How many times have we heard in childhood that this child has “rag tongue”, it usually brings more than a smile to adults, but this incorrect way of articulating one or several sounds without an obvious physical problem can become a dyslalia from the age of 4 and a half.
I would like to tell you that dyslalia is one of the most common queriess in speech therapy and one of the less serious due to the good prognosis with specialized treatment. It usually occurs during the first 6 years of a child's life and especially in the stage of language development.
Broadly speaking, there are three main characteristics that persist over time. It's important to distinguish between developmental dyslalia in childhood. We can observe this at home. the following milestones in children with suspected dyslalia:
- Systematic change of one sound for another. As in the case of always changing the sound k by the t.
- Confusion between soundsThe child is able to articulate the s and z in isolation, but confuses them, as in the case of saying "sapato" (shoe), even though he is able to say "juice." He can also say "sapo" (toad), but instead of "house" he says "house." hunt.
- Unintelligible language of the child, who requires a great effort to understand what he wants to express.
The first step is to go to consult a specialist in the area of language, as well as the pediatrician and the neurologist in order to address the issue as effectively as possible.
Anyway, we leave you some tips that you can do from home to accompany the therapeutic work you are doing with your children.
1. Avoid ear infections and coldsEncouraging your child's nasal breathing is vital for language development. Keeping their nose clean ensures proper maintenance of their speech and language system. It also helps prevent the development of ear infections and improves hearing, which often worsens when the nose is completely blocked by mucus. Take plenty of warm baths to clean it properly.
2. Solid food: To strengthen speech and language muscles and control all the movements required for language, it's important to eat as solid a diet as possible. This is the time to start biting into whole pieces of fruit, sandwiches, and very large chunks. The firmer the pieces, the more effective the "training." Many children at this stage are still beginning to chew, and this doesn't promote proper language development.
3. Avoid pacifiers or thumb sucking Because it causes deformities of the palate and poor swallowing (food or liquids). We experience difficulty swallowing certain foods and even liquids, and recurrent choking is due to poor tone of the entire speech and language system, and pacifiers and thumb-sucking habits do not promote proper swallowing.
4. Promote games that exercise the entire vocal apparatus. Blowing out candles, whistles, balloons or blow-outs, pushing a ball with a straw, scooping water with a straw to pass it from one glass to another, making soap bubbles... Practicing onomatopoeia such as motorcycle sounds or making farts are exercises that will help you facilitate language, don't forget your friend the mirror which will help you become aware of all these exercises.
5. Music. Playing a multitude of instruments tunes the vocal system without even realizing it. Blowing a melodica, a flute, or a harmonica is also fantastic because whether you blow or breathe in, you make it sound! Encourage your child to distinguish sounds in a playful, relaxed, and non-emotional way so they pronounce them correctly, such as having fun with tongue twisters or humming syllables (miiimaaamuuumoooo) and songs.
6. Moving Letters Game: We can work on vowels and consonants and invent a specific posture or movement to help him associate sound with movement and encourage him to reproduce sounds while playing.
7. Vibrators: In speech therapy, vibrating elements and even rubber bands are often used throughout the mouth and outside to establish sensory foundations. At home, for example, we can use an electric toothbrush to massage the inside of the mouth, the tongue, even the face, lips, and chin. This way, we can stimulate all the receptors in the mouth and get them working.
8. Movement: All the exploration and gross motor skills exercises lead to the acquisition of language and promote its development. Get down on the floor and pretend to be a cat, a tiger, an elephant, a crocodile, a monkey... through play, children foster their motor language skills in a fun way!
We hope that they help you and indirectly your little ones so that the desired language arrives soon and strong to stay and continue evolving by giving your children a voice. We know that this is the best wish and the best battle we can fight alongside you.
Cristina Oroz Bajo