What should parents know?

CRITICAL AGE HYPOTHESIS

First proposed by neurologist Wilder Penfield and co-author
Lamar Roberts in a 1959 paper Speech and Brain
Mechanisms, and was popularized by Eric Lenneberg in 1967
with Biological Foundations of Language. Lenneberg states
that there are maturational constraints on the time a first
language can be acquired. First language acquisition relies on
neuroplasticity. If language acquisition does not occur by
puberty (2 to 13), some aspects of language can be learnt but
full mastery cannot be achieved. This was called the “critical
period hypothesis.”
• An interesting example of this is the
case of Genie. A thirteen-year-old victim
of lifelong child abuse, Genie was
discovered in her home on November 4,
1970, strapped to a potty chair and
wearing diapers. She appeared to be
entirely without language. Her father
had judged her retarded at birth and
had chosen to isolate her, and so she
had remained until her discovery.
BRAIN LATERALIZATION
BROCAS AREA AND WERNICKE’S
AREA
• The main task of Broca’s area is to generate
meaningful language so that the person can be
speak sensibly and fluently. The Wernicke’s
area is responsible for understanding the
statements made by the speaker. It is
essentially involved in language processing.
 Speech Disorders

• Speech is the process of producing specific

sounds that convey meaning to the listener.
A speech disorder refers to any condition
that affects a person’s ability to produce
sounds that create words.
TYPES
Stuttering
Stuttering refers to a speech disorder that interrupts the flow of speech.
People who stutter can experience the following types of disruption:
• Repetitions
• Blocks
• Prolongations
• The symptoms of stuttering can vary depending on the situation. Stress, excitement,
or frustration can cause stuttering to become more severe. Some people may also find
that certain words or sounds can make a stutter more pronounced.
• Stuttering can cause both behavioral and physical symptoms that occur at the same
time. These can include:
• tension in the face and shoulders
• rapid blinking
• lip tremors
• clenched fists
• sudden head movements
• There are two main types of stuttering:
• Developmental stuttering affects young children who are still learning speech and
language skills. Genetic factors significantly increase a person’s likelihood of
developing this type of stutter.
• Neurogenic stuttering occurs when damage to the brain prevents proper coordination
between the different regions of the brain that play a role in speech.
Apraxia

• Apraxia is a general term referring to brain damage

that impairs a person’s motor skills, and it can affect
any part of the body. Apraxia of speech, or verbal
apraxia, refers specifically to the impairment of
motor skills that affect an individual’s ability to form
the sounds of speech correctly, even when they
know which words they want to say.
Dysarthria
• Dysarthria occurs when damage to the brain causes muscle weakness
in a person’s face, lips, tongue, throat, or chest. Muscle weakness in
these parts of the body can make speaking very difficult.
People who have dysarthria may experience the following symptoms:
slurred speech
mumbling
speaking too slowly or too quickly
soft or quiet speech
difficulty moving the mouth or tongue
Dyslexia
• Dyslexia is a learning disorder that
involves difficulty reading due to
problems identifying speech sounds
and learning how they relate to
letters and words (decoding). Also
called reading disability, dyslexia
affects areas of the brain that
process language.
• Though there's no cure for dyslexia, early assessment and
intervention result in the best outcome. Sometimes dyslexia goes
undiagnosed for years and isn't recognized until adulthood, but it's
never too late to seek help.
• Before school
• Signs that a young child may be at risk of dyslexia
include:
• Late talking
• Learning new words slowly
• Problems forming words correctly, such as
reversing sounds in words or confusing words that
sound alike
• Problems remembering or naming letters, numbers
and colors
• Difficulty learning nursery rhymes or playing
rhyming games
• School age
• Once your child is in school, dyslexia signs and symptoms may
become more apparent, including:
• Reading well below the expected level for age
• Problems processing and understanding what he or she hears
• Difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to
questions
• Problems remembering the sequence of things
• Difficulty seeing (and occasionally hearing) similarities and
differences in letters and words
• Inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word
• Difficulty spelling
• Spending an unusually long time completing tasks that involve
reading or writing
• Avoiding activities that involve reading
• People with one or more speech disorders may experience the
following symptoms:
• repeating or prolonging sounds
• distorting sounds
• adding sounds or syllables to words
• rearranging syllables
• having difficulty pronouncing words correctly
• struggling to say the correct word or sound
• speaking with a hoarse or raspy voice
• speaking very softly
• Risk factors that can increase the likelihood of a
person developing a speech disorder include:
• being male
• being born prematurely
• having a low weight at birth
• having a family history of speech disorders
• experiencing problems that affect the ears, nose,
or throat
AUSTISM
• Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by
difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by
restricted and repetitive behavior. Parents often notice signs
during the first three years of their child's life. These signs often
develop gradually, though some autistic children
experience regression in their communication and social skills
after reaching developmental milestones at a normal pace.
Common signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Even as infants, children with ASD may seem different, especially
when compared to other children their own age. They may become
overly focused on certain objects, rarely make eye contact, and fail
to engage in typical babbling with their parents. In other cases,
children may develop normally until the second or even third year of
life, but then start to withdraw and become indifferent to social
engagement.
• The severity of ASD can vary greatly and is based on the degree to
which social communication, insistence of sameness of activities
and surroundings, and repetitive patterns of behavior affect the
daily functioning of the individual.
How is ASD diagnosed?
• Very early indicators that require evaluation by an expert
include:
• no babbling or pointing by age 1
• no single words by age 16 months or two-word phrases by
age 2
• no response to name
• loss of language or social skills previously acquired
• poor eye contact
• excessive lining up of toys or objects
• no smiling or social responsiveness
• Later indicators include:
• impaired ability to make friends with peers
• impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation
with others
• absence or impairment of imaginative and social
play
• repetitive or unusual use of language
• abnormally intense or focused interest
• preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
• inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals
Why do children act this way?
Thank You