be the first step towards the recovery of their child. What should be on the alert for moms and dads? They should sound the alarm if:

• the newborn does not show any reaction at loud sounds and does not turn his head at the mother's voice;
• the baby does not begin to walk in the period from 2 to 4 months and does not express an active reaction to the appearance of loved ones around him;
• the child has little speech activity or a complete absence of babbling at the age of nine months to one year;
• the baby does not pronounce the simplest syllables at 12 months and does not fulfill elementary verbal requests (for example, show the animal in the picture);
• a little man at 1.5 years old does not speak simple words ("mother", "woman", etc.), and also does not show any reaction when adults pronounce his name;
• a child of 2 years old does not speak or pronounces words poorly with slurred and monosyllabic speech;
• a kid over three years old is not able to make the simplest sentence, knows less than thirty words and often confuses their endings.

Any of the above signs is a reason for contacting a specialist. This will make it possible to exclude pathology or its timely treatment.

Neurological problems

It happens that a child for 2 years does not speak, hums and only points his finger at the object he needs. This situation may be due to a neurological disease. It is not worth brushing off the problem, expecting that everything will turn out by itself. The sooner parents bring their child to a specialist and begin treatment of pathology, the better it will be for the baby.

If a child does not speak at 2 years old, the reasons may lie in:

• damage or underdevelopment of the brain, as well as the central nervous system, both during intrauterine development and during and after childbirth;
• prolonged toxicosis or the threat of miscarriage during pregnancy;
• chronic diseases and bad habits of the mother;
• protracted or rapid childbirth;
• taking medications contraindicated during pregnancy;
• fetal hypoxia;
• prematurity or prematurity;
• incompatibility of the blood of the mother and the fetus;
• birth trauma;
• traumatic brain injury and infectious diseases baby;
• taking antibiotics that can affect the development of the little man.

Physiological problems

Children develop speech gradually. It all starts with articulation, muscle strengthening. This prepares the speech apparatus. Only after strengthening it, the baby tries to communicate with people close to him, using simple sounds, and learns to understand the spoken words. From a year to a year and a half, the child's active vocabulary is constantly expanding. The second year of life is characterized by a kind of "linguistic breakthrough". During this period, the number of words that the little man utters increases every day.

If a child does not speak at 2 years of age, the reasons for this condition often lie in the physiology of his development. It can be:

1. Hearing problems. This pathology leads to a delay in intellectual development and, of course, speech. A child who is deaf or completely deaf is unable to speak normally. These problems can be either congenital or acquired. At the same time, they will be the reason that the child does not speak for 2 years. But if at 3 years old the baby does not utter words, despite the fact that until that time his speech corresponded to the existing norms, then parents need to take their child to a consultation with an otolaryngologist.
2. Violation of articulation and underdevelopment of the speech apparatus. This may be another reason that the child does not speak for 2 years. Poorly developed jaw and facial muscles lead to difficulties in localizing sounds. This pathology occurs in the case of early weaning or with a short bridle under the tongue. A violation of articulation is evidenced by strong salivation, a constantly open mouth and a gag reflex, which is caused by solid food. This pathology also leads to the fact that the child does not speak for 2 years.
3. Genetic predisposition. Why does the child not speak at 2 years old, without having any physical abnormalities? Perhaps the baby has relatives in the family who at one time were also in no hurry to pronounce the words. The reason for this lies in the immaturity of the nervous system, which slows down the growth of those cells that are responsible for speech activity.
4. Delayed intellectual development. The speech of the child, without any doubt, reflects such genetic pathologies as metabolic defects and Down syndrome. Various viral diseases transferred in the womb also negatively affect the development of the native language.

Autism

There are cases when a child of 2 years old does not speak due to a violation of the development of the brain. This pathology leads to autism. Its external manifestations can be seen in the violation of social communication, restriction of interest and repetitive actions.

Childhood autism is stable and stable. Its symptoms are observed even in adulthood. But in order to make sure that the diagnosis is correct, it is necessary to confirm such signs of pathology as:

• violation of the baby's communication with the people around him;
• low social interaction;
• stereotyped behavior and a narrow range of interests.

With such a pathology, the child does not want to talk for a long time. 2 years is the age at which he is only able to repeat the word he heard before. Such a child can be silent even at the age of five. At the same time, he will categorically refuse to communicate and protest hysterically against any violation of his regime.

Social reasons

Why does the child not speak at 2 years old, although he does not have any health problems? This can be influenced by certain social reasons, including:

1. Lack of demand for speech. Some parents complain that their child does not speak for 2 years 2 months. The reason for this may be either pedagogical promiscuity or overprotection of the baby. The first case concerns a situation where the child is left to himself. At the same time, parents talk little to him, without stimulating the speech activity of their child. At first glance, it seems that such a baby is lagging behind in its development. A child of 2 years 2 months does not speak and with overly caring parents. Excessive custody of adults leads to the fact that the baby does not need to voice his desires. It is enough for him to point at the desired object with his finger.
2. Fear and stress. Child 2 years 4 months old? Doesn't speak if in a hostile environment. At this age, the baby has strong emotional experiences if parents often quarrel, breaking down at the same time on a little man. Stress accompanies children when the family changes their place of residence and with many other factors that reduce psychological comfort.
3. Bilingualism. Many parents worry that their child is silent, despite the fact that the child is 2 years old and 5 months old. Such a kid does not speak in cases where two languages ​​are used in the family for communication. He perceives everything said with difficulty. It is difficult for him to separate one language from another and understand desired values words.
4. Hospitalization syndrome. Sometimes children develop cases of physical and mental retardation when they are weaned from their mother due to prolonged hospital stay. In such cases, a detachment from the outside world begins to form in babies. Small child being in the hospital, he cannot speak elementary words even at the age of one and a half years. The same syndrome is observed in those children in whose life the mother is present only formally.
5. Negative attitude towards speech. If the child has a stubborn and independent character, then the perseverance and perseverance of the parents can lead to a negative result. The constant requests of adults to pronounce this or that word become the reason that their child withdraws into himself and refuses to talk.

What should I do?

Many moms and dads start to sound the alarm when their baby, despite the fact that the child is 2 years old, does not speak. What to do in such situations? First of all, it is necessary to exclude the pathology of the hearing aid. After all, it happens that up to the age of two, parents do not even assume that the baby has problems. It is also necessary to consult a specialist to identify neurological diseases.

If the baby is physically healthy, but the child is 2 years old, does not speak. What to do? In this case, you can just wait. Many neurologists and speech therapists note the growing tendency that, in general, children begin to speak a little later than even 10-15 years ago. That is why experts advise not to sound the alarm even when the child is not speaking for 2.5 years. They recommend just waiting until it grows to 3 years old. Only after that, doctors begin to deal with the baby.

How parents should behave

Of course, if a child for 2.5 years does not speak, you can wait. However, many parents prefer their baby to talk in the same way as the neighbor. And this will require the creation of favorable conditions.

The child will begin to voice everything that is happening around in the event that certain living conditions exist for this, namely:

• turned off radio, TV and computer;
• attention of parents.

However, adults should not anticipate the desires of their child and follow his instructions by just one glance. It is necessary to create situations when the baby is forced to ask for something, and adults pretend that they do not understand his hints and hums.

Development of fine motor skills

Even Pavlov noted the use of muscle sensations leading from the speech organ to the cerebral cortex. This also happens in a child who begins to speak, imitating the facial expressions of the mother. After the age of seven months, this ability in babies begins to weaken. That is why in the future it is necessary to use other methods. Experts have noticed that the development of movements of the fingers on the hands coincides with speech development. That is why their motor skills must be developed for the speedy mastering of their native language.

Work on training children's fingers should begin as early as seven months. To do this, the baby should be allowed to roll plasticine balls or use large wooden beads as a toy. In a year and a half, tasks should be complicated. The kid needs to be occupied with buttoning or tying knots.

If a child does not speak at two years old, then he needs not only to read poetry or sing songs, but to teach how to help an adult. The kid should insert the words that are necessary for the meaning.

Communication with peers is of great importance for children. It is not surprising that it is in the kindergarten that babies begin to talk much faster. They follow the example of other children.

For many babies, the desire to tell something appears after they see something new that surprised them. This should be taken into account by parents in the upbringing process. For new knowledge, it is important to go with children to the circus and visit playrooms, as well as travel to the village to show them pets. In this case, the baby will strive to tell the whole world about his vivid impressions.