1. It’s more than just speech sounds. ALL areas of communication are targeted in speech therapy. That includes language comprehension, formulating sentences, stuttering, social skills, literacy and pre-literacy skills, play, and oral motor skills!
2. It’s more common than you think for a child to need speech and language therapy! According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), “Speech or language impairment is the second most common disability category for which children ages 6–21 are served under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal special education law that guarantees all children receive free appropriate public education.”
3. Around the age of 5, you should be able to understand almost everything a child says. They may not produce all sounds perfectly but they should be intelligible.
4. About 1% of the population stutters, which equates to more than 70 million people worldwide and over 3 million in the US! (stutteringhelp.org)
5. By 18 months of age, a baby should have a vocabulary of 50-150 words and begin to combine words to produce simple phrases.
6. Children learn 80% of language by the age of 3 and 90% of brain growth happens before a child enters kindergarten. That’s why early intervention is important!
7. Speech is one of the most refined and intricate acts that the motor system carries out. To say a phrase, about 100 muscles of the chest, neck, jaw, tongue and lips must collaborate. Even the slightest inaccuracy in movement can make a word or phrase difficult to understand!
If you have any questions about the information above, please reach out to us at 805-244-5068 or christine@lakesidespeech.com.