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Speech and Language: the first year
Every child is unique. As his or her uniqueness unfolds before a parent's eyes, sometimes a parent can wonder "Is my child developing normally?" or "Is my child on the right track?" Before a child learns to speak, he is building brain connections that will serve him throughout his life. A child as young as 4-6 weeks old forms brain connections between his visual and auditory systems that will aid him as he learns to produce sounds for speech. By 4 months, a child is building connections for social interaction and play that will help him take turns as he communicates. At 6 months, he learns about objects so that he will have content to share in his communication with others down the road in his development. In fact, before a child even says his first word, he will have stored vast amounts of information regarding how to move his muscles of speech, when and how to "chime in" in a conversation, and what to say when the time is right. He will have stored important memories about the world around him that will set him off on his journey to becoming the communicator and learner that he will become. Having stored countless words and made countless brain connections, he is poised to put a string of two or three sounds together and utter that very first word....a moment all parents wait for with joyous excitement. ...read more
By Norfolk Speech and Language Services June 04, 2007
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