You want your children to succeed in school. We, as parents, are willing to sacrifice evenings going to PTA meetings, pull our hair out trying to help with homework, and drive them about to sports and activities to help them be more rounded.
But sometimes, it can be hard to identify why your child might be struggling. It can range from a variety of things, but a major obstacle for children’s success at school can be their speech and language skills. Here are some signs and areas your child might be struggling because of a speech and/or language disorder.
Having A Hard Time Making Friends
Communication skills are essential to making long lasting friends. If your child is having difficulties connecting with their peers, it might indicate missing language skills. Being unable to properly express thoughts, emotions, and ideas are all signs of underdeveloped language skills.
If your child can communicate, but has difficulties playing with other kids, they might have problems with cognitive-communication skills. These types of skills include things like memory, imagination or judgement. Again, all of these are important to making friends and should be considered if they are having troubles with classmates and friends.
Difficulties Following Instructions
Teachers need their kids to focus and follow instructions to properly educate them. Struggling with following specific and general directions can be a sign of missing language skills.
Can’t Comprehend Stories
Teachers telling stories aloud is a common part of the classroom. It could be done to entertain, teach a lesson, or help guide them when making a decision. If a child has a hard time comprehending or following a story, or is unable to summarize them, it could mean a language disorder.
Unable To Convey Ideas
Another signal a child has speech or language problem is having a hard time explaining or talking. This can be things like having the feeling of a word on the tip of their tongue, substituting words incorrectly, and getting frustrated when others can’t understand what they are saying.
Only Repeating Back What They Hear
A major sign of a lack of language skills is a child that only repeats what they hear, somewhat like a parrot. It’s a normal habit for children who are beginning to speak, but should be outgrown once they start school. In an educational setting, this language problem can be a major barrier for teachers and parents to know exactly what the children have learned.
Some children even learn how to give the proper responses to questions without understanding what they are saying. The best ways to identify if this is a problem is to watch how they interact with other children and adults. They should be able to carry a conversation clearly and convey unique thoughts. If they seem to only say the same things over and over, or say incoherent phrases in reply, it can be a sign they need to work on their comprehension and language skills.
Stuttering, Lisps, and Voice Disorders
As children interact with each other more and more, they might start to notice irregularities in their voices compared to others. If your child has a stutter or lisp, they might become more and more self conscious of their voice, especially if their peers begin to notice. This might lead them to not participating in class and trying to avoid talking with others.
If you notice any of these behaviors in your children, feel free to contact us for a free consultation. With talented SLP’s, we’ll be able to identify any speech or language barriers your child has and create a plan to help them overcome them. With proper intervention and support, your child will be enjoying themselves at school and finding success.
