Does My Child Present With Speech and Language Delays?
One of the trickiest questions we ask ourselves is, “is my child developing at the rate of his peers, or does he present with delays?” Statistically we know that potentially 1 in every 5 parents will correctly be answering “yes” to the second part of that question.
20% of children will have difficulty using or understanding language by the time they are 4 years of age (Speech Pathology Australia Fact Sheet). Well-meaning friends and family may offer advice or say things like “he’s a boy, they just take longer to talk, you’re getting worried over nothing”, “stop making a fuss, there’s nothing wrong”. I’m going to play devil’s advocate here and say while these statements aren’t actually ‘wrong’, they’re not exactly helpful either.
Even if your child presents with a speech and language delay, you shouldn’t be ‘worried’, although this is a natural response to some and completely okay, it also doesn’t do much in terms of moving you or your child forward. But you can be prepared and seek education and support so that they can reach their potential in a supportive environment and reduce frustrations along the way. The majority of Speech Therapy takes place face-to-face, for example in our clinic. However, many families access speech therapists online or via Telehealth.
I’m so happy to hear in all my years the overwhelming feedback from parents who reach out for speech therapy can be summed up in the following: “I’m so glad I did this, I can see the difference it has made, and it’s not scary like I thought it would be. I wish I had worried less”. Helpful statements we can make with our friends and family when they question their child’s development include: “It’s great you’re looking into this, perhaps a speech pathologist could provide you the answers to your questions or concerns. I’m happy to help make some calls if that is helpful?” “I’m sure you have your reasons to look into this, perhaps, you could contact Community Health or a private speech pathologist as they will provide clarity and give you an answer instead of going around in your head”. “I hear what you are saying and that makes sense, it’s a good idea to investigate further, community health will know how to support you, they helped my cousin.” “I believe what you see and I can see that too.
This can be confusing to navigate I’m sure, and I’d like to help.
Would you like me to help you contact Community Health or a private speech pathologist?” Remember if you are unable to attend our speech pathology clinic Rhodes or Ryde there is speech therapy Telehealth, also known as Online Speech Therapy. This is where you access a speech pathologist online who is specialized in parent training and can send reading information, demonstrate strategies, provide observation and feedback that is immediately helpful for you and your child. How it works is our team of speech therapists in Rhodes dial into a Zoom call over the computer and provide research-based strategies via the internet and video-call for effective outcomes.
