If you are born with the gift of gab you’ve probably never given much thought to what your life might be like if you could not express yourself. But as a six year old, I could not pronounce the word “ask.” No one in my house seemed to have noticed this. But my school system did and recommended I see a speech therapist only to learn that I had in fact been repeating what everyone in my house was saying.
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association ( ASHA), “it is not uncommon for children to make mistakes as they learn to say new words.” Yet in many households, this could go unnoticed as it did in my home.” A speech sound disorder,” ASHA continued, “occurs when mistakes continue past a certain age. Every sound has a different range of ages when the child should make the sound correctly. Speech sound disorders include problems with articulation (making sounds) and phonological processes (sound patterns) . . . By the age of 8 [however], children should be able to produce all sounds in English correctly.”
Many children are not as lucky as I was to get help early. In conversation with Kalin C. King, an Audiologist Au.D in Washington state, I learned that even an ear infection in young children can sometimes be the cause of learning delays. Left untreated, ear infections could possibly impact a child’s long-term educational ability. This was a new thought for me. Because I had not recognized articulation as its own disorder. But in visiting the ASHA website, I learned some problems continue into adulthood.
Stuttering is perhaps the more easily recognizable communication disorder. Annie Glenn, lifelong stutterer and wife of astronaut John Glenn who lived much of her life in the public eye, sought and received help at age 53. She shares her personal story in this “Get Help… Don’t Wait†video:
Since 1987 ASHA has presented The Annie Award (named after Annie Glenn for her lifelong work with communication disorders) to those “providing an inspiring model for people with communicative disorders.†She, James Earl Jones, Joe Biden, Julie Andrews, Bob and Lee Woodruff, Mick Fleetwood, Jane Seymour, and Bob Love are among the past recipients of this award.
If you or someone you know needs professional help and are unclear about how to find it, please go to ASHA’s special tool to find someone local. I now see speech and language through a whole new lens based on my participation in this campaign.
SHELLEY R ZUREK says
Wonderful advice on Getting help. I especially could relate to your story of a child mispronouncing words because that was how he had heard it or been let to say it.
boomrwiz says
Thanks Shelley. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, sometimes I am surprised with what I call “accents” that New Yorkers have that still sound wrong to me. But seriously, we talk like the people we are around. Thank you for your comment.
SunbonnetSmart.com says
Hello there, Patricia! Thank you for sharing the information in this post, The concept of age related sound development is new to me. I also did not realize whole families might lean toward a speech problem without detection until they interact with those on the outside. Having gone to the ASHA.org web site, I am amazed at the resources they offer. Getting help early is easier because of ASHA opportunities. Fondly, Robin
boomrwiz says
Hey Robin
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your comment with my readers.ASHA has an enormously deep well of information. I knew a little about language development in children but having been the mother of only one child, I remember how confused I was as his language developed and I compared him to other children. Turns out everything was fine, but there were things I understood that no one outside the family did. This made me anxious.
Barbara Younger says
Scary what an ear infection can do! Great post–love the snow picture.
boomrwiz says
Hi Barbara. Learning to ski at 60
Karen D. Austin / TheGenAboveMe says
I had a lisp when I was a child, and the public schools placed me with a speech therapist from 2nd grade through 5th grade. I remember that I couldn’t hear my lisp. I thought I was producing the correct sound. But with help each week, I finally learned to pronounce s, z, and th distinctly and appropriately. Hooray for professionals who help people to overcome communication disorders.
boomrwiz says
Hi Karen. So you lucked out like me with the speech therapist. The same things happen I notice in learning a second language. If you learn it wrong, it’s hard to to switch it up. You don’t hear your errors. I agree, Hooray for professionals who help others overcome communication disorder.