Help on hand as junior grows up

Speech and Language Advice - it's good to talk


AS you watch your child grow and develop from baby to toddler there are many key milestones to look out for – the first time they crawl, their first step and their first word.
Between the ages of one and two, your child should be able to copy sounds and words, use gestures like pointing and waving, understand simple instructions such as ‘where’s the …?’ and ‘show me …?’ and be able to use and respond to social words like ‘hi’ and ‘bye’.
Move on a year and between the ages of two and three your child should be able to ask questions, use short sentences, enjoy listening to short stories with pictures and start to ‘make believe’ in play.
Being able to communicate, to use language and talk to others is something many take for granted, but for some, for a number of reasons, it just doesn’t come that easily.
Janice Angwin, Speech and Language therapist based at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness explained: “Speech and Language Therapists are the lead experts in the diagnosis and assessment of communication, eating and drinking difficulties and we work together with those affected, their families and other professionals to reduce the impact of these difficulties.
She continued: “We work with babies, children, teenagers, adults, families and carers on a wide number of issues including feeding and swallowing difficulties, learning difficulties, language delay and physical disabilities. When it comes to children the sooner a difficulty is identified the better chance we have of being able to manage it.”
There are signs you can look for. By the age of one children will be showing interest in faces and voices. By the age of two they will use gestures and be able to use approximately 50 words. By the time they get to age three we would expect them to be saying most words clearly, understand “what” and “where” questions and also understand longer instructions.
Management and treatment varies depending on the needs of the individual child. It will include assessment and advice, and may also include individual or group therapy sessions, training and support for parents, and in some cases providing communication aids and resources.
Janice added: “If parents have any concerns or questions they can phone and discuss these with a Speech and Language Therapist. We can provide information, support and advice as well as assess children. The service has an open referral system so parents are able to refer directly to us.”
For more information on the service please go to the Speech and Language Therapy Service web page - www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk - and type “Speech and Language Therapy” into the search box. Follow the link for Speech and Language Therapy.

Further information
Contact:Erin Greig
Role:Communications Manager
Telephone:01463 705771