
11/02/2025
What is speech disorder in children? As parents, how do we go about handling it?
A child with speech disorder has difficulties saying all speech sounds in words, making speech hard to understand. The cause(s) of the speech sound disorder can be linked to things such as a cleft palate, problems with the teeth, hearing loss, or difficulty controlling the movements of the mouth.
Some indications of speech disorder include:
• The child doesn't babble using consonant sounds (particularly b, d, m, and n) by age 8 or 9 months.
• The child uses mostly vowel sounds or gestures to communicate after 18 months.
• The child’s speech cannot be understood by many people at age 3.
• The child’s speech is difficult to understand at age 4 or older.
As parents, we can help the child by giving lots of opportunities to listen to speech and to talk. This can be done frequently by pointing out and naming important people, places, and things. We can also read and talk to the child throughout the day, especially during daily routines, interactive plays, and favourite activities. We can give the child models of words and sentences to repeat.
If you have concerns about your child’s communication skills, discuss them with your child’s doctor. The doctor will likely refer the child to a speech-language pathologist for evaluation and treatment, because all children with speech and language disorders should also have their hearing tested.