Talk Is Far From Cheap

In fact, it is essential for human development from birth onwards, say Loren Stow

We use many different ways to communicate as human beings, from our body language to tone, our gestures to written and visual communication; however, speech and language is the primary way in which we learn new things, understand each other, form relationships and express ourselves.

Language development, therefore, is essential to early development. It helps your child to express themselves and foster relationships with the world, and aids their ability to learn effectively.

COMMON SPEECH IMPEDIMENTS

A speech impediment is anything that impacts a person’s ability to produce intelligible speech, explains Pretoria-based speech and language therapist, karien Marais. some of the most common speech impediments include:

Articulation disorders: Mixing up letters, missing letters, or adding extra sounds to words.

Lisping: specifically replacing the letters ‘s’ and ‘z’ with ‘th’.

Stuttering or stammering: A difficulty with speech fluency.

Childhood apraxia of speech: Difficulty sequencing and forming sounds.

Specific language impairment: Difficulty in understanding and producing speech and language.

WHAT CAUSES A SPEECH IMPEDIMENT?

For some a speech impediment can have a physical cause such as an overbite or a cleft lip or palette. “Any structural difference in the mouth, or oral cavity, will change its shape and therefore impact the quality of the sounds that are produced,” Marais elaborates. “For example, people with a cleft lip will have difficulty in producing sounds made by the lips like [b], [p] and [m].” other physical causes include major life changing events such a brain damage, developmental delays and stroke.