By Charminae George
Speech difficulties in children—more commonly referred to as speech and language disorder (SLD) —has been on the rise here in Antigua and Barbuda for the past few years.
“Not only objectively but also anecdotally that at least over the past three to four years, we have been seeing an increase in our nation’s children with speech and language pathology,” Dr Shivon Belle-Jarvis, Head of the Pediatric Department at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre (SLBMC) told Observer recently.
Dr Jarvis, who said the concerning phenomena requires intervention from the policy and community levels, shared that seven out of the eight new referrals in a recent speech clinic were observed to have speech and language disorders.
One of the factors contributing to children having difficulty speaking and expressing themselves clearly is an over reliance on technology to entertain young children.
As a result, Dr Jarvis is urging parents to become less dependent on technology to keep their children entertained.
“Gone are the days where the screen, the laptop, the iphone, the ipad can be the babysitter of our children. Our children have too much time in front of the screen,” she stated.
Instead, she encourages parents to carve out time to sing, play and do activities with their children.
The doctor also recommends parents teach and practice letter sounds with their children as much as possible.
“You should model sounds. If I’m giving a cup of water to a child I should [sound the letter c]. Let them repeat after you so that it’s going to be able to help them in terms of their speech,” she said.
Additionally, during the clinic under stimulation or overstimulation in daily life, possible ear, nose and throat problems, and intellectual disabilities were also observed to be contributing factors.
Children with a speech disorder may stutter, say letter sounds with reduced clarity and have a hoarse voice.
Meanwhile, children who have a language disorder may find it difficult to understand, talk to others, read or write. This is according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
Specific warning signs for parents and guardians to keep in mind for young children include no babbling at 6 months and children not speaking a total amount of words equivalent to their age.
“Listen for words equivalent to the child’s age. So at one year, at least one word. Two years, at least two words,” Jarvis stated.
Parents and guardians who think their children may be showing any warning signs related to an SLD are urged to contact the hospital’s pediatric department at 484-2729 as early intervention is important.
The pediatric department’s most recent speech clinic was held on December 5 and 6 in partnership with the Center for the Holistic Advancement of Therapeutic Services(CHATS).
A total of 12 children were screened in the quarterly session, eight of which were new referrals.
Seven of the eight were observed to have speech and language disorders, two of which were due to Autism Spectrum Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder.
