Talking Tots & Speech Development

Many moms can relate to being worried about their young children hitting the right milestones, and speech is right up there as one of the major milestones moms and dads look out for as their babies turn to toddlers and those toddlers turn to children. Now, as moms are becoming even more hyper-aware of these milestones due to having to homeschool their children, the need for developing speech and communication is given an even bigger spotlight.

In response, on September 19, 2020, Mommy Mundo teamed up with Huggies Philippines to bring a special session via Google Meet. The topic was Speech Development and Other Milestones, hosted by Isa Fabregas with guest speaker Dr. Tippy Tanchanco, a practicing developmental-behavioral pediatrician at MedMom Child Development Clinic. Dr. Tanchanco is also an Associate Professor at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health and has spoken at numerous conferences, both locally and internationally, to present her research studies and to speak as an expert in her field.

The lively session involved a presentation by Dr. Tanchanco and a long question and answer portion where Dr. Tanchanco answered the attendees questions for each of their children and their needs. Knowing the importance of the topic, Mommy Mundo put together the most common and most important questions of the session below:

• What are the milestones of typical speech and language development?

Though many first-time moms don’t realise it, speech development actually begins at around 3 months of age when babies begin making cooing sounds and show signs of recognising their parents’ voices. By 6 months of age they should be making a variety of sounds, and maybe even some that sound like words. What is important is that by the age of one, they have some basic words, such as “Dada” and “Mama,” and other easy to say two-syllable words such as “oh no.”

At the age of one, they should also be able to understand instructions, recognise the names of items they use frequently, such as “spoon” or “ball.”  Their vocabulary will continue to develop and grow so that by the age of two, they can express some simple requests or instructions, like “more milk” or “me up” (to ask to be carried).

At around 22 months to 24 months (2 years old) your baby may also begin singing. Encouraging singing–if a child starts singing–can help aid speech development because it helps them practice their lip and tongue movement as they try to form words for the song. The singing also allows them to remember words–and their meanings–faster.

More sophisticated speech begins at around the age of three. It is important to remember that children will use the words they hear, and so language development at this stage is highly dependent on how often the child hears speech and how often the child himself/herself is spoken to by their caregivers.

• What are the signs of speech delay or problems with speech and language development?

While some children develop a little faster than others, in general If a child is not babbling by 15 months, cannot understand basic instructions by the age of 18 months, is not producing words and not using oral language to communicate their needs by the age of 2, or cannot form short basic sentences by the age of three, then it could be a sign that they have a speech delay.

It is important to note that parents can usually understand their child more than other people. However, if by the age of four, the child still cannot be understood by people unfamiliar with them, then this is another potential sign of a speech delay. By age four, the child’s speech should be clear.

Any of the abovementioned can be initial red flags. Your pediatrician will also be actively checking for your child’s different milestones, and if necessary they can recommend you to a speech-language pathologist or a developmental pediatrician to assess your child. The earlier the intervention, the better for the child and the more at peace the parents will be.

• If a baby’s speech is delayed, does that mean s/he has a learning disability?

Usually, the first sign of a learning disability would be a speech or language delay. However, just because a baby’s speech is slightly delayed does not automatically mean they have a learning disability.

• Does it affect speech development if two languages are spoken at home?

No. Research has debunked this long-standing myth. The more languages spoken at home, the better for the child. What can be done is to “assign” a language to different members of the household. So, parents can be in charge of English, caregivers can be in charge of Tagalog/Bisaya, and grandparents can even tackle a third language. If a child associates different languages with different people, they will be more inclined to learn the different languages.

• If a baby speaks a lot sooner, does this mean they have a higher level in a domain of intelligence?

Maybe. Gifted children can begin speaking at around 9 months of age. However, many geniuses have also been known to have normal speech development milestones.

• What is the most constructive way to correct your child’s speech mistakes?

Gently. Correct your child by giving them the correct pronunciation or correct word phrase (if a grammar mistake is made) and encourage them to repeat after you. Keeping it gentle and light will encourage them to try the correct version.

To further encourage speech, parents can play word games with their children, teach them songs and tongue twisters, frequently have storytime where words are both sounded out and pointed to (for letter and word recognition/reading purposes).

• How do we keep our children’s speech development on track during this pandemic or if they’re stuck at home for long periods of time?

Just keep talking. Toddlers develop speech by practicing speech. While interaction with other children does help greatly, if it is currently not an option, then parents and household members need to be sure that they constantly speak to the child.

• What is the Einstein syndrome?

In some cases children show signs of delayed speech, however they excel in other areas or show giftedness in other developmental areas. Eventually these children learn speech normally and continue to remain gifted in different developmental areas. This is something a speech pathologist or developmental pediatrician can point out.

• Does teaching my baby sign language impede speech development?

Research has shown that teaching baby sign language can actually help develop language development because it encourage communication.

• Will television help language development?

More and more, studies are showing that television (specifically too much television) can delay language development because it does not encourage speech from children. Frequent conversations with peers and adults is the best way for a child to learn and acquire fluency in language.

It is important to note that aiding speech development involves talking to babies in encouraging and happy tones, but using actual words. Baby talk is discouraged greatly, so as much as parents might want to be cooing at their baby, the greater developmental goals need to be kept in mind. 

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