How does a language delay effect a child's development?
Posted by Mia Moe on Mon, Feb 08, 2010 @ 10:04 AM
Steven F. Warren directs both the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and the Kansas Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Center.
Q: Does a language delay mean my child will be slow for the rest of his or her life?
A:Not necessarily. There are many different causes of language delays. Many of these result in transitory problems that resolve during the first few years of life with or without direct treatment. Other delays disappear as a result of early intervention, and still others may persist for years or beyond. Perhaps the single most important thing that will benefit all children, whether they are typically developing or have a delay, is the long term engagement for many hours every day in an environment rich in social language interaction, reading, and other stimulating and challenging activities.
Did you know, children with higher IQ's hear more words per day? Parents saw a 33% increase in the amount of words their child hears when they used the LENA System.
"I was shocked at how little I talked to my baby. I'm a communicative person and I like to talk. You really don't know how little you talk to your baby, and LENA was a huge help to know where my starting point was. Now, when my husband reads the newspaper, he tells Brian more things that he will do during the day. We both changed, and we talk more about things. It was a huge help to know where my starting point was. LENA helps you to be conscious about how much you talk to your baby."
- Monika, mother of Brian,
Fort Worth, TX
For more resources on how to increase your child's langauge development - click here.