Speaking like a baby by not being able to say some letters despite growing up affects the child's social and academic development. Experts point out that the child learns almost all speech sounds until the age of 5-6, and that the inability to make some sounds with advancing age is an important sign. Pointing out the importance of early intervention, experts note that problems in speech and language development can be corrected with various therapy methods.
Üsküdar University NP Feneryolu Medical Center Language and Speech Disorders Specialist Gözde Malkoç noted that the process of children learning speech sounds begins in infancy and that development should be carefully monitored from this period.
Language and Speech Disorders Specialist Gözde Malkoç said, "First of all, phonetics starts from the very beginning of the language development process with the baby responding to the sound, modeling the incoming sounds and realizing their own personal vocalizations."
All speech sounds are learned in preschool period
Malkoç said that children can first make vowel sounds during infancy and noted that all speech sounds are learned by the age of 5-6. Gözde Malkoç said the following:
"These vowel sounds made during infancy are vocalizations used to reflect crying, shouting and joy. Sounds such as /b, k/ are added to the vowel sounds later. The behaviors and uses of sounds such as the closing of the two lips in the /b/ sound are implicitly learned by children over time. Typically developing children learn almost all speech sounds by the age of 5-6. Of course, the learning and uttering of sounds does not follow a strict order.
It progresses starting with the sounds that are simple and easy for the child to produce. In the beginning, the child may be able to distinguish the lip sounds b and p more easily, but may not be able to distinguish sounds such as k, g, t and d. The child starts to use the sounds in his/her mother tongue, which he/she can hear and distinguish, as a priority. The sounds that the child has not yet acquired are replaced by the sounds that have been made. If the child cannot make the k sound, he/she may say "tapi" instead of "door", as in the example of "door", and if he/she cannot make the k sound at the beginning of the word, he/she may make the same sound in the end of the word in the form of "taşık" instead of "spoon". Phonological development, phonemes such as the k sound, syllables consisting of phonemes such as 'look', and syllables consisting of phonemes such as 'look' include the acquisition of emphasis and intonation along with the rules specific to the arrangement of phonemes."
If older than 5 years and cannot say the letters, pay attention
Pointing out that the child learns almost all speech sounds until the age of 5-6, Gözde Malkoç stated that the inability to make some sounds in children over the age of 5 is an important sign and said, "The child's inability to make some sounds in the following period also worries the parents. Parents may be concerned about their child's speech such as 'My child still speaks like a baby', 'My child cannot say some letters' or 'My child has a lisp'. These complaints can be explained by phonological development. "If there are concerns about the child's speech, consulting a specialist is of great importance in early intervention," he warned.
Malkoç said that babyish speech can be considered cute and reinforced by some parents and shared the following examples:
"This is not appropriate behavior for a child who is learning the sound of speech. Although the child does not feel any discomfort from the acceptance of his/her speech in the early period, he/she may later complain about his/her speech as to why I cannot say it. For example, people of all ages often apply to the clinic because they cannot make the r sound. The individual can use expressions such as 'I want to call the bee a bear now'. People who are more sensitive to their speech may avoid using words with that sound when talking to their friends in the future or may not want to read in class."
Speech negatively affects school success
Noting that language skills in children develop with age, Gözde Malkoç said, "In children who use long and complex sentence structures, the presence of unproducible sounds will greatly reduce speech intelligibility. At the same time, too many unpronounceable sounds will negatively affect reading and writing skills during school age. For these reasons, the child's phonological awareness and anatomical structures that prevent the production of sounds should be evaluated by a specialized speech-language pathologist. Therapy should be started when deemed necessary."
