Language is important in our lives. A child learns to talk by hearing, seeing and doing. The good example of the environment and especially of the parents is very important. Children are busy with language every day. Children learn to use language from an early age. The problems that can arise in the language area are very different. One child has difficulty learning to read, another child does not understand what he is reading and yet another child has problems with parsing.
Language problems
It is difficult to determine how many cases go wrong. It is said that 3 to 7% of children have a language disorder, but the frequency of occurrence depends very much on the definition you choose. For example, the severity of the disorder.
What is a language problem?
If a child’s language development is slower or different than that of peers, there may be a language problem.
Characteristics of a language problem can include:
- Not (yet) speaking or hardly speaking.
- Responding incorrectly to questions.
- Small vocabulary.
- Not understanding commands.
- Problems with articles, plural degrees, degrees of comparison, diminutives and conjugating verbs.
- Not being able to form good sentences.
- Difficulty putting thoughts into words.
Distinguishing language problems
In children with language problems, we distinguish between a primary language disorder, a secondary language disorder and a language disorder as a manifestation of an underlying neurological disorder.
- With a primary language disorder we are dealing with children who only have problems in language development.
- In secondary language disorders, language development is delayed as a result of another disorder such as autism or intellectual disability.
- Language disorders that may be an expression of a neurological disorder include language problems in relation to various abnormalities of the muscular and/or nervous system.
Primary language disorders are serious problems that can have negative consequences for the development of other cognitive functions. Language not only has a social and intellectual function, but is also a means of communication through which emotions are expressed. The result is that when communication goes wrong, this affects both intellectual development and the development of social interaction and the handling of emotions. In a certain department, children are neurologically examined and treated. Child neurological diagnosis is supported by research from (neuro)psychology, speech therapy, physiotherapy and orthopedagogy. They provide treatment advice and refer to a speech therapist, special education, a treatment center, or a care or rehabilitation institution.
Possible causes
A language problem can arise due to:
Hearing problems
Good hearing is a prerequisite for good, spontaneous development of language skills. The hearing will therefore be examined first if it appears that the child is not speaking well.
Too little stimulation from the environment
The environment plays an important role in this. If there is little talk to the child or if there is little attention for the child, the development of speech will lag behind. Children with less aptitude for language are particularly disadvantaged by this.
Heredity
Delayed language development may also be a matter of predisposition. Just as one child is not very musical or has absolutely no math skills, the other child is less sensitive to language.
Lack of concentration
Language difficulties can further be caused by brain damage. For example, brain damage can be caused by oxygen during birth, but can also be the result of an infection during pregnancy. In addition, the brain can also be damaged after birth (for example by an infection). Due to the brain damage, the child’s behavior is often striking: for example, he is very restless and mobile: he cannot sit still for a moment or concentrate properly.
Problems in intelligence or emotional development
Finally, another cause of disturbances in the proper development of speech is the presence of lip, jaw and/or palate clefts.
Types of language problems
My child is dysphatic
Various terms are in use for children with a language disorder. Often the terms cover exactly the same phenomena. The name given to the disorder depends most on the person who diagnoses it. To give an example, the same child can be called ‘primary language disorder’ by one specialist, while another specialist identifies ‘dysphatic development’ on the basis of the same data. There are recognizable signs of language problems in children. If a child aged 2 to 3 has few words and does not yet combine words, this is cause for concern. If the child is also poorly intelligible and therefore not properly understood, this is an additional handicap. When a child shows such signs, in other words: when he or she seems slower in learning the native language than his or her peers, the GP can arrange for a referral to a speech therapist.
Dysphasia (and aphasia)
Another name for ‘language disorder’ is dysphasia (sometimes spelled dysphasia with ‘ph’). The term is used in many medical textbooks; that is why general practitioners and ENT specialists are more likely to use it than, for example, speech therapists. However, the term is a bit out of fashion and for good reason. The word ‘dysphasia’ is very similar to aphasia: the language disorder that people can suffer after brain damage, usually a stroke, where they can no longer think of certain words (Um, um, one of those things you put on when it rains. ..). That is why ‘dysphasia’ is no longer so popular: losing your language (as with aphasia) is essentially different from not mastering your native language properly. However, there is a second difference: in aphasia the language disorder can be associated with brain damage, while this is rarely possible in language-impaired children. In a child, you can only speak of dysphasia if there is no obvious brain damage that causes the language disorder.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is an invisible disability that is unfortunately too often not recognized in education. This has far-reaching consequences for dyslexic children themselves, for their parents/guardians and for the teaching staff. For society as a whole, talent is lost due to early school leaving. Problems with reading and spelling that are not recognized in time can also become a handicap later in life. Dyslexia means Serious and persistent problems with the automatization of reading and/or spelling. Even if they receive extra help, dyslexics have difficulty learning to read and spell correctly and fluently. They also have difficulty learning to read and spell modern foreign languages. Dyslexia is independent of intelligence and occurs in normal and even high intelligence. Children with dyslexia lag far behind the average level in terms of school performance. Despite their efforts and diligence, their performances are not in accordance with their often good intellectual capacities, with all the consequences that this entails in the personal, family and social sphere.
The consequences of this problem
Problems with speaking can have serious consequences if they are not recognized. If you do not understand certain things or cannot explain them clearly, this can lead to misunderstandings in communication. These frustrations are sometimes translated into aggressive or withdrawn behavior.
An oral language disorder can also have negative consequences for learning to read and write. And because language also plays an important role in thinking, language problems can be (or become) the cause of learning problems or learning delays.