Stuttering, language errors… Why and when should a child see a speech therapist?

INTERVIEW

Faced with a toddler who lisps, stutters, confuses a "b" with "d", do you always have to worry?

From their first words, some young children search for their words, struggle to form their sentences, cannot pronounce certain sounds.

For mild disorders, a few sessions with a speech therapist may be enough to overcome them, but others require several years of follow-up.

Guest of

on Europe 1 on

Wednesday

, speech therapist Marie Tabaud-Deboth takes stock of the warning signs. 

Learning delay 

"Depending on the age, we can take different points of reference", explains Marie Tabaud-Deboth.

From its 12 months, a baby finds its first words.

If he does not utter any syllables around that age, it is necessary to start monitoring, recommends the speech therapist.

At two years old, the child is supposed to make word associations.

"'Daddy eat', 'mommy gone', that sort of thing. If there isn't, we're watching."

The absence of sentences in a 3-year-old child should finally alert parents.

If he does not suffer from any particular pathology, a speech therapist can intervene from his 2 and a half years. 

Subsequently, reports often come from teachers.

"School teachers often advise parents to go for a consultation. They see children all day and have all the skills to detect this kind of disorder."

Stuttering 

How do you tell the difference between a child in a hurry to tell his story or use all the new words he knows and a child who suffers from stuttering?

"A lot of children have a kind of 'lexical explosion', where their mouths go faster than their thoughts. Stuttering is characterized by excessive tension. There will be repetitions, jumps of syllables. . We have the feeling that the words want to come through. " 

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In case of doubt, an appointment with the speech therapist is essential.

He will make his diagnosis through interviews with the parents and with the child as well as standardized tests, which will situate his level and abilities.

"This will allow us to know whether or not his case relates to speech therapy or not. If the disorder is proven, his treatment lasts between 6 and 12 months on average, at the rate of 30-minute sessions per week." The best is always. to intervene before she turns 6, because her brain is still very plastic. " 

The lisp 

"A child must know how to pronounce all the sounds of his tongue at 6 years old", explains Marie Tabaud-Deboth.

We speak of joint disorders when the child's errors are systematic and lasting, on one sound (the "ch" for example) or several.

"Most of the time, it comes from a difficulty in positioning your tongue correctly. Parents may correct it, so it persists. It is better to consult."

In young children, zozing may go away in just a few weeks.

“Even later around 10 years old, if the child is motivated or embarrassed, it comes very quickly,” says the speech therapist. 

Writing disorders 

Writing disorders are most often diagnosed during the year of CP or at the start of CE1.

"We speak of dyslexia when we face severe disorders, which persist for more than six months despite the intervention of a speech therapist and the arrangements at school. Conversely, confuse a 'b' with a 'd' in CP is nothing to worry about. "

One of the main criteria is that of speed: dyslexic children "read very slowly", emphasizes Marie Tabaud-Deboth.

Some children also reverse syllables or omit certain sounds.

Dyslexia cannot be cured, children with it will always be in adulthood.

But many aids exist today to alleviate this disorder and allow children to follow a completely normal schooling.

"We follow the children in the long run, we intervene by period. We do sessions for 6 months, then we take a year break and see each other over 6 months, for example."

The school can set up valuable aids to help these students, such as documents written in larger print and in the most difficult cases, the reception of AVS.